The population is exhausted by the extreme temperatures and lack of electricity. INTERSOS is distributing wood and stoves to hundreds of families
Since the first week of December, temperatures in eastern Ukraine have dropped below freezing. The hardest period of the year has begun. This is predicted to be the harshest winter in the country’s history since the II World War, and in some areas, temperatures will go down to -20°. Snow, ice, and cold will become daily constants for weeks while the war continues outside.
Next December 24 will be exactly ten months since the conflict began. Currently, about 6.5 million internally displaced people have fled the hardest hit areas, destroyed by shelling, or without services. Due to the destruction of most of the power grid, people in Ukraine live in the dark for many hours a day. The blackout does not only mean a lack of light, but it also means idle heaters, not being able to cook, and not having access to hot water. The World Health Organization has also raised the alarm, which has called the consequences of home destruction and lack of access to fuel or electricity due to damaged infrastructure a “matter of life and death.”
Families are seeking alternative solutions to stay warm, such as burning coal or wood, or using diesel-powered generators or electric stoves. Many of them go to nearby forests to cut and collect firewood, exposing themselves to the highest danger, given the massive presence of mines under the ground. All this, the WHO again denounces, also leads to exposure to toxic substances harmful to children, the elderly, and people with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, as well as accidental burns and injuries.
INTERSOS’ intervention
Humanitarian intervention is now more crucial than ever, which is why INTERSOS workers are already on the ground in areas where temperatures are most extreme and where there are the largest numbers of people in need – the oblasts of Poltava, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Vinnytsia – to distribute wood, heavy clothing, stoves, and food that does not need to be cooked. To date, most of the ongoing distributions are in Kharkiv municipality, where wood is being delivered to heat several shelters used for food preparation and shelter for the population. Overall, we plan to deliver about 1,600 cubic meters of wood throughout the municipality and 350 stoves for the same number of households. We are also undertaking repairs and interior insulation work for about 70 homes throughout the oblast.
Also in the Poltava region, the goal is to meet the basic needs of displaced people from neighboring territories such as Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Kramatorsk. In November, distributions of food kits and kits containing blankets and winter clothing began; we also provide economic support to the most vulnerable families and people with different frailties.
In the Vinnytsia region, which continues to host a high number of internally displaced persons, we began the distribution of 248 cubic meters of timber and 312 kits containing winter clothes. In the coming months, we will continue to support the Ukrainian population with the additional distribution of necessities to cope with the winter in the Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporiska, and Donetsk regions.