Cash assistance helps displaced Ukrainians meet urgent needs and regain stability

As the war continues to disrupt lives and livelihoods across Ukraine, cash assistance has become one of the most effective ways to support people in crisis. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, cash gives families the flexibility to decide what they need most—be it medicine, food, transportation, rent, or winter essentials.

By allowing people to make their own decisions, cash assistance promotes dignity and independence as people themselves decide how to prioritize their limited resources during displacement.

This approach is especially vital for older people and those with health conditions, whose well-being often depends on timely access to medicine, consultations, or mobility support. For people like Oleksandr, a displaced resident of Kherson, cash assistance has become an essential lifeline.

Oleksandr Zhukov, 63, spent his entire life in Kherson. His apartment building stood only a few hundred meters from the Dnipro River, one of the areas that became a front line after the city was retaken by Ukraine in November 2022 and was among the hardest hit by shelling.

“When the explosions started, the whole house shook,” he recalls. “My sister and I sat between two walls and just hoped it would end. But one of the shells hit the children’s playground in our courtyard, and another struck a small house nearby. The shrapnel flew about 35 meters and reached our building. I lived on the third floor, and one piece pierced the balcony door, ricocheted off the ceiling, and sliced through the wall.”

The shelling intensified through early 2023. The windows of all apartments were blown out and later boarded up. Utilities were eventually cut off, leaving the entire building uninhabitable.

With support from volunteers and the regional administration, Oleksandr was evacuated, first to a place further from the front line, but still in Kherson region, and he was then later transferred to the Khmelnytskyi Crisis Social Services Centre in western Ukraine. The center is assisting people who are left alone in difficult life circumstances, including providing support to the most vulnerable evacuees from frontline regions, like people with disabilities.

Leaving Kherson was emotionally devastating, but the danger made staying impossible. “I was born there, lived there all my life. I miss it every day. But right now, returning is simply impossible. All the buildings in my district are uninhabitable,” he says.

In displacement, day-to-day expenses quickly add up, especially for someone managing chronic health needs. Cash assistance provided through UNHCR, with the support from the European Union, enables Oleksandr to cover the essentials he cannot go without.

“I have what I need for daily life here. But I still need a lot of specific medicine. This support lets me buy what I need and take care of myself. It helps me stay independent and gives me a little bit of stability in these crazy times,” he explains.

Since March 2022, UNHCR has provided cash assistance to more than 2.3 million people in Ukraine, amounting to over USD 682 million. This has been possible thanks to generous funding from the European Union, among other donors.

The programme is implemented through a wide network of multi-service protection centres and mobile teams operating across 21 regions. These centres support enrolment, provide protection screening, and ensure that assistance reaches people with the greatest vulnerability. For thousands of displaced people like Oleksandr, this assistance provides not only the means to meet essential needs but also the confidence to look ahead with