In the winter of 2025/2026, Ukraine is facing the hardest winter since the beginning of the full‑scale war. Russian missile and drone attacks once again deliberately target the country’s energy system. In Kyiv and other cities, electricity, heating, water and often mobile networks fail for hours or even days at a time – in sub‑zero temperatures, this can be life‑threatening. Those most at risk are older people, families with babies, people with disabilities and residents of frontline or rural areas.
How warmth, light and internet access save lives in Ukraine in the winter of 2025/2026
To counter these blackouts, so‑called Unbreakable Points – safe havens for people who refuse to give up – have been set up all over Ukraine, known in Ukrainian as пункт незламності. Here, people find warmth, light, sockets to charge their phones and access to the internet; often there is also tea or a simple meal. For children and students these places are essential to continue learning, and for many families they are the only way to stay in touch with relatives in Ukraine or abroad.
Ukraine Recovery Aid supports such safe havens especially in the Zaporizhzhia region. We have already equipped several schools near the front line with generators and heaters so that classes and childcare can continue even during long power cuts. We keep receiving new requests from there – more Unbreakable Points, schools and social institutions are in urgent need of additional generators, heaters, extension cables and stable internet connections.
If you would like to help bring warmth and light into this dark winter, we are deeply grateful for your donation.
The illustration “Unbreakable Point” by Ukrainian artist Lucy Ivanova, which accompanies this article, shows exactly such a safe haven: under a roof of light, older people, young people, a mother with her baby – and even a dog – find a brief moment of warmth, brightness and connection to the outside world.
