Embassy of Ukraine and FCA launch joint campaign to support Ukrainians through brutal winter

Two people walk away from the camera in a low-lit street. On 22 January 2023, a generator-powered kiosk in central Kyiv waits for customers. Repeated Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have forced residents and businesses to rely on diesel generators, with electricity available only for a few hours each day.
Ukraine has suffered blackouts caused by Russian attacks on infrastructure for years but this winter hits much harder due to extremely low temperatures. Photo taken in Kyiv, 2023 by Antti Yrjönen

The Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Finland and Finn Church Aid (FCA) have launched a joint humanitarian fundraising campaign to provide critical heating and energy equipment to Ukrainian civilians enduring extreme winter conditions amid ongoing Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure.

AS RUSSIA CONTINUES its systematic missile and drone attacks against cities and critical infrastructure across Ukraine, millions of Ukrainians are facing winter without reliable electricity, heating, or water. Energy and heating facilities are being deliberately targeted, leaving entire neighbourhoods in darkness and freezing temperatures—with some areas forecast to experience lows as severe as -30°C this week.

The campaign aims to mobilize resources quickly to provide generators, portable power stations, and heating systems to vulnerable communities in Chernihiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, and Kyiv regions. Families with children, elderly people, and persons with disabilities are among the most vulnerable, with many forced to endure days and nights in unheated apartments, shelters, and basements as temperatures plummet well below zero.

“Our objective is clear and practical: to mobilize resources as quickly as possible to provide Ukrainians with essential equipment for energy and heating during this extremely difficult period,” stated campaign organisers Mykhailo Vydoinyk, Ukrainain Ambassador to Finland and Tomi Jarvinen, FCA Executive Director in a joint press release.

Finn Church Aid has been providing humanitarian assistance in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022. FCA’s work in Ukraine focuses on education in emergencies, psychosocial support, rehabilitation of damaged school infrastructure, and emergency aid distribution.

Through the joint campaign, FCA and the Ukrainian Embassy will work with Ukrainian civil society organizations to ensure heating and energy equipment reaches those most in need as winter intensifies.

How to support: Get in touch with FCA Key Account Manager Laura Ylätalo, (laura.ylatalo@kua.fi, +358 40 670 4491).

For more information, please contact:
Tomi Järvinen, Executive Director
tel: +358 40 641 8209
email: tomi.jarvinen@kua.fi