Zoya, 55, her daughter Iryna, 28, and grandson Denys recently returned home to Shybene, in Kyiv oblast. But there is no house to return to.
The family fled in March as their town came under attack, managing to escape when the house caught fire during heavy shelling. There was no time to pack, and anything left inside was lost.
With winter coming, Zoya says she will try to make the barn — the only roofed structure remaining on the property — habitable. There is no heat and no insulation.
‘We are not ready for the winter. Just one coat and a pair of sneakers for each person, and that’s it’
There are thousands of families like Zoya’s that will need assistance to get through the winter. They will need warm clothes, jackets, boots and blankets.
Winter kits containing emergency supplies are on the way — part of UNICEF’s ongoing response in war-affected areas.
UNICEF has been on the ground in Ukraine since war escalated in February, meeting urgent needs inside the country and in refugee host countries — most recently supporting a humanitarian convoy delivering food, water, hygiene kits, shelter material and winter supplies to families who had been stranded for months in parts of eastern Ukraine as those areas became accessible.
The war in Ukraine continues, and children and families continue to suffer. Help UNICEF keep delivering the support and protection they so desperately need. Donate today.
Top photo: Denys, 6, stands with his mother Iryna and grandmother Zoya outside the charred remains of the family home in Shybene, Kyiv oblast, Ukraine. The house was destroyed in March during a shelling attack. Zoya says the family plans to spend the winter sheltering in the barn nearby, which she hopes to get insulated somehow to protect against the cold weather to come. The structure is unheated. © UNICEF/UN0715722/Boiko