Ukraine: Humanitarian Access Severity Overview (November 2024 - May 2025) [EN/UK]

OVERVIEW

Impediments to humanitarian access across Ukraine remain contingent upon the intensity of hostilities, as in previous years. Since the publication of the last Access Severity Overview in October 2024, humanitarian access in regions along the front line—like Zaporizka and Khersonska—has continued to face challenges; in parallel, access has significantly deteriorated in key hotspots such as Sumska and Donetska oblasts. Escalating violence, shifting front lines and the growing use of extended-range drones are the main drivers of this deterioration. As a result, humanitarian operations in front-line and northern border oblast continue to face severe constraints, particularly where aid workers operate under high security risks, and delivering life-saving assistance is increasingly difficult.

METHODOLOGY

The Humanitarian Access Working Group conducted the second bi-annual humanitarian access severity analysis for Ukraine as of 1 May 2025. The previous one was conducted in October 2024. In the process, workshops covered the eight front-line/border oblasts done at the hromada level. 50 individual organizations and 101 participants provided their inputs on humanitarian access severity levels and constraints, grouped into eight categories based on the Access Monitoring and Reporting Framework (AMRF) guidelines covering:

  1. Denial of the existence of humanitarian needs or of the entitlements to humanitarian assistance.
  2. Restriction of movement of agencies, personnel, or goods within the affected areas.
  3. Military operations and ongoing hostilities are impending humanitarian operations.
  4. Violence against humanitarian personnel, assets and facilities.
  5. Interference in the implementation of humanitarian activities.
  6. Presence of mines and UXOs.
  7. Physical environment.
  8. Restrictions on or obstruction of conflict-affected populations’ access to services and assistance.

Separate focus group discussions were held for UN Agencies, international and national NGO partners.
Each group gave a qualitative assessment of the humanitarian access situation in their respective regions. The data collection aimed to develop a joint understanding of the current operational environment, including major changes and emerging trends in Ukraine. The Access Severity Mapping is designed to complement other monitoring tools, such as the incident-based AMRF, using a four-point severity scale. This scale ranges from Level 1 reflecting low access constraints to Level 4 reflecting extremely high access constraints. It is used to adapt operational activities and develop advocacy strategies with the aim of improving humanitarian access to people in need.