Winter has arrived in war-torn Ukraine: how UNHCR helps people stay warm in their homes through the cold months
Winter has arrived in war-torn Ukraine: how UNHCR helps people stay warm in their homes through the cold months
UNHCR’s winter response is underway to support people during the challenging winter season as they face increased hardship due to damaged homes and energy infrastructure across the country.
As millions of people in Ukraine are bracing themselves for the third winter since the Russian full-scale invasion, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has stepped up efforts to deliver assistance and help people stay warm during the winter months.
With energy and other critical infrastructure being heavily damaged by relentless Russian aerial attacks, risks of prolonged power cuts are looming over people living in big cities and in rural areas in the frontline communities.
Alongside the authorities and other humanitarian actors, UNHCR is prioritizing its winter response and has already started delivering various forms of assistance aimed to help people stay warm in their homes and get through the cold months.
UNHCR’s winter response priorities
In coordination with the Government of Ukraine, and as part of the broader inter-agency winter response plan, UNHCR’s winter response aims to support 625,000 war-affected people with specific vulnerabilities, including internally displaced people and people remaining in frontline areas where access to critical services is severely disrupted. This is possible thanks to funding from UNHCR’s top donors including the United States of America, Germany, the European Union, Norway, and France, as well as private donors – but more support is needed.
“Winter brings an additional level of hardship for people in Ukraine, who have already endured so much during 1,000 days of brutal full-scale war. For those living in frontline areas and those displaced from their homes, the coming months will be particularly tough. That’s why we are working tirelessly with our partners to deliver support, including cash assistance, heaters, and home insulation—to contribute to some stability and comfort, even in these harsh conditions,” says Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR’s Representative in Ukraine.
Cash assistance and energy support
To support war-affected people’s ability to cover increased energy and heating costs during the winter, UNHCR aims to provide 550,000 people with winter cash assistance. In frontline areas where hostilities are ongoing or have recently ended, UNHCR will support 70,000 families with winter cash assistance of a total value of $37 million in cooperation with the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine. Another winter cash programme is implemented together with the Ministry of Social Policy and the Pension Fund, to help 57,000 particularly vulnerable families across the country buy solid fuel or cover other heating costs during the heating season.
As Russia’s attacks on critical energy infrastructure has destroyed over 60 per cent of Ukraine’s energy generation capacity, alternative energy sources will be key to survival this winter. Contributing to the government-led effort to build energy capacities, UNHCR will provide 420 generators and 2,400 portable power stations to the most affected communities to keep critical services operational during winter.
During his visit in July, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi handed over ten generators to local representatives from frontline communities in the Kharkiv region.
Keeping homes warm
While Russian attacks continue to damage or destroy civilian homes, making them livable and warm again remains one of UNHCR’s key priorities. Where damages are not substantial, UNHCR helps to insulate roofs and attics, and install doors and modern triple glazed windows to ensure that houses as well as collective sites hosting many vulnerable displaced people can retain heat. This also helps to save energy and reduce heating costs, which tend to soar during the cold months.
Taisiia and her husband Vasyl in Zaporizhizhia region have already benefitted from UNHCR’s support and received a Rapid Thermal Kit with easy-to-use materials to help insulate their rented home. The older couple have fled their home in the frontline town of Orikhiv, located close to the frontline. Preparing for winter adds an extra layer of stress for Taisiia and her husband, who are already struggling to make ends meet in displacement.
“We still want to return home even though our house is destroyed. It was the warmest and safest place for us. Hopefully, now having it insulated, this house will be much warmer and will remind us of home a bit,” said Taisiia.
Each Rapid Thermal Kit includes items which are traditionally used by people in Ukraine to improve home insulation: reflective insulation screens, transparent plastic sheet for window repairs, foam draft blocker, and building tape. During the winter season, UNHCR plans to support over 41,000 people by creating better living conditions and insulating homes and common spaces, including in collective sites hosting people who were forced to evacuate from frontline communities due to intensified Russian attacks.
