The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has reached a new milestone in Ukraine, helping repair over 40,000 homes damaged by war, according to a press release. These repairs are giving thousands of families a chance to return home or stay put, even as attacks keep damaging neighborhoods across the country. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, housing has become one of Ukraine’s biggest hurdles—about 13% of homes have been hit since February 2022, leaving roughly 2.5 million families affected.
UNHCR has worked closely with Ukrainian authorities and local partners, investing more than $114 million since July 2022 in both long-term repairs and emergency shelter. “By helping repair houses and apartments, we are enabling people to stay in or return to their homes—places that hold profound meaning, often passed down through generations,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR’s representative in Ukraine. She stressed that these are not just buildings, but places where families have built their lives together.
The agency’s approach is practical. Local builders are hired, materials are supplied, and sometimes homeowners get cash to manage repairs themselves. The work covers everything from fixing roofs and windows to full-scale rebuilding. UNHCR also helps restore shared spaces in apartment buildings so whole communities can come back together.
For families who can’t wait for full repairs, UNHCR provides emergency shelter kits with tarps, boards, and nails to keep homes safe from the weather. Since 2022, more than 470,000 people have received these kits.
Millions of Ukrainians are still displaced, many from areas they can’t return to yet. UNHCR is also working to fix up social housing, repair rural homes, and improve collective centers for those most at risk. Each repaired home is a step toward stability and hope for families caught in the conflict.
