Nataliia and Volodymyr still live in their old homes in southern and eastern Ukraine, despite the conflict that rages around them. Now they are drawing on all their resilience as they grapple with the harsh reality of life near the frontline – with support from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
Frost and floods: the challenges of daily life near the Ukrainian frontline
Three years on from the escalation of the war in Ukraine, the humanitarian situation remains critical. Hostilities are intensifying along the frontline, and missile and drone attacks continue to hit the main urban centres.
This follows a sharp increase in fighting during the summer and autumn of 2024, with continued displacement and the highest number of civilian casualties since October 2022. As a result, more people than ever are living in areas that are “hard-to-reach” – meaning that it’s difficult for humanitarian organisations to access them and provide assistance to those in need.
NRC’s response in hard-to-reach areas
NRC reached a total of 285,277 people in Ukraine with humanitarian assistance in 2024. Of these, 214,534 – some 75 per cent – were in hard-to-reach areas, as we responded to the deteriorating situation by stepping up our work close to the frontlines. The total includes newly displaced people, evacuees, and those who had remained in unsafe areas, in both government-controlled territories and Russian-occupied territories.
Three years on from the escalation of the war in Ukraine, the humanitarian situation remains critical. Hostilities are intensifying along the frontline, and missile and drone attacks continue to hit the main urban centres.
This follows a sharp increase in fighting during the summer and autumn of 2024, with continued displacement and the highest number of civilian casualties since October 2022. As a result, more people than ever are living in areas that are “hard-to-reach” – meaning that it’s difficult for humanitarian organisations to access them and provide assistance to those in need.
NRC’s response in hard-to-reach areas
NRC reached a total of 285,277 people in Ukraine with humanitarian assistance in 2024. Of these, 214,534 – some 75 per cent – were in hard-to-reach areas, as we responded to the deteriorating situation by stepping up our work close to the frontlines. The total includes newly displaced people, evacuees, and those who had remained in unsafe areas, in both government-controlled territories and Russian-occupied territories.
“We didn’t give up, we started to do repairs ourselves”
Nataliia lives with her family in Yuryivka, a village in Mykolaivska oblast which was heavily affected when the nearby Kakhovka Dam was destroyed in June 2023. Their house was severely damaged by the flooding. The water level almost reached the roof and left them with little but their clothes.
“My late parents used to live in this house, and they left it to us. And you know how they built in the past? … they used clay and straw. There was floodwater in here for two weeks,” says Nataliia.
“Of course, it started to fall apart … but we didn’t give up, we started to do repairs ourselves.”
While Nataliia and her husband both receive government pensions, most of their income goes towards food and medicine and is insufficient to cover the repairs. After the family was forced to move out due to the flood damage, Nataliia turned to NRC for legal support, which we were able to provide under the Norwegian government’s Nansen Programme for Ukraine.
One of NRC’s legal advisers supported Nataliia with her application for government compensation, helping her to prepare the necessary documents and guiding her through the process. As a result, Nataliia was awarded compensation in May 2024.
“We’ve been using [the compensation] to buy the essential stuff we need, doing the repairs with our own hands. The results are already visible,” she says.
“I cannot leave all of this unattended”
Volodymyr lives with his youngest daughter, son-in-law and grandson in Shevchenkove, a rural settlement in Kupiansk. This municipality in Kharkiv Oblast was under Russian occupation between February and September 2022.
Volodymyr’s oldest daughter moved to Poland and his wife now lives in Kupiansk city. But Volodymyr decided to stay.
“We keep in touch, visit each other, but most of the time I’m alone here. I cannot leave all of this unattended,” he explains.
The summers are busy as Volodymyr lives off of the tomatoes, potatoes and cucumbers that he grows in his greenhouse, with keen help from his four-year-old grandson.
“He's so into it! For maybe five minutes, tops. Then he's off doing something else, but he's all about helping while it lasts,” Volodymyr laughs.
In contrast, the winters have been tough and Volodymyr and his grandson have struggled to stay warm, especially as he is no longer able to chop wood the way he used to because of his health.
But help was at hand. With cash assistance provided by NRC through the Nansen programme, Volodymyr was able to buy ten stacked cubic metres of chopped wood, which he would otherwise not have been able to afford.
“If you hadn’t helped me, I don’t know … Such harsh frosts … This winter was fairly mild at first, but now I’m burning through wood like crazy with this cold. Thank you for remembering about us.”
Project supported by Norway.
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