Emergency aid in Ukraine
Ukraine - Ukraine
Ukraine
Background and news
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. In 2026, the war entered its fifth year. It continues to devastate the lives of children and families, causing massive internal displacement, economic instability and increased risks to child protection.
An estimated 10.8 million people still need humanitarian assistance, 3.7 million people are displaced within Ukraine and 5.9 million are refugees in other countries (source: UNHCR).
The situation of children is particularly worrying. Approximately 1.5 million need mental health and psychosocial support due to their ongoing exposure to conflict, loss and instability. Furthermore, only one in three children has full access to face-to-face education. Finally, more than 67,000 children are believed to be deprived of parental care (source: SOSVE).
SOS Children’s Villages in Ukraine
SOS Children’s Villages began working in Ukraine in 2003 and opened its first SOS Children’s Village in Brovary, in the Kiev region, in 2010. Before the war, the local association supported some 2,000 children, adolescents and adults in two regions (foster families, youth programmes, family strengthening, emergency aid) and carried out advocacy work at the institutional level. Between 2012 and 2022, it operated in eastern Ukraine, in the Luhansk region.
Since 2022, in addition to its foster care and family strengthening programmes, it has been supporting children and families through an emergency aid programme set up with a consortium of partners. It has thus been able to support more than 600,000 people. In 2026, activities are continuing, depending on the region and needs, with multidisciplinary teams providing, among other things, family strengthening centres (with social services), financial assistance, support for injured children and mental health services.
Solidarity from Luxembourg
In 2026, as in 2025, from Luxembourg, we continue to support, with our generous donors, twelve child-friendly spaces opened in different regions of Ukraine, with a project to purchase educational and recreational kits for children’s reception areas.
*The project is supported by the Ukraine Solidarity Foundation, which is part of the Fondation de Luxembourg.