On the path to recovery: how multi-sector support helps communities and returned families rebuild in Ukraine

Widow and single mother Mariia endured the danger and close-by fighting from Russia’s full-scale invasion for almost a month, before she decided to flee her village of Zavodske in Mykolaiv region. In March 2022, she took her 11-year-old daughter and their much-beloved cat, securing transport with a neighbor.

“It was not safe to stay here. During the evacuation, as we were driving, we could hear the explosions behind us,” today 39-year-old Mariia recalls.

The small family first went to central Ukraine, moving between friends who could accommodate them, and later left for Poland. For Mariia, it was a matter of ensuring proper support and stability for her daughter. However, they strongly longed for home – and when Ukraine retook the area later in the year, Mariia quickly returned. Only to find the village deserted, her home severely damaged, and life incredibly challenging.

“Lonely dogs were roaming the streets, and all lay in ruins,” she remembers of her village, located right on the frontline of the fighting at the start of the invasion, prompting all but 86 residents of the pre-war population of 4,000 to flee.

Since then, much has happened in Zavodske and other similar villages that were heavily impacted by occupation, causing destruction and displacement. But now, there are glimmers of hope, as Ukrainian forces have regained control and people are cautiously returning.

Local authorities and the communities are eager to rebuild, despite the continuation of the war – and a joint project between UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and UNDP, the UN Development Programme, is directly addressing and supporting these efforts, helping life to slowly resume.

Since August 2024, the joint project has focused on creating safe conditions for recovery and return across four selected communities in Mykolaiv and Kherson regions – with support from the Ukraine Community Recovery Fund (UCRF), a community-level recovery fund, supported by the United Nations in coordination with the Government. In close collaboration with local authorities and civil society, the UNDP-UNHCR project addresses the challenges and issues that people face when they try to return.

Safety and security remain one of the most pressing concerns: mine action and clearing of debris, rebuilding of houses and key infrastructure, restoring essential services, as well as livelihood efforts, community security as well as protection and legal services.

In Mariia’s village, a result of the project is the rehabilitation of the community and village council building that was left damaged by the fighting. In February 2026, the renovated building was officially inaugurated, allowing for administrative service provision to resume and providing a space for vital community activities.

“Right after our return here, we needed to prepare some documents, but there was no administration here, so we had to go to Mykolaiv city to only fix one paper. And without transport working, we had to pay to rent a car to drive there and back. But now, it’s just so much easier, and we don’t have to spend money to go somewhere,” explains Mariia who recently had to get some ID-papers in order for her daughter – and this time, only had to visit the renovated village administration around the corner.

As for her own home, things have also improved. When she came back in 2022, her building was completely damaged with the roof leaking and no windows left intact. Mariia received support from UNHCR’s NGO partner The Tenth of April, who restored the roof of her multistory apartment building. She has been able to cover some repair expenses on her own, and the Tenth of April is now also helping her with legal aid to apply for the state’s compensation programme to be able to continue with the required repair works.

In Mariia’s building, five of the original 16 families have now returned. “We are on the right path. Things are being rebuilt. I hope that everybody will come back eventually. That we will return to how things were before the war,” she says and adds: “The war still continues, and everything can happen any day. But we need to live and go on. My child is growing up and she needs to socialize, so we need to restore. We cannot wait for the war to be over.”