World Vision says children in Ukraine could be heading into their toughest winter since the full-scale war began in 2022, as strikes on power and civilian infrastructure leave homes, schools, and hospitals without heat, light, or running water for long stretches, the organization reports. With temperatures expected to fall below -10°C, some areas are seeing emergency outages of up to 36 hours. On average, children are spending 16–17 hours a day without electricity at the coldest point of the year.
The blackouts are hitting schooling hard. Nearly 40% of school-age children now learn fully online or in mixed formats, but when the power is off they cannot join lessons, charge devices, or finish homework. Kindergartens and schools also struggle to stay open without heating or water.
“I get frustrated when the lights go out because nothing can be done – no heating, no food, no studying – and our apartment gets very cold,” said Andriy, 9, from Kyiv.
Heating is a major concern. Almost half of Ukrainian households rely on centralized systems, which are often disrupted by damage to the grid. One in five families already reports health problems linked to cold indoor temperatures, a serious risk for children and especially for those with chronic illnesses.
“Children in Ukraine are facing extreme hardship this winter,” said Arman Grigoryan, World Vision’s Ukraine Crisis Response Director. Hanna, a mother of three displaced from Donetsk and now in Kyiv, added: “When there are power outages, there is no heating, and it becomes very cold. I cannot cook for my children, and I can see that they have become more stressed and catch colds more often.”
All this is happening as violence against civilians rises. Between January and November 2025, 2,311 civilians were killed and 11,084 injured—up 26% on the same period in 2024 and 70% higher than in 2023. The worst conditions are in northern and eastern regions such as Chernihivska, Dnipropetrovska, Donetska, Kharkivska, and Sumska, where bitter cold, damaged infrastructure, displacement, and frequent airstrikes collide.
World Vision is ramping up its winter support. The organization is providing cash so families can pay utility bills and, in frontline areas, distributing winter kits with mattresses, sleeping bags, thermal blankets, foil blankets, power banks, thermos flasks, small stoves with dry fuel, and battery-powered torches. It has also supplied generators to partner-run child-friendly spaces so children can keep accessing services and activities during blackouts. So far, more than 230,000 people have received cash aid, over 459,000 have received food, and more than 335,000 have been supported with non-food items.
