Millions of people in Ukraine are facing cold and energy shortages as the country prepares for a fourth winter under fire. Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the eastern European country in 2022, crucial infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged and hundreds of thousands of people have been impacted by the ongoing fighting, creating an urgent need for humanitarian aid.
“Children and families already facing extreme daily stress are now forced to endure yet another winter during wartime,” said Munir Mammadzade, The UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF Representative to Ukraine. According to UNICEF, Ukraine’s harsh winter conditions — often plunging to -20°C (-4°F) — together with the widespread destruction of housing, energy, and heating infrastructure, are making the cold season increasingly perilous for children.
Frontline communities
The areas most affected by cold during the winter are primarily concentrated in northern and eastern Ukraine.These include regions along the frontline and the northern border, specifically Chernihivska, Dnipropetrovska, Donetska, Kharkivska, and Sumska.
Almost half of the families in Ukraine rely on centralized water supplied heated by gas or coal, however since 2022, local heating infrastructure has sustained nearly $2.5 billion in damage, reports the children’s relief agency. To make matters worse, over the past three years, household poverty has risen by 15 per cent, now affecting over a third of Ukraine’s population, with children disproportionately impacted, around 70 per cent living in poverty.
UNICEF said the combination of rising poverty and harsh winter conditions significantly increases risks to children’s health and well-being, with one in five families reporting health problems linked to cold indoor temperatures.
Source: The UN
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