House repairs make all the difference for people affected by the war in Ukraine

74-year-old Valentyna has been living in Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, and located just 25 kilometers from the Russian border, her entire life. Her cozy, blue-painted house with a small plot of land holds a lot of memories. It was here that she got married, raised her daughter, and spent years tending to her garden.

With the start of the full-scale war, it has all gone: her husband died from terminal illness, her daughter and grandchildren fled to Germany as refugees, while Valentyna remained in her house despite relentless Russian strikes in Kharkiv. In April 2025, during yet another attack, the war came dangerously close.

“It was five in the morning when I heard a very loud explosion,” Valentyna recalls. “When I looked outside, I saw a huge fireball, and everything suddenly turned black and dusty. My house was badly damaged. The windows were blown out and the roof was torn apart. I am still shaken. Every time I hear a loud noise, I start trembling.”

For several months after the attacks, the windows in the house remained sealed with wooden boards that were provided by UNHCR as part of its emergency response. As colder weather approached, the damaged house became increasingly difficult to live in.

Just before the winter months began, specialists of UNHCR’s NGO partner Angels of Salvation arrived to take the first steps to replace the damaged windows and repair the roof – helping Valentyna on her path to recovery and rebuilding her life.

“I felt such relief when they came,” Valentyna says. “It was already getting cold inside the house. After the windows were replaced and the roof repaired, it became warm and comfortable again. For older people like me, this assistance means everything. I would never have been able to repair the house on my own.”

The full-scale war in Ukraine has entered its fifth year, leaving over 3 million homes damaged and destroyed. As part of its durable housing repairs programme, UNHCR is prioritizing support and solutions for the most vulnerable families and people living on their own, like Valentyna. Repairs include replacing shattered roofs, installing modern triple-glazed windows for better insulation, and fixing doors and walls to help families retain heat and reduce energy consumption.

Valentyna is among thousands of people benefiting from this programme, supported by Qatar Fund for Development. As part of the initiative, UNHCR plans to repair 1,250 damaged homes across Donetsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhizhia regions, helping around 3,750 people restore safe living conditions.

Beyond housing repairs, the state of Qatar is also supporting the rehabilitation of social infrastructure facilities in Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk regions, helping restore essential services for communities affected by the war, strengthen community cohesion and contribute to early recovery efforts.

Overall, since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, with the support from its government and private sector donors, UNHCR has repaired over 55,000 homes in Ukraine, supporting the recovery of war-affected communities and helping people to remain or return home after their displacement.