Timely support delivers a warm winter to a growing Ukrainian family

“Timely support meant a warm winter for our children,” said Olena Starusiova, a mother of four, who lives in a village in Ukraine’s Kharkiv Region. “We didn’t have to worry every day about how to keep the house warm.”

Last winter, Olena and her husband, Oleksandr, faced harsh temperatures as early as October, but while raising three children ages two, three and four, and with a fourth on the way. All their children know only life during the war, and each winter is harder to endure.

“We had gas and electricity, and luckily, the outages weren’t too frequent,” said Olena. “But heating the house with gas was just too expensive for us.”

The family had already endured extreme hardship. For more than six months, their village was under occupation following the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Olena recalled: “We had no electricity or gas for months. We cooked over an open fire outside. Since then, we learned to adapt.”

But she explained that even after the occupation ended, long power cuts were still common:

“Living without electricity, even for a few hours, was difficult – especially with small children.”

Ukraine Humanitarian Fund support

Gas for heating and cooking remained unaffordable. So as winter approached, the family searched for alternatives to keep warm.

In autumn 2024, they learned about a firewood distribution programme supported by the OCHA-managed Ukraine Humanitarian Fund and implemented by the humanitarian organizations Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) and Southern Development Strategy NGO. The family received much-needed firewood within weeks of their application.

“My husband calculated that the amount we received would last us the whole winter,” said Olena. “We were so relieved; it made a huge difference.”

Thanks to the support, the family’s home stayed warm throughout the winter months. The children stayed comfortable, and Olena, who delivered their fourth child in early spring, was able to rest in a heated space.

The humanitarian support helped the family through one of the hardest times of the year, and it highlights the importance of timely assistance. As another winter approaches, many more families will need the same kind of help.

This year, the humanitarian community in Ukraine plans to provide winter-specific assistance to 1,7 million people – including nearly 360,000 internally displaced people – under the 2025–2026 Winter Response Plan. Early funding and fast delivery will be essential to ensure families like the Starusiovs can again stay warm and safe.

Written by Yana Semeniuk, Viktoriia Andriievska