Life beyond blackouts
Millions of people in Ukraine endure hardest winter in four years.
As Ukraine enters the fifth year of the escalation of the international armed conflict, for many people, the situation today is the worst it’s ever been.
Millions are living through a bitterly cold winter without heating or reliable electricity. Amid constant attacks on energy systems, people are struggling to stay warm, keep the lights on and try to maintain some sense of a normal life.
The energy crisis hits every part of daily life in Ukraine. During blackouts, people cannot cook, heat their home, access health care, or even call for help. For older people, families with children, and those with existing health conditions, this can be life-threatening.
Where to go when the heat and power are gone?
Across the country, the Red Cross heating tents are a lifeline for people who no longer have electricity at home. Here they can stay warm, get something hot to eat and drink, refill their water bottles, and charge phones.
Inside, the atmosphere is calm and purposeful. Chairs are filled. Phones are plugged in. Volunteers move quietly between people, offering drinks, answering questions, and listening.
“In our apartment it is only eight degrees. When there is water, it is freezing cold,” Tania and Yaroslav say.
The windows in their apartment were broken during an attack last summer. Since then, they have been living with the cold.
Zakhar from Kyiv visits the Red Cross heating point regularly. There he can read, draw, charge his phone and enjoy time with other children, while his mother is at work. Zakhar is also there to help.
“I saw other people volunteering and wanted to be useful, too”, he says.
He distributes food and drinks and shows people how to charge their devices.
Heavily populated, Kyiv’s left bank has been hit particularly hard due to damaged energy infrastructure. Local schools have been quickly turned into aid points welcoming people left with no heat. The Ukrainian Red Cross teams have mobilized to support at the sites.
“Today, we are serving buckwheat with meat. Everything is hot, right from the stove”, says Dmytro who has come from Khmelnitsky to Kyiv to support his teammates from the Ukrainian Red Cross.
This assistance is particularly in demand for people who find themselves in difficult life circumstances, are unable to cook at home, or need additional support.
The Red Cross teams also provide these aid points with food parcels, hygiene kits, blankets, mattresses and bed linen to support the most vulnerable residents.
Firewood and fuel are basic needs for many
In rural Ukraine, disrupted power supply increases household’s dependence on firewood. In a small village near Cherkasy, Tetyana’s family has electricity for about 1.5 hours a day. “We are managing somehow. When there is electricity, we’re warming up somehow, washing, cleaning with what is available,” she explains.
Still, they rely heavily on heating their house with firewood to survive this winter.
Tetyana’s family moved to the area after fleeing the Donetsk region. Helping displaced people get through the winter, the Ukrainian Red Cross provides them with cash assistance so they can buy what they need, including firewood, winter clothing, or fuel.
“Big thanks to the Red Cross for this. I was able to buy firewood. Now, it is warmer in my house,” Tetyana says.
“Thank you for not forgetting about people like us, who went through hell and survived.”
Ukrainian Red Cross volunteer Julia sits behind a sewing machine in the clothing bank in the village of Chornukhy, near Poltava. She ensures that people get clothes altered to fit and without any damage.
She says that more people are now using this service because the money is increasingly tight for many as they spend a lot on power and heating for their households.
Alla from Sumy remembers last winter vividly.
“When the power plant was bombed, we were left without heat. It is impossible to describe the cold. I locked myself in a room in my apartment and put on everything I had, but I still froze.”
A Ukrainian Red Cross team has installed gas heaters in the apartment building where Alla lives to help them stay warm in the future.
“Now we have heating again. It means everything. But at the same time - I'd rather freeze than live under bombs and rockets,” she says.
Emotional support is as important as heat in this long cold winter
“Loneliness, cold, and stress — all of these have a strong impact on every single Ukrainian,” shares Olha from Cherkasy.
Alongside other women, she is sitting in her coat and hat inside a room lit by just a desk lamp.She is one of the participants of a mental health session run by the Ukrainian Red Cross. Rolling blackouts and heating disruptions have made this winter particularly difficult for people’s wellbeing. So, local Red Cross volunteers offer group conversations and activities like art workshops to their communities to reduce anxiety and stress.
“During these events, we meet other women, share our emotions, and receive support,” Olha says.
Evacuated from Mariupol, Victoria started volunteering to build new connections and give back to the community that welcomed her. Now, she leads group sessions, provides information on how to reduce stress and helps refer people to specialized mental health care.
“My favorite part is when people leave with smiles on their faces,” she says.
Preparedness ahead of winter helps save more lives
Anticipating risks related to power supply disruption and harsh winter temperatures, the Ukrainian Red Cross alongside the IFRC network prepositioned generators, heaters, tents, blankets, and thermal supplies earlier in 2025.
Having equipment and supplies ready, the Red Cross teams can deploy quickly when electricity and heating are disrupted and systems are clearly stretched.
Continuously building its own capacities and growing expertise, the Ukrainian Red Cross supported by the IFRC network continues to provide health and social services, mental health and psychosocial support, winterization assistance and home repairs - saving lives amid insecurity, blackouts and fierce cold.
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