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Author Iryna Tymchyshyn, KYIV

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.

One of Ukraine’s biggest electricity plants in Kharkiv was heavily damaged by Russian airstrikes in March 2024. © UNHCR/Iryna Tymchyshyn

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.

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