ACTED Ukraine : Supporting the most vulnerable people living in besieged or at-risk areas

“The massive and constant bombing of buildings and infrastructure has caused a humanitarian disaster in our community. People are living in partially destroyed houses, most of which are without gas, electricity, and water. Most people are forced to live in basements and are unable to evacuate from the dangerous areas”, said Ms. Anastasia*.

Ms. Anastasia is a single mother of five children. She and her family live in Chervonii Yar, a village in Zaporizhia region. The region is separated from the front line only by a river.

Throughout the year, the war in Ukraine has led to considerable destruction and damage. According to OCHA situation report of February 2023, 18 millions of people are in need of humanitarian aid and protection. The war has caused massive destruction, killed, and injured thousands, forced millions from their homes, destroyed jobs and livelihoods. Since October 2022, intensified attacks on infrastructure have disrupted access to public services, telecommunications and water throughout the country. People living near the front lines are deprived of access to essential services for months.

People are in need of life-saving assistance in the areas directly under attack in eastern Ukraine. They are unwilling or unable to leave because of the risks they may face, the destruction of bridges and roads, and the lack of resources or information on where and how to seek shelter “Our village is in the combat zone. The children cannot go out freely in the yard. Until February 24th, we were living in peace. The children went to school, I was working in a garden, picking fruit, pruning trees. Children could eat fruit, and now even that is gone. There were beautiful gardens in our village, but they were destroyed because of the war.  We are trying to repair the destroyed houses as best we can. We had a very good school, a medical center, and a cultural center, but all these were destroyed or damaged by bombing.”

“There were 128 people in the village, now there are only 78. Many people have left their homes, but I will stay here at home with my children. I worry about my children. I want them to be safe. ”We still live in a war zone, so it is very scary when shells and rockets fly overhead. Before the war I was working and had an income, but now I have lost my job. I can’t have a farm because there is no grain.  We can’t plant anything because the fields are mined. With my children, we live only thanks on humanitarian aid”, tells Ms. Anastasia*

ACTED in partnership with a network of 14 local Civil Society Organisations (CSO), is providing assistance to people who are affected by daily air raids, shelling and ground fighting. ACTED has provided electric blankets, winter boots, power banks, torches, stoves, heaters, coal, firewood, building materials, food, and hygiene kits to 3,389 people in liberated areas of Kharkivska and Khersonka oblasts, and in the war-affected areas of Donetsk Oblast.

*The name has been changed for protection purposes