Since Russia launched a large -scale invasion of the country of Eastern Europe in 2022, crucial infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged and hundreds of thousands of people have been affected by the current struggle, creating an urgent need for humanitarian aid.
“Children and families who already face extreme daily stress are now forced to withstand another winter during the war,” Munir Mammadzade said, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF representative of Ukraine.
According to UNICEF, the hard winter conditions of Ukraine, often falling to -20 ° C (-4 ° F), along with the generalized destruction of housing, energy and heating infrastructure, they are making the cold station more and more dangerous for children.
First -line communities
The areas most affected by the cold during the winter are mainly concentrated in the north and east of Ukraine.
These include regions along the frontline line and the northern border, specifically Chernihivska, Dnipropetrovska, Donetska, Kharkivska and Sumsska.
Almost half of the families in Ukraine depend on centralized water supplied by gas or coal, however, since 2022, the local heating infrastructure has suffered damage for almost $ 2.5 billion, reports the child’s help agency.
To worsen things, in the last three years, domestic poverty has increased by 15 percent, now affecting more than a third of the population of Ukraine, with disproportionately affected children, around 70 percent who live in poverty.
UNICEF said that the combination of poverty increase and hard winter conditions significantly increases the risks to the health and well -being of children, and one in five families reports health problems linked to interior cold temperatures.
Winter response: support to save lives
“We are working with local partners to provide support to vulnerable families and to minimize the impact of the winter months maintaining the essential services that are executed to protect the lives of children,” added Mammadzade.
The 2025-26 winter response plan of UNICEF Ukraine focuses on the “effectiveness of cash transfers” to homes and schools, as well as the sustainable impact of local repairs and updates, including three central areas:
- The cash for winter assistance that is directed to 272,000 people, even around 122,000 children, of vulnerable homes in frontline areas and children with specific needs, such as child protection problems.
- Cash subsidies for 600 educational facilities, which cover about 250,000 students, to support winter -related expenses.
- Emergency equipment and repairs to strengthen district heating systems and guarantee sustainable heating for one million people, including 170,000 children.
Challenges ahead
There are challenges regarding limited financing, inconsistent access to certain regions, the general destruction of infrastructure and the unpredictability of hostilities.
UNICEF is looking for $ 65 million to support more than one million people, as part of the Winter Winter Response Plan 2025–2026, which requires $ 277.7 million to continue providing help to the most vulnerable.
Read more about how the UN is supporting Ukrainians during the winter: reach the cold spots risk assessment of 2025–2026