The number of hospitalizations in Ukrainian medical facilities rose from 5.5 million cases in 2021 to 8.3 million in 2025, said Yevhen Gonchar, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Health, in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, the patient demographic has also changed: the proportion of hospitalized men aged 18–65 rose by 12 percentage points during this period.
At the same time, the increase in the number of hospitalizations came to a halt in 2025, and in the first half of 2026, the number had already decreased compared to the same period the previous year.
Gonchar emphasized that the new hospitalization criteria approved by the Ministry of Health do not trigger this decline but rather reinforce a trend that had already taken shape within the healthcare system.
However, comparing indicators over a long period requires caution. Between 2020 and 2022, Ukrainian healthcare facilities transitioned from paper-based to electronic record-keeping, so the quality of medical case coding gradually improved. According to the deputy minister, data from the electronic healthcare system has been stable enough for year-over-year comparisons since 2023.
The Department of Health of the Kyiv City State Administration reports a multiple increase in the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in the Ukrainian capital since the beginning of July.
“If as of July 1, 15 people were in the infectious disease departments of inpatient communal medical institutions, at the moment – 68, 24 of them – children. It is clear that in hospitals get those whose course of illness can not be called mild and who need constant monitoring of medics, serious treatment, oxygen support, etc.,” – reported on the page of the Department in Facebook on Thursday evening.
The post notes that staying in shelters – enclosed spaces with limited ventilation – increases the risk of infection, including COVID-19. “Don’t forget your mask in closed confined spaces…. Wash your hands regularly or use antiseptic. Stay at home and seek medical attention at the first symptoms,” the department advised.
The hospitalization rate of patients with COVID-19 in Ukraine has reached a plateau after a three-month increase, Health Minister Viktor Liashko has said.
“The rate of vaccination in Ukraine is already showing the first positive results. For the sixth day in a row, the level of hospitalizations in Ukraine is on a plateau after more than three months of growth,” he said.
Liashko said that last week in Ukraine they made a record number of vaccinations last week – 1.74 million, and a week earlier – more than 1.5 million.
