Ukraine - Quarterly Operation Overview, January-March, 2026

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Highlights

Contacts

Background

As the war continues and the 5th year of the full-scale invasion is approaching, 10.8 million people in Ukraine continue to be in need of humanitarian assistance, with those living the near the frontline facing the most acute and life-threating risks, as outlined in the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP). Since that day on 24 February 2022, the population is experiencing a steady escalation in the intensity of attacks, resulting in continued destruction and damage to the civilian infrastructure, interrupting critical services and supply chains. Recent frontline shifts prompted new displacements and evacuations. While the number of people in need dropped by 15% compared to last year, reduced funding and limited resources are challenging organisations’ capacity to respond to this evolving humanitarian crisis.

In this context, the Logistics Cluster played a critical role by supporting partners with coordination and information management on national, sub-national and local levels, enabling uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian assistance through transport, consolidated convoys and common storage solutions and strengthening capacity of national NGO’s staff with trainings.

Coordination and Information Management

• 3 March 2026 marked four years since the Logistics Cluster activation in Ukraine. On this occasion, the blog article reflecting on Four Years of Coordinating Humanitarian Logistics in Ukraine was published on the operation webpage.
• Between January and March, the Logistics Cluster team maintained active participation in key coordination platforms across Ukraine. This included regular contributions to OCHA-led forums such as the Humanitarian Access Working Group (HAWG), Civil-Military Coordination, Inter-Cluster Coordination Group (ICCG), Data Coordination Group (DCG), and the sub-national Humanitarian Operational Coordination Groups (HOCGs). The Cluster continues to be an active member of the Frontline Response Task Teams in both Dnipro and Odesa, as well as General Coordination Meetings (GCM) with local authorities. In addition, the team remained engaged with other clusters at national and sub-national level, such as Shelter, WASH, Health, and Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL), in priority regions.
• One highlight in this first quarter was the participation to the 2026 HNRP Launch in Kyiv organized by OCHA in January. The event included panel discussions for all 4 strategic priorities, each featuring representatives from a UN agency, an INGO and a NNGO, followed by a panel involving government representatives and donors. The Logistics & Telecommunications Cluster is featured under Chapter 3.5 ‘Coordination, Thematic and Support Service’  https://humanitarianaction.info/plan/1515.
• Seven Logistics Cluster coordination meetings were held across Ukraine, with 53 humanitarian organisations attending. Three meetings were held in Kyiv at national level, two meetings covering relief efforts across eastern Ukraine in Dnipro and Kharkiv and two meetings covering the southern oblasts in Mykolaiv and Odesa. Hosting in-person meetings in diverse locations remains essential for strengthening field-level coordination, allowing new local partners to engage directly with the Cluster, better understand available support logistics services, and later utilise them when needed. These meetings also help demonstrate visible support from coordination structures to operational actors on the ground. Presentations include not only key updates from the Cluster, but also from invited guest speakers: OCHA Access Unit, Humanitarian Energy Cell (UNICEF), and the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster.
• 11 information management products were published on the dedicated operation webpage between January and March, such as meeting minutes, infographics and updated key documents. 
• The Ukrainian Red Cross and the Logistics Cluster, through its lead agency WFP, formalised a cooperation through a new agreement. The partnership will support closer collaboration on transport, storage, cargo tracking, and coordinated deliveries to hard-to-reach and frontline areas, reinforcing efficient and safe humanitarian logistics support for the wider humanitarian community, including organisations with limited logistics capacity.

Capacity Strengthening

• To further enhance the logistics knowledge of the local responders in Ukraine, the Cluster’s countrywide Logistics Capacity Assessment was updated and translated into Ukrainian with the support from the Kyiv School of Economics.