With winter coming, the suffering people of Ukraine are close to the edge

The war in Ukraine has now entered its sixth month. So many people desperately need humanitarian aid, such as food, water and shelter. It’s heart-breaking that we can’t support everybody who requires help, there are just too many people in need. My worry is that it’s going to get so much worse in winter, as temperatures in Ukraine can plummet to minus 20 degrees.

Depaul Ukraine has supported homeless people in Ukraine since 2007, so we know that winter is a dangerous time. Every year, homeless people die in Ukraine due to hyperthermia and frostbite. This year, there will be significantly more homeless people, as well as people whose homes have been damaged during the war.

During the winter months, we will continue delivering food, hygiene and medical supplies. In fact, we will increase the calories in our food baskets to meet people’s additional energy requirements.

Our team on the ground is asking people about what they need to survive the coldest months. We know the people we help personally. We are hearing that people are understandably scared that they won’t be able to keep warm due to damaged housing and unreliable gas and electricity supplies. Depaul will support with housing repairs and distributing items to help people keep warm, such as blankets, portable heaters, fuel, and firewood.

As the war continues, I also worry about the impact of trauma and people’s mental health. The bombing and shooting is relentless – people are exhausted. It’s very difficult to live with the constant threat of danger.

I spend a lot of time in Kharkiv in the far east of the country. The city has sustained heavy bombing since the beginning of the war. There are reports of shelling pretty much every day. It’s not an easy place to live. There have been recent shootings at bus stations – two bus stations were attacked near our parish. The shootings seem to be timed to coincide with when people are travelling to work. It is brutal and cruel.

Understandably, many of the people who have stayed in Kharkiv are living in basements and bomb-shelters. Living underground is safer but it takes a toll psychologically. People’s lives are on hold and their children can’t go to school. They are trying to survive rather than trying to live.  

We have many brave and selfless volunteers at Depaul Ukraine. They deliver food aid and hygiene items to vulnerable people who are unable to leave their homes due to age or disability.

I’m so proud of our volunteers and the amazing work they do, but they are also victims of this war, and they are exhausted. They feel like they can’t take any more.

It’s important to look after the mental health of our volunteers. When the war first started, we were all working around the clock, but people can’t continue at this pace, particularly if they are traumatised. I could see that our volunteers were exhausted, so at the weekend I took the volunteers and their families to the countryside away from the war zone. They could hear the birds singing and we went fishing on the river. The volunteers said this was the first time they didn’t hear shooting all night. They couldn’t imagine peace was possible.

Personally, my faith keeps me going. We are doing mass wherever we can, in basements and shelters, but life is very hard. My faith is tested every day when I hear reports that more of my people have been killed. I want to do God’s work by helping people.

Before the war, Depaul Ukraine was a homeless charity, running shelters and projects in and around Kharkiv, Odesa and Kyiv. We are still supporting people who were homeless before the invasion, and the many people who have recently found themselves homeless. There are so many bombings. I meet many people who have lost everything in an instant – their home and all their belongings. These people really struggle.

In addition to supporting homeless people in Ukraine, we are also operating a large-scale humanitarian response. We have transported more than 1000 tonnes of food aid, hygiene items and medical equipment into the country.

The church network in Ukraine has played an important role in our humanitarian work. For instance, we work in partnership with local church communities to distribute food in Zaporizhia in Eastern Ukraine. We were able to provide food for people who had fled to Zaporizhia following the siege in Mariupol.

People have been so generous, and we are incredibly grateful. We are very fortunate to be receiving generous funding from the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), thanks to our partnership with Cafod.

I’d very humbly like to thank everybody who has supported us. My prayers are for all the people who remember and support us. It’s so important that people don’t forget about my country, and that they continue to donate, especially with winter approaching. Your donations save lives.

Father Vitaliy Novak is chair of Depaul Ukraine.

You can donate to our work in Ukraine via: https://int.depaulcharity.org/fundraising-for-depaul-ukraine/