As the war-weary people in Ukraine face the coldest winter since 2014, authorities and aid workers have joined forces to protect residents
As the war-weary people in Ukraine face the coldest winter since 2014, authorities and aid workers have joined forces to protect residents, especially the most vulnerable as temperatures plummet to -20 °C.
Since 2022, the Government of Ukraine has established Invincibility Points, located in tents or public buildings such as schools and libraries, to offer people places to warm up, charge devices and receive basic support.
The current winter emergency has prompted additional initiatives to keep people warm, including State Emergency Services and the Ukrainian Red Cross Society mobile heating points, which have been supported by humanitarian partners with equipment, hot meals and technical assistance.
Last week, an OCHA team led by Matthias Schmale, Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, stopped at various heating points and mobile kitchens in Boryspil, a town in Kyiv Region, to meet with residents, authorities, local first responders and aid organizations. They discussed support as extreme weather persists.
Caption: On 14 January, Matthias Schmale, Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, together with OCHA Head Andrea De Domenico, met with regional authorities and humanitarian partners in Boryspil Town, the Kyiv Region, to discuss urgent winter support amid extreme weather.
The team, which included OCHA’s Ukraine Head, Andrea De Domenico, stopped at an Invincibility Point – a tent set up by municipal authorities and rescuers.
For many families, the support is not just about food—it is about surviving the cold and hardship.
“This winter has been very tough for us,” said Kateryna, a mother of two young children from the outskirts of Boryspil. “We have no electricity at home. We came here to warm up, charge our phones and the children’s devices. It was very cold in our house.”
Caption: Kateryna and her daughter came to a tent in Boryspil Town to warm up and charge their devices.
Just steps away from the tent, a large Food Truck—a mobile kitchen run by NGO Iskra Dobra as part of an initiative by Food Without Borders, a non-governmental organization—prepared hot meals for people affected by the cold and power outages. The NGO has provided similar services in Shostka in the Sumy Region back in November 2025, after attacks caused a massive cut-off of basic services.
“This is one of many remarkable initiatives supporting people across Ukraine during this harsh winter,” said Schmale. “As attacks on energy infrastructure continue, many people face prolonged outages of electricity, heating and water, as well as limited ability to prepare hot food. I am deeply impressed by the commitment of communities, civil society and authorities working together to support affected people.”
Caption: Matthias Schmale (in green jacket), Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, and Andrea De Domenico (in blue), OCHA Head in Ukraine, speak with staff from Food Without Border, an NGO, inside their Food Truck, a mobile kitchen that prepares hot meals for people affected by the cold and power outages.
Later that day, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine also visited a heating point set up by the Ukrainian Red Cross in Boryspil Town. Viktor, a volunteer at the site, described the harsh conditions many people are facing as prolonged power outages leave homes without heating. “In some apartments, the temperature drops to as low as five degrees Celsius,” he said. “People spend long hours in our warm tent, especially in the evenings, when temperatures fall even further at night.”
Caption: Humanitarian Coordinator Schmale and OCHA Ukraine Head De Domenico with staff and volunteers of the Ukrainian Red Cross, who have also set up heating points across the country.
Aid workers are also implementing activities under the Winter Response Plan, launched in 2025 to provide winter-related assistance to 1.7 million of the most vulnerable people across Ukraine during the winter period from October 2025 to March 2026.
However, the rapidly evolving situation—including large-scale and sustained attacks on energy infrastructure—has caused service disruptions that far exceed the scenarios anticipated under the Plan.
Frequent power disruptions continue to leave many families in freezing conditions. Many older people and people with disabilities are often stuck in their homes, in high-rise apartment buildings, without electricity and heating, unable to cook hot meals or recharge their devices to stay connected. The situation is also very challenging for families with children, with parents worrying about how to keep their children safe and healthy.
Caption: A woman helps herself to a boxed hot meal in a heated tent in Boryspil.
For families like Kateryna’s, the ability to step into warmth, have a hot meal and recharge a phone can mean the difference between coping and serious health risks.
Along Ukraine’s front lines, millions of people depend on humanitarian assistance to survive. Much of this life-saving aid is delivered by local organizations and volunteers working under extraordinary pressure. We are calling on everyone to stand with families in need. You can support the people of Ukraine by donating to the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund here.
