It takes the DRC team several hours to travel from their office in Dnipro to the village of Mariivka in the Bilenkivska hromada of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. In winter, the journey often means navigating snow-covered roads and black ice, which turns them into an unwanted skating rink.
Mariivka is located very close to the front line, which means the security situation remains challenging. In addition to hazardous winter road conditions, the proximity of active hostilities makes the area particularly unsafe.
“This morning, a drone hit a bus. Fortunately, everyone survived,” says Olha Kis, Deputy Head of the Bilenkivska Hromada Village Council. As she speaks, the DRC Emergency Team remove the helmets they wore during the journey and begin setting up the registration area. Their body armour, however, must remain on at all times — even indoors.
Pharmacies and shops in the community are still operating. However, due to the constant danger, some residents — particularly families with children — have left. Before the war, around 10,000 people lived here; now, the population has fallen to about 8,000. Over the past four years of war, the community has aged significantly, job opportunities have dwindled, and humanitarian needs have grown.
“We are fortunate to have the support of humanitarian organisations like yours,” Olha explains. “Some provide food assistance, but the DRC’s heating support is extremely important. Thanks to this help, we have been able to cover around 95 per cent of people in vulnerable categories this winter.”
“This assistance will help us get through the winter”
Registration takes place in the local gymnasium, whose windows are reinforced with sandbags. These can protect against shrapnel, but not against a direct hit. Due to the community’s proximity to the fighting, it might be targeted by guided aerial bombs, multiple-launch rocket systems and drones. Despite the constant threat, primary school children can still be seen running through the corridors.
“Drones fly over the community regularly,” says Olena, 48, who has come to register for financial assistance. “Recently, a drone killed a man, leaving behind three children. Two women were travelling from Bilenke to Mariivka for work when a drone hit their car. They managed to escape and survived.”
She adds that the seven-kilometre road between the villages is covered with protective netting intended to reduce the risk from drones.
Olena and her husband run a small farm, growing and selling produce to support themselves. Due to attacks on critical energy infrastructure this winter, power outages are also frequent, further limiting Olena's ability to heat her home.
“Our house is heated only with electricity, which is very expensive now. We have no gas or stove, so heating costs us around 4,000 hryvnias (around 80 euros) a month. This assistance will help us get through the winter,” she says.
Thanks to funding from the European Union, the DRC has been able to cover the heating needs of more than 1,100 households in the community, including elderly people, people with disabilities, the unemployed and other vulnerable groups.
Each family receives 19,400 hryvnias (approximately 380 euros), enabling them to avoid impossible choices between heating and medicine, or paying utility bills and buying food. It allows households to use their limited resources for other urgent needs, without worrying about how they will survive the freezing winter, when temperatures in Ukraine can drop below -20°C.
Despite the sound of shelling nearby and the constant threat from drones, Olena has no plans to leave.
“Where would I go? My whole life is here — we built everything here. I would only leave if everyone else left,” she says.
Svitlana, 50, faces similar challenges. Her home is connected to gas, but winter heating bills are still unaffordable — almost 4,000 hryvnias (around 80 euros) per month. She lives with her husband, and neither of them is officially employed. They survive on her husband’s pension and income from selling farm produce.
“If I could, I wouldn’t ask for this assistance,” Svitlana explains. “But there is no way to earn a decent living in the village anymore. We farm, we have a vegetable garden and a cow. Everything we earn goes towards electricity and gas. Every month, we pay almost 6,000 hryvnias (120 euros) in utility bills. My husband’s pension is around 7,000 hryvnias (140 euros), which leaves us with just 1,000 hryvnias (20 euros) to live on.”
She has lived in Mariivka for more than 30 years and does not plan to leave.
“If it becomes too loud, we’ll have no choice but to go. But for now, we’re still here. We hope they will leave us alone,” she says.
Svitlana explains that many residents are pensioners or people with limited mobility or disabilities, and not everyone is able to leave.
“If it weren’t for this support, I don’t know how we would survive. We would sell what little we have — and then I don’t know what would happen,” she says, fighting back tears. “Thankfully, food deliveries still reach us. As long as we have electricity, we can bake. We will survive somehow.”
She says she now lives one day at a time, without making plans.
“I opened my eyes this morning — I’m alive. Thank God,” she says. Her words reflect the resilience of people living in frontline communities, enduring daily shelling and constant uncertainty.
While registering for heating assistance, Svitlana also sought legal advice about compensation for potential damage to her home. Although her house has not yet been damaged, a combat drone recently flew nearby, prompting her to seek guidance. DRC Legal Aid Officer Khrystyna was able to advise her on the application process.
Lawyers accompany DRC Emergency Teams, allowing residents to receive critical legal consultations while waiting to register for assistance. For residents who require additional legal support, DRC also runs Pravovsim, a digital legal aid platform that allows individuals to receive legal consultations at any time.
Financial assistance for heating: a chance to stay warm
On the drive to Mariivka, Khrystyna pointed out large agricultural seeders abandoned in the fields — remnants of the community’s pre-war life.
“This village used to be very prosperous, with many farms,” she says. “Now, agricultural companies have closed and taken most of their equipment. What they couldn’t take was scattered across the fields to prevent drones from destroying clustered machinery.”
Olha Kis adds that shelling occurs regularly. Sometimes it hits open fields; at other times, houses are damaged. Local authorities help residents by covering damaged buildings with plastic sheeting and boards.
Although the community continues to adapt, Olha acknowledges how difficult the situation has become.
“This winter is much colder than people expected,” she explains. “The past five winters were relatively mild, but now heating costs have nearly doubled. Without this assistance, many people would be sitting in cold homes. This support gives people a safety net — they no longer have to count every penny or worry about basic needs. In such a harsh winter, warmth is the most important thing.”
The DRC continues to support frontline communities by providing heating assistance, legal aid, housing repairs, dignity kits and other essential support — helping those who choose to remain in their homes despite the risks.
European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations
Four years of war and deepening humanitarian needs
In February 2026, the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year. For communities along the front line and near the northern border, daily life remains defined by shelling, drone attacks and constant insecurity.
As the conflict evolves, humanitarian needs have deepened rather than diminished. Intensified long-range strikes and systematic attacks on energy, water and other essential infrastructure continue to disrupt basic services and put civilians at heightened risk.
Front-line towns are being emptied, while people living under occupation face grave violations of their rights.
An estimated 10.8 million people across Ukraine need humanitarian assistance. DRC remains committed to supporting those most affected by the war, focusing on communities facing the most severe conditions and ensuring continued access to protection, shelter and life-saving assistance. As humanitarian needs persist, DRC continues to deliver principled, needs-based support alongside national and local partners.
