UNHCR has repaired over 40,000 war-damaged homes in Ukraine, helping families return and rebuild their lives

In close coordination with the Ukrainian authorities and together with partners, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, continues to undertake durable house repairs of war-damaged homes – a key enabler for families and communities to begin their path towards recovery.

© Oleksii Hutnyk/Angels of Salvation

KYIV - With the Russian full-scale invasion well into its fourth year, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has reached a major milestone in one of its key programmes: more than 40,000 homes damaged by the war have been repaired, enabling families to return to or remain in their communities. Since the launch of this programme in July 2022, UNHCR has invested more than USD 114 million into durable housing solutions as a cornerstone of its broader shelter response in Ukraine. 

The programme was initially launched in Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions after the Russian Armed Forces had been pushed back and subsequently expanded to other areas where the Government of Ukraine regained control, including in communities heavily affected by hostilities in Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions.

UNHCR supports home repairs in various ways, tailored to the needs and capacities of the individual family: it includes repairs carried out by local contractors, the provision of construction materials if the homeowners prefer to do the repairs themselves, or cash assistance to cover construction materials and any support needed to carry out the repairs.

The programme includes repairing or replacing damaged roofs, changing windows and doors, and adding insulation to protect from the cold. It can also encompass more substantial, heavy and extensive repair works on houses. In addition, UNHCR helps repair common areas in war-damaged