After more than 4 years of full-scale invasion, Ukrainian communities on the frontline still live the direct consequences of the war. Lost livelihoods, damaged houses, displacement and other non-visible scars continue to leave marks the lives of thousands of Ukrainian families.
With the support of the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF), Acted and its partners, the local civil society organizations (CSO) New Dawn and Light of Hope, provide targeted, life-saving cash and protection assistance to the most severely conflict-affected across 8 areas , prioritizing areas less than 50km away from active frontlines in Chernihivska, Sumska, Kharkivska, Dnipropetrovska, Zaporizka, Donetska, Mykolaivska and Khersonska oblasts.
Frontline stories from war-affected families
Transfers (UCT) is a dignified way of supporting people affected by the war in Ukraine wherever markets continue to function despite the ongoing conflict. By putting the choice in the hands of families, cash assistance enables people to prioritize their most urgent needs while preserving their dignity and autonomy. It allows beneficiaries to cover their most urgent needs by preserving autonomy and election of choice.
Iryna, Tetiana and her husband Serhii, and Volodymyr* are examples of this.
At the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022, Khersonska oblast was occupied, while Mykolaivska oblast endured repeated attempts of occupation and remained under a persistent aerial threat. Iryna’s house, located in Mykolaivska Oblast, was damaged in an airstrike in 2022. She recalls that bombs started falling, and her home, located in the center of the village, was affected. At present, one room still remains damaged.
When the bombing started, everything was shaking. There were multiple explosions near our house, and drones flying over the village. The first explosions occurred nearby, and all the windows of my house were blown out.
Shortly after this episode, her family evacuated their home. Iryna’s daughter worked at the alumina plant of the village and the company offered evacuation to all employees, so the family took the hard decision of leaving everything behind to seek safety.
After the de-occupation of Kherson in November 2022, they decided to come back to what was left from their house and started repairing it themselves.
Evacuation, relocation, and eventual return. After returning home, one of the most difficult parts was also restoring the house so that it could be habitable again. After learning about Acted’s cash assistance program, Iryna signed up immediately. Her plan is to use the assistance to continue repairing their home and to improve its insulation to prepare themselves for the harsh Ukrainian winter.
Since the beginning of the armed conflict, the greatest challenge for us has been the psychological impact. We have been constantly stressed and anxious.
Tetiana and Serhii are a married couple of pensioners living in Lupareve, a small village located in Mykolaivska Oblast, only a few kilometers away from the border with Khersonska oblast. The couple lived there for many years and when the full-scale invasion started, they did not want to leave their home.
We remained in the village throughout the shelling. I personally came under fire several times but thank God I survived.
While the attacks left their home partially damaged, the family recalls that the most profound challenge since the outbreak of the war has been the psychological toll. Months of continuous worry and relentless stress eventually manifested in serious health complications. Even today, the trauma remains ongoing as they continue to endure the heavy anxiety of living under the perpetual threat of drones flying over their village day and night. The couple currently faces many financial hardships. “We plan to spend the assistance on food, medicines, utility bills, and other basic needs, with medicines being our highest priority.”
Volodymyr lives in Lymany, a village of Mykolaivska oblast, and has lived there for 47 years together with his pensioner mother. Since 2022, despite the war, Volodymyr and his mother remained in their home:
When everything started, we were extremely worried but where could we go? I have a disability and ongoing health issues, and my mother is in a similar situation. We felt that there was nowhere for us to go.
We lived under constant explosions. Two of my friends were killed after volunteering to join the army at the beginning of the war.
Drones continue to fly overhead day and night. Volodymyr recalls the period when the frontline moved closer to his village, bringing an increased threat from drone attacks. He remembers an elderly couple walking along the road between his village and a neighboring one, about one kilometer away, when a drone struck them directly. During that time, many civilians from the surrounding villages lost their lives
Since the outbreak of the war, Volodymyr’s financial situation has grown increasingly desperate, exacerbating the constant anxiety of living under active conflict. For someone managing both personal disabilities and the care of his elderly mother, Acted’s cash assistance provides more than just the means to afford basic food and household essentials—it delivers profound psychological relief by lifting the crushing weight of immediate financial survival.
Iryna, Tetiana and Volodymyr’s stories are just a glimpse of the reality of thousands of people living in Ukraine. Cash assistance aims to provide a small relief to families living in frontline areas to address diverse priority needs, including food, medicines, heating fuel, and minor repairs. By providing assistance through a cash modality, beneficiaries will be able to address their most relevant needs, while also supporting the local economy.
In addition to cash assistance, Acted refers beneficiaries to local partner organization Light of Hope, which also conduct community outreach and joint visits with Acted Cash teams, to provide mental health and psychosocial support to recover from the prolonged psychological impacts of the war, as well as administrative and legal support to restore lost or damaged documents and access governmental assistance.
Since the start of the project in April 2026, with support of the UHF, more than 38,000 individuals were supported with integrated cash assistance, psychosocial, and legal support under the project. By the end of the project, Acted, New Dawn and Light of Hope plan to support more than 60,000 individuals.
*Names have been changed to protect the beneficiaries’ identities.
