In October, hostilities in front-line areas and attacks across Ukraine continued to cause the loss of life and damage homes, schools and hospitals, forcing more people from front-line Kharkivska and Donetska oblasts to seek safety in other parts of the country. At least 30 health facilities and over 50 education institutions were destroyed or damaged in October, mostly in front-line oblasts, which were exposed to relentless fighting, according to the Human Rights Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. As a result of increased hostilities, people in the front-line areas, many of whom are older people, continued to rely on humanitarian assistance, including for accessing basic services like health care, food and livelihood support. As temperatures started to drop, repairs to damaged homes became more urgent to keep people safe from harsh winter conditions.

During the first 10 months of 2024, more than 630 humanitarian organizations provided at least one form of assistance to 7.7 million people across Ukraine, including people affected by attacks and newly displaced people. To meet growing needs, compared with the previous month, in October, aid workers scaled up their support with health care (0.4 million people reached), water, sanitation and hygiene services (0.3 million people) as well as child protection (0.3 million) and protection support (0.1 million). Some 0.15 million people were reached with multi-purpose cash assistance, and 0.1 million people were provided with materials for emergency repairs and non-food supplies to meet energy needs. Aid workers also reached some 0.1 million people with mine action support, primarily mine risk education. Of those reached, almost 60 per cent were women and girls, 34 per cent were older people, nearly 20 per cent were children, and 12 per cent were people with disabilities.

Prioritizing the most affected regions, humanitarians surpassed the original plans for assistance in front-line Sumska, Mykolaivska, Kharkivska and Chernihivska oblasts in the north-east, south and east. Despite challenging security conditions, humanitarians in Zaporizka, Donetska and Khersonska oblasts adapted the response to meet increased needs throughout 2024. Further from the front line, aid organizations also exceeded the assistance planned in several oblasts in the north-west and south-west of the country, including to support newly displaced people in Ivano-Frankivska and Rivnenska oblasts.

Between January and October, humanitarian actors delivered 39 inter-agency convoys to assist nearly 64,000 people in front-line communities in Donetska, Kharkivska, Khersonska, Mykolaivska and Zaporizka oblasts, where access is limited. In October alone, six of these convoys, three of which were delivered to Mykolaivska Oblast, provided food, clean water, medicines, repair materials, hygiene supplies and other essential assistance.

With winter driving humanitarian needs, aid workers provided winter-related assistance to over 144,000 people under the 2024-2025 Winter Response Plan. Older people and people with disabilities accounted for 33 per cent and 9 per cent of the people reached with winter support, respectively.The 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is 58 per cent funded out of the requested US$3.11 billion.