A resolution adopted by the Ukrainian government in November on transferring state-run institutions and social payments from the regions not currently under government control to government-controlled areas may prompt the number of internally displaced persons to grow, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement on Friday.

"UNHCR is concerned that this provision will have unintended negative effects such as increasing internal displacement, as people are forced to move from areas not controlled by the Ukrainian government in order to receive their pensions and social benefits, while causing serious hardship to those unable or unwilling to leave their homes," UNHCR spokesman William Spindler was quoted as saying.

"Although UNHCR has no first-hand information about conditions in areas not under [Ukrainian] government control, there are strong indications that the civilian population in these areas is facing considerable hardship," he said.

"We are seriously concerned about a deepening humanitarian crisis in these areas," he added.