FROM THE FIELD: Enduring freezing winter in a war zone

January 24, 2019 by United Nations Leave a Comment

Living conditions of people in the conflict area in Eastern Ukraine. Stefania has been given four tons of coal by UNHCR, helping her to keep warm and cook.

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. In Ukraine, extreme winter cold is making life harder for thousands of people whose lives have already been torn apart by conflict. Hoping to find safer places to live, families in the region have had to endure a battle for survival, in buildings without heat or electricity. Since 2014, conflict in Ukraine has forced 1.5 million people to flee their homes, according to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR. After five years, many of the displaced are often forced to choose between buying food and medicine or paying for heating. In 2018 the agency stepped up the distribution of aid, including clothing, fuel and cash, to thousands of displaced households in eastern Ukraine. Read more here, about four displaced Ukrainians who will not be left out in the cold this winter.

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