ReliefWeb

HIGHLIGHTS

• Winter starts and needs across all sectors rise

• Civilians are paying the highest price, as the conflict continues to claim casualties

• 1.1 million people at risk, as water infrastructure hit yet again

• 1.6 million IDPs left with limited hope for future

• 1 in 10 Ukrainians need assistance and protection

• Underfunding poses life-threatening challenge for millions in need

Winter sets in, as misery for millions of Ukrainians grows

Temperatures across Ukraine dropped significantly in October, signaling the early start of the cold season. The protracted crisis in Ukraine, affecting over four million people, becomes particularly grave at this time of the year, when temperatures can plunge below -20 degrees Celsius. With no definitive ceasefire on the horizon, many affected families are entering their fourth winter in the two conflict-torn provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk with limited to no resources to winterize their homes. Families cannot buy enough coal or fuel; neither can they afford warm clothes, when their priority needs are to put food on the table, or to purchase medication.

A recent inter-agency assessment indicated that 58 per cent of households in rural and some 34 per cent of households in urban areas of Donetsk province did not have sufficient supplies ahead of winter, including fuel and other non-food items (NFI)[1]. The Shelter and NFI Cluster suggests that over 100,000 households of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are critically vulnerable as they are unable to cope with the severe winter conditions without assistance and protection. In addition, due to an increase in utility prices and limited resources, compounded by the absence of appropriate longer-term housing support, several IDP families are reluctantly returning to their places of origin on both sides of the ‘contact line’, exposing themselves to ongoing hostilities. Winterization is now a top priority for many humanitarian partners.

If not immediately addressed, human suffering will further increase – and it will be the children, women, the elderly and people with disabilities who will bear the heaviest brunt.