On February 24, three years ago, Ukraine woke up to the roar of rockets and planes — an unexpected, painful signal of the beginning of a war that turned the lives of each of us upside down. On the day when the Russian troops launched their large-scale offensive, planning the quick fall of Kyiv and the collapse of the independent state, the world was forced to recognize the inevitability of the conflict. Western analysts underestimated the strength and determination of the Ukrainian people, and Moscow was wrong in its forecasts. Today, three years later, we remember February 24 not as a choice, but as a cruel challenge that taught us resilience, courage and the ability to defend our freedom even in the most difficult circumstances. This day has become a symbol of the struggle that shapes our modern identity, reminding us that the indomitability of a nation is not bought or given – it is earned with each challenge overcome.
Consequences of a full-scale invasion
A full-scale invasion brought with it death, destruction and mass displacement of people. Cities that were once just dots on the map – Bucha, Izyum, Mariupol – have become symbols of atrocities and resilience. Millions of Ukrainians left their homes, hundreds of thousands will never return. The Russian army showed the world what terror means – from shelling of maternity hospitals to prison cells in the basements of occupied cities.
As the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi reported, since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukraine has lost 43,000 soldiers, while 370,000 have been injured. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have gone missing or are in Russian captivity. It can be seen that this number can be much higher, because at the moment there are no exact calculations.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, thousands of civilians have also been killed and injured. According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, as of February 2025, 41,783 civilians were affected by the war of aggression:
- killed – 12,605 people;
- 29,178 people were injured.
In addition, according to the State Statistics, there are already more than 27,000 people with disabilities in Ukraine due to military operations, and this number is growing every day. From now on, all of them are forced to bear the hard and deep scars of the war, adapting to the harsh realities of a mutilated life.
These are not just statistics, but real people: mothers, fathers, children who have become victims of senseless violence. These numbers are not exact and are constantly growing, but even they cannot convey what it means for every family to lose a loved one or be left with a lifelong disability. Behind the dry statistics lies someone’s story, which was cut short due to someone else’s cruelty. And this price, which Ukraine is paying all these difficult years, cannot be measured in any accounts.
The war stole childhood from Ukrainian children. By data of the “Children of War” platform during the period of the full-scale invasion, 599 young Ukrainians died under rubble, from shelling and fire. 1,763 children suffered mutilations of varying degrees of severity, hundreds suffered from sexual violence. All these children now suffer from physical and mental pain and have to learn to live in a new way, constantly choosing each movement.
And another 2,058 children remain missing. It is not known where these little Ukrainians are now and how their fate turned out. Ukrainian and international organizations continue to work on the identification and return of children. As of 2025, according to the platform, 37,854 children were successfully returned to their homeland. But the problem remains global, because without increased international support, it will be difficult to stop this systematic kidnapping. The Children of War platform and other initiatives are key tools in the fight for the rights of deported children.
For data Minister of Social Policy Oksana Zholnovich, as of today, the Russian Federation has deported at least 20,000 Ukrainian children, of which only 1,223 children have been returned. These figures take into account both officially confirmed cases and alleged victims of forced removal. Deportation of children began as early as 2014, but increased significantly with the start of a full-scale invasion in 2022. As of November 2024, 15 more children were rescued from the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, as informs Mykola Kuleba, founder of the “Save Ukraine” charitable organization. In general, the organization “Bring Kids Back UA” was able to save 538 children, returning them to the territory of Ukraine.
Russia is systematically changing data on children — their names, surnames, and even citizenship — in an effort to fully assimilate them. Such actions are classified as a crime of genocide aimed at the destruction of Ukrainian identity. At the same time, the return of even one child is already a small victory, because each rescued person is a symbol of resistance to this terrible crime.
For data In 2024, war orphaned approximately 1,759 children. This figure is not exact, because there are still occupied territories where access to information remains unavailable.
According to the data research According to the Center for Economic Strategy, as of 2024, there are 4.9 million Ukrainian refugees abroad. The main category is women aged 30 to 44 with children – 13%. The number of migrants was concentrated in Germany (30%), Poland (22%) and the Czech Republic (4.4%). There is also a large number of Ukrainians in the USA (280,000 people) and Canada (210,200 people). At the same time, representatives of the authorities have repeatedly emphasized that there are more than 10 million refugees abroad.
Although the flow of new refugees is now negligible, the length of stay abroad of those who left after the war began is steadily increasing. Despite the advantages of temporary protection, which provides social support and quick access to the labor market, Ukrainians face numerous difficulties. The biggest challenges are related to finding stable housing and work, accessing health services and overcoming the language barrier.
The results of the study indicate that in the end about 1.4 million – 2.3 million Ukrainians will remain in their new place of residence. The majority of people of working age who left Ukraine as refugees will not return home, and this will cause a new wave of loss of Ukrainian GDP of 10% of the annual pre-war gross domestic product. The consequences of such a decision will have a painful impact on the socio-economic development of Ukraine. By forecasts experts, by 2030 Ukraine will experience a shortage of 4.5 million workers.
The war brought a demographic crisis to the country. According to the Institute of Demography, 31 million people live in Ukraine today, 4.9 million have moved abroad, and about 5 million live in temporarily occupied territories.
As of 2024, there are 10.516 million people of retirement age in Ukraine. Leaders in the number of pensioners in the country:
- Dnipropetrovsk region – 887 thousand;
- Kyiv – 752 thousand;
- Kharkiv region – 723 thousand
The death rate in the country exceeded the birth rate by 2.8 times, according to the Ministry of Justice “Interfax of Ukraine”. In the first half of 2024, 250,972 citizens died, which was three times the number of newborns. Compared to 2023, the number of births decreased by 10.71 thousand, or 5.7%, and the number of deaths almost did not change – by 0.2%, or 1.15 thousand. Survivors often find themselves without adequate medical care and support. Neglected hospitals, drug shortages, stress and constant uncertainty – all this is killing Ukrainians even far from the front. At the same time, statistics show that the average life expectancy in Ukraine remains one of the lowest in Europe, and the situation is not improving.
As we can see, the country is gradually losing its youth, and new generations are born more slowly than those who remain are aging. Experts predict that by the end of 2025, only 25 million people may remain in Ukraine.
For data According to a report by the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), over three years of full-scale invasion, Ukraine suffered losses in the amount of about 170 billion USD. As noted in the report, the housing stock, transport infrastructure and energy suffered the greatest losses.
During the war, dozens of cities and villages were completely wiped off the face of the earth or require large-scale reconstruction. In addition, the occupation led to a humanitarian disaster: food shortages, lack of medical services, mass crimes against the civilian population. As of November 2024, 236,000 residential buildings were damaged or destroyed in Ukraine:
- 209 thousand private;
- 27 thousand apartment buildings;
- 600 hostels.
Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Kyiv, Chernihiv and Kherson regions are among the most affected regions.
The total length of destroyed or damaged highways exceeded 26,000 km, which is estimated at 28.3 billion dlr. Damages to the railway infrastructure amount to 4.3 billion USD, to ports – 0.85 billion USD, to the aviation industry – 2 billion USD. The cost of lost and damaged private vehicles is estimated at 2.2 billion dlrs (260,000 cars were destroyed or damaged).
At the same time, the energy infrastructure suffered losses of USD 14.6 billion. Russian attacks destroyed the Kakhovka and Dniprovska HPPs, the Trypilska and Zmiivska TPPs, seriously damaged many other energy facilities, including high-voltage substations and oil and gas complexes. Every day, power workers are forced, risking their lives and working in overburdened conditions, to return light and heat to people, to ensure the functioning of the country’s industrial institutions.
Industry, construction and the service sector lost USD 14.4 billion. Almost 500 large and medium enterprises were destroyed or damaged.
The agro-industrial sector suffered losses in the amount of 10.3 billion USD, because more than 130,000 units of agricultural machinery were lost, 4 million tons of granaries and 16,000 hectares of perennial crops were destroyed. 298 thousand hectares of forests were damaged, which is estimated at 4.5 billion dollars.
Educational infrastructure lost USD 7.3 billion — more than 4,000 educational institutions were damaged or destroyed, including 229 schools, 110 kindergartens, and 97 universities. In the field of housing and communal services, the destruction is estimated at 3.5 billion dlrs: 925 boiler houses, 214 central heating points and 354 km of heating networks were destroyed.
The healthcare sector lost USD 4.3 billion. 1,554 medical facilities were damaged, including 515 hospitals and 465 dispensaries. Cultural and sports
infrastructure suffered losses of 4 billion: 3,921 cultural objects, 399 religious buildings and 343 sports complexes were damaged. Direct losses in the telecommunications sector are estimated at USD 1.2 billion.
As of July 2024, the total indirect financial losses of the Ukrainian economy due to a full-scale invasion have already exceeded USD 1.1 trillion.
Simultaneously the results survey of the socio-economic status of households (OSESD), which was conducted by the Institute of Demography and Quality of Life Problems of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Center for Social Reforms in December 2023 – February 2024 by order of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, pointed to another problem brought to Ukraine by the war: in 2023, the poverty level in Ukraine increased by 1.7 times compared to 2021 (from 20.6% to 35.5%).
Experts indicate that the main reason for this growth was a sharp economic downturn in 2022, and 2023 only cemented this trend. In recent years, the level of poverty in Ukraine has increased rapidly. The average citizen is increasingly faced with a choice: to buy products or pay for utilities. The income of most families has been reduced to the level of survival.
Gains caused by war
During the three years of the war, Ukraine underwent profound changes in the field of defense, as evidenced by both a significant increase in the defense budget and the rapid introduction of the latest technologies. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the state’s defense budget has grown by about 300% and today is about 30 billion dollars, which has allowed for a significant expansion of the production and modernization of weapons.
One of the most notable achievements was the development of three new missile weapons systems, codenamed “Palyanytsia”, “Peklo” and “Ruta”. According to the Ministry of Defense, these systems demonstrate the accuracy of hitting targets up to 95% and are able to work in conditions of complex radar support, which significantly exceeds the performance of previous models. The production of these systems made it possible to increase the rate of delivery of modern missile systems to the front by 2.5 times compared to the first year of the war.
In addition, the number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) actively used for reconnaissance and fire control has increased many times. Thanks to this, the Ukrainian troops gained the ability to collect real-time data quickly, which made it possible to reduce the reaction time of the command by 40% and significantly increase the efficiency of operational actions.
The integration of digital technologies and artificial intelligence systems played an important role in modernization. Thanks to partnerships with Western technology companies, more than 5 billion dollars were invested in the development of management and data processing systems, which allowed for the creation of integrated digital platforms. These platforms contribute to rapid analysis of the combat situation, optimization of resource allocation, and increased accuracy of fire strikes.
Reforming tactical approaches also played a key role in increasing defense capability. The transition to contract service led to an increase in the professional level of personnel, and the improvement of training programs made it possible to adapt the methods of conducting combat operations to modern conditions. Thanks to the latest artillery complexes, the accuracy of strikes increased, which contributed to more efficient use of resources.
These achievements, confirmed by the data of the Ministry of Defense and the observations of international experts, indicate that the war became a catalyst for profound changes in the structure and capabilities of the Ukrainian military potential. Systematic investments in modernization, development of the latest technologies and adaptation of tactical approaches allow Ukraine not only to withstand the pressure of the enemy, but also to actively implement innovations that determine the future of the country’s defense strategy.
So, three years of war changed Ukraine beyond recognition. There is no one who would come out of these trials the same as they were at the beginning. We have lost not only people, but also a part of ourselves. The orphans of war carry wounds on their hearts, and even those who survive will not be the same. The whole country is suffering from pain, loss, even just from the endless exhaustion that has become a part of everyday life. Our nation is in ruins, but we are not broken. Of course, after the war, the country will be rebuilt, but it is impossible to return the lost lives and health of people. We can no longer bring back the past, but every wound is a lesson, and every loss is a signpost to a new beginning. The weariness of the endless pain and brutality of war overwhelms us all, but it also gives birth to determination and an unshakable faith in the peace we have longed for.
In response to all these crimes, Ukraine changed in a way that few could have predicted. The February morning of 2022 crossed out all the old political timetables, all half-tones in identity, all doubts about who is who. People who only yesterday spoke Russian and voted for pro-Russian politicians are now volunteering, fighting and recording videos in Ukrainian. Cities that seemed far from the front are now producing drones, body armor and raising millions for Bayraktars. This morning again reminded with loud explosions that the war continues. Peace is still far away, and no one knows what it will be like. But one thing can be said for sure – the Ukraine that existed before February 24, 2022 is no more. The invasion changed everything: it tore life apart, overturned the economy, and rewrote the map of human destinies. What just yesterday seemed like everyday life – a home, stability, plans for the future – today is scattered in ruins on the fronts and occupied cities. Ukraine pays an extremely high price for the right to exist and the account is not closed yet. But now the country is more united, stronger, less naive. The enemy sought to break it, but instead, Ukraine hardened and continues to fight.
