Fourth winter under fire increases risks for children’s lives in Ukraine

KYIV, 17 September 2025 – Children and families in Ukraine are bracing for a fourth winter amid full-scale war, with civilian infrastructure under severe strain and household coping capacities stretched to the limit. 

Extensive damage to energy, heating, and water systems is severely disrupting access to essential services for households, as well as medical and educational facilities, with the pressure expected to intensify as winter approaches. District heating systems alone, vital for nearly half of Ukraine’s population, have sustained an estimated US$2.5 billion in damage since February 2022. 

Monetary household poverty rates have also risen by 15 per cent in just three years, affecting more than a third of the population, and material poverty rates among children have hit 70 per cent. All these factors combine to pose increased risks to children’s health and wellbeing, particularly during sub-zero temperatures in regions that bear the brunt of the war. Last winter, one in five families reported health issues linked to cold indoor temperatures. 

“Children and families already facing extreme daily stress are now forced to endure yet another winter during wartime,” said Munir Mammadzade, UNICEF Representative to Ukraine. “We’re working with local partners to provide support to vulnerable families and to minimize the impact of the winter months by keeping essential services running to protect children’s lives,” added Mammadzade.   

UNICEF’s 2025-26 winter response plan builds on the lessons learned from previous years, including feedback from families that revealed how cash assistance significantly improved their living conditions, with 94 per cent stating that cash is their preferred modality of winter support. Nearly all households reported spending on specific winter needs, such as utilities, heating and electricity, winter clothes and shoes.  

UNICEF Ukraine’s 2025-26 winter response plan, as a result, focuses on the efficacy of cash transfers to households and schools, as well as the sustainable impact of district heating repairs and upgrades, including three core areas:  

• Cash for winterization assistance targeting 272,000 people, including around 122,000 children, from vulnerable households in frontline areas and children with specific needs such as child protection concerns.
• Cash grants for 600 education facilities, covering some 250,000 students, to support winter-related expenditures.
• Equipment and emergency repairs to strengthen district heating systems and ensure sustainable heating for one million people, including 170,000 children. 

This work aligns with and contributes to the United Nations and humanitarian partners 2025-2026 Winter Response Plan that aims to deliver multisectoral assistance to over 1.7 million people, with a focus on the most vulnerable families in frontline regions.  

The winter response has been active over the past few months to ensure supplies and equipment are in place well ahead of the sub-zero temperatures. The recent delivery and fitting of new gas boilers and piping for the Konotop boiler house in Sumy region to ensure more stable heating for some 80,000 people is just one example.  

UNICEF is grateful to partners, including the European Union, Germany, Norway, and the UNICEF family of National Committees, who have already supported the winter response for children and families in Ukraine. The plan is currently 37 per cent funded, and an additional $41 million is urgently needed to assist some of the most vulnerable children and households to survive the freezing winter months. 

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Notes to Editors: 

UNICEF Ukraine’s Winter Response Plan for Vulnerable Families with Children 2025-2026 is available here.