UNHCR has repaired over 40,000 war-damaged homes in Ukraine, helping families return and rebuild their lives
In close coordination with the Ukrainian authorities and together with partners, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, continues to undertake durable house repairs of war-damaged homes – a key enabler for families and communities to begin their path towards recovery.
© Oleksii Hutnyk/Angels of Salvation
KYIV - With the Russian full-scale invasion well into its fourth year, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has reached a major milestone in one of its key programmes: more than 40,000 homes damaged by the war have been repaired, enabling families to return to or remain in their communities. Since the launch of this programme in July 2022, UNHCR has invested more than USD 114 million into durable housing solutions as a cornerstone of its broader shelter response in Ukraine.
The programme was initially launched in Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions after the Russian Armed Forces had been pushed back and subsequently expanded to other areas where the Government of Ukraine regained control, including in communities heavily affected by hostilities in Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions.
UNHCR supports home repairs in various ways, tailored to the needs and capacities of the individual family: it includes repairs carried out by local contractors, the provision of construction materials if the homeowners prefer to do the repairs themselves, or cash assistance to cover construction materials and any support needed to carry out the repairs.
The programme includes repairing or replacing damaged roofs, changing windows and doors, and adding insulation to protect from the cold. It can also encompass more substantial, heavy and extensive repair works on houses. In addition, UNHCR helps repair common areas in war-damaged multistorey buildings, which in turn enables the residents to apply for the Government’s eVidnovlennia compensation programme and receive the funds needed to repair their individual apartments.
According to the most recent Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA4), 13% of Ukraine’s housing stock has been damaged since February 2022, affecting an estimated 2.5 million families. With such scale of destruction, housing remains one of the biggest recovery challenges in the country and one of the recovery priorities of the Government of Ukraine. At the same time, UNHCR’s intention surveys amongst refugees and internally displaced people reveal that access to adequate housing remains the third largest barrier to sustainable and dignified return, after security and livelihoods considerations.
“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,” says Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR’s Representative in Ukraine, and adds:
“These are not just buildings. These are treasured spaces where couples raised their children, families celebrated milestones, cared for older relatives, and built their lives together. The war has disrupted much of that. More than restoring broken roofs and walls, UNHCR is aiming to help restore a sense of safety, dignity, and belonging. Many families I have spoken with express that this is the first concrete step toward healing and recovery - and rebuilding their future in their own community, on their own land.”
Beyond durable repairs, UNHCR is the largest provider of emergency shelter materials immediately after attacks. Since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, UNHCR has supported some 470,000 people with these kits that include tarpaulin, wooden boards, nails and other items needed to do immediate repairs and protect their homes from the rain and cold.
Also, in coordination with the humanitarian interagency Shelter/NFI Cluster and collaboration with the Prometheus platform, UNHCR has developed two online courses that provide free of charge guidance and information on how to do basic repairs on your own, strategies for energy efficiency and simple solutions to make homes better insulated to withstand Ukraine’s harsh winters and improve long-term housing conditions.
Access to affordable housing also remains a key priority for millions of people who remain internally displaced in Ukraine. Among them, 52% have fled from areas under full or partial temporary occupation and currently have no prospects of returning to their former homes. UNHCR contributes to the creation of affordable housing stock for IDPs by supporting the reconstruction of social housing for IDPs, repairing and upgrading rural houses that displaced people can move into and by refurbishing collective sites hosting some of the most vulnerable IDPs.