UN Women Warns Ukraine War Becoming Increasingly Deadly for Women and Girls as Civilian Suffering Deepens

Beyond the growing death toll, UN Women warned that repeated attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are having devastating and disproportionate consequences for women and girls.

UN Women has issued a stark warning that the war in Ukraine is becoming increasingly devastating for women and girls, with the first months of 2026 marking the deadliest winter for female civilians since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion more than four years ago.

Speaking from Kyiv after more than 1,500 days of war, UN Women officials said women across Ukraine are facing escalating violence, deepening economic hardship, growing caregiving burdens and worsening mental and physical health conditions as attacks on civilian infrastructure intensify and international support declines.

According to data from the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, at least 199 women and girls were killed between January and March 2026, making it the deadliest first quarter for female civilian casualties since the first year of the invasion in 2022.

The figure exceeds the number of women and girls killed during the same period in 2025, 2024 and 2023, highlighting what humanitarian officials describe as a worsening pattern of civilian harm.

The rise follows an already alarming trend recorded in 2025, when casualties among women increased by 27 percent compared with 2024.

Each of those killed, UN officials stressed, represented far more than a statistic.

"Each woman or girl killed was someone who had plans, purpose, who had people who loved them deeply and who deeply depended on them," the statement said.

Energy Attacks Intensify Burdens on Women

Beyond the growing death toll, UN Women warned that repeated attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure are having devastating and disproportionate consequences for women and girls.

Preliminary findings from a new UN Women assessment show that strikes on electricity systems have sharply increased household responsibilities, stress and financial pressures, particularly for women already carrying major caregiving duties.

The report found that women are significantly more vulnerable during energy disruptions because they are more likely to lack access to backup energy sources and often shoulder primary responsibility for childcare, eldercare and household management.

According to the assessment:

• 73 percent of women reported having no alternative energy supply

• Women experienced heightened physical and mental health strain

• Financial burdens increased substantially during power disruptions

• Women with caregiving roles faced especially severe impacts

The consequences have been particularly severe in frontline and heavily bombarded regions where prolonged electricity outages disrupt heating, healthcare, communications, education and water access.

Humanitarian organizations warn that repeated attacks on civilian energy systems have transformed everyday survival into an exhausting struggle for millions of Ukrainians.

Women Sustain Communities Amid Destruction

While much of the international focus remains on military developments and infrastructure destruction, UN Women highlighted the less visible but critical role women are playing in sustaining Ukrainian society throughout the war.

Across the country, women are increasingly maintaining essential public services and community resilience under extraordinary conditions.

They include women:

• Keeping public transportation operating

• Teaching children in underground classrooms

• Caring for elderly relatives

• Repairing damaged energy systems

• Clearing landmines

• Running humanitarian operations

• Supporting displaced families

• Holding together households and local communities

One of the women highlighted by UN Women was Tetiana Moruzhenko, an energy worker from Sloviansk, a frontline city in Ukraine's Donetsk region.

Tetiana leads a team of 27 energy workers responsible for repairing critical infrastructure damaged during attacks.

Her team works continuously to restore electricity, heating and power supplies to homes, hospitals and schools following strikes.

"What is damaged at night needs to be repaired by morning," Tetiana said.

"And I stay here to do it."

Her story reflects a broader transformation taking place across Ukraine, where women are increasingly occupying roles traditionally dominated by men while simultaneously managing expanding caregiving responsibilities.

Women-Led Organisations Face Funding Crisis

UN Women also raised alarm over the growing financial crisis facing women-led organizations in Ukraine.

These organizations have become essential pillars of humanitarian response, providing:

• Shelter services

• Psychosocial support

• Legal assistance

• Emergency aid

• Gender-based violence response

• Community recovery programmes

However, shrinking international assistance is now threatening their survival.

According to UN Women, nearly eight in ten women's organizations reported that funding reductions are seriously affecting their operations.

Some organizations said they have already been forced to reduce the number of women and girls they are able to support.

Officials warned that declining donor assistance risks deepening gender inequalities at a time when women are carrying some of the heaviest burdens of the conflict.

"Official donor assistance to support women has reduced and inequalities in Ukraine are increasing," the statement noted.

Calls for Sustained International Support

UN Women stressed that the world cannot allow attention to drift away from the needs of Ukrainian women and girls as the war continues.

Humanitarian officials warned that sustained international support, protection and investment remain essential to preventing further deterioration in living conditions and social stability.

"Women and girls in Ukraine cannot afford for the world's attention to fade," the statement said.

"They need sustained support, protection, investment, and financing."

UN Women says it continues to operate across Ukraine, providing humanitarian aid, protection services and technical support to help ensure that women's needs are integrated into laws, public policies and national budgets.

The organisation is also advocating for greater inclusion of women in political and peace processes shaping Ukraine's future.

Women Still Largely Excluded from Peace Negotiations

Despite their central role in sustaining communities and responding to the war's humanitarian consequences, women remain significantly underrepresented in political decision-making and peace discussions concerning Ukraine's future.

UN Women warned that excluding women from negotiations risks undermining the prospects for a durable and inclusive peace.

"We are also working to make sure that women are part of political processes and decision-making on Ukraine's future, because at this moment they are largely sidelined," the statement said.

The agency emphasized that lasting peace agreements are rarely sustainable when women are excluded from formal negotiations and reconstruction planning.

International studies have consistently shown that peace processes involving women are more likely to produce long-term stability and stronger social outcomes.

A War Increasingly Defined by Civilian Hardship

As the conflict enters its fifth year, humanitarian organizations warn that the cumulative impact of war on civilians — particularly women and vulnerable groups — is becoming increasingly severe.

The combination of:

• Intensified attacks on infrastructure

• Economic disruption

• Displacement

• Psychological trauma

• Shrinking humanitarian funding

• Expanding caregiving burdens

is creating a prolonged social crisis that extends far beyond the battlefield.

For millions of Ukrainian women, the war is no longer only about survival under bombardment, but also about sustaining families, communities and public life amid relentless uncertainty.

Humanitarian officials warn that without sustained global attention and support, the long-term social and economic consequences for Ukrainian women and girls could continue to deepen long after the fighting eventually ends.