Ukraine

The Full-scale war has been raging for more than three years now – with catastrophic consequences. An estimated 12.7 million people in Ukraine need humanitarian assistance in 2025. According to UNHCR statistics data, more than 6.3 million refugees from Ukraine have been recorded only in Europe (as of February 2025). More than 3,6 million are internally displaced in Ukraine (as of January 2025). Unfortunately, these numbers are not decreasing, because the war continues. Helvetas provides humanitarian aid and works in long-term development cooperation. 

Long-term cooperation 

Helvetas is now focused on long-term cooperation and extends its activities beyond humanitarian response including reconstruction of damaged houses and infrastructure, creating new job opportunities, and support of community-rooted projects. 

At the same time, Helvetas is currently operating in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Poltava regions and plans to expand its activities to Zaporizhzhia, Odesa and Mykolaiv regions. 

Helvetas has established partnerships with national and local authorities, such as the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the State Employment Service, the National Qualifications Agency, Federation of Employers of Ukraine among others. 

1. Reconstruction of damaged houses and infrastructure 

Helvetas supports the light and medium repair of war-damaged houses, as well as water and sanitation systems, and provides the necessary winterization to protect people from the harsh winter conditions (Repair Facilitation Ukraine project, REFAUK). Those in need receive both technical support as well as cash assistance to repair their homes and local infrastructure. Repair Hubs in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions provide guidance.  

Since the project began in June 2022, 3250 displaced people have been sheltered in refurbished, rehabilitated and equipped buildings, and more than 190 000+ people have benefited from restored water, sanitation and energy systems.  

2. Strengthen economic recovery and create new income opportunities

The war has not only damaged houses and infrastructure but has also devastated businesses and retail chains leaving many residents unemployed.  

In response to this challenge, Helvetas supports the reskilling courses for adults in vocational education and training (VET) professions. These courses focus on critical professions in Ukraine’s labor market, enabling quick employment. Training is provided for technical and vocational professions, including welders, plumbers, painters, plasterers, and seamstresses; for energy sector jobs, such as heating engineers specializing in renewable energy. The training is conducted in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, and Sumy regions, helping people secure an income. 

Helvetas supports VET capacities by providing in-kind goods to replace damaged or outdated technical equipment. In the longer term, institutional cooperation aims to improve vocational training, curricula, and practices. In addition to these training programs, Helvetas supports online platforms that offer guidance for developing business ideas (Economic Resilience Programme, ERP). The focus is on vulnerable groups such internally displaced persons, people with disabilities, multi-child families, and single parents, and those who have stayed in regions which were affected by the war. 

Helvetas also provides internships for vulnerable groups at local businesses. This way, interns gain valuable practical experience and build relationships with local employers, strengthening long-term employment (Supporting the reconstruction of communities’ social and financial resilience in war affected communities in Ukraine). 

The Ukrainian natural resources are also heavily affected by the war – including the forests sector, which Helvetas already supported before the war. Thanks to this support, even in times of war, a systematic approach to natural resource management, environmental education, and enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium businesses in the wood-based sector could be maintained, and poverty alleviation for mountainous communities could be achieved. 

Helvetas also implements the regional program RECONOMY in Ukraine. Its main goal is to create more inclusive job opportunities and promote a green economy.   

RECONOMY in Ukraine supports the creation of inclusive jobs in ICT through improving business services and developing skills. The program also strengthens the sector's resilience, for instance through a partnership with the Beetroot Academy.   

To provide better income and employability in energy-efficient construction and renovation, Helvetas has established a partnership with the Women’s Energy Club in Ukraine. The partnership aims to lead initiatives focused on cultivating female leadership within the energy sector through tailored support programs (including for IDPs), mentoring, strategic partnerships, and access to resources and information about grants, skills development programs and networking events.  

Helvetas promotes sustainability and resource efficiency in the textile and apparel sector by partnering with the Ukrainian Office of Export and Entrepreneurship Promotion to facilitate awareness raising and the dissemination of market information on sustainability to local makers.   

Helvetas also aims to increase the competitiveness and growth of the agriculture and manufacturing sectors through digital solutions.     

3. Supporting community rooted projects 

While more than 90% of humanitarian aid is delivered by Ukrainian organizations, less than 1% of these organizations have direct access to international funding for their activities. Helvetas provides grants to locally led organizations for shelter and social safety net projects. 

Over 90 Ukrainian organizations that received grants to conduct small and medium repairs of housing and civil infrastructure, were also supported in improving their organizational, technical and administrative capacities. “Supporting Community Led Shelter Assistance in Eastern Ukraine” (Localization) project focuses on small-scale or mid-sized organizations facing growth-related challenges to improve their resilience and direct access to funding. Supported organizations are deeply community-rooted and focused on responding with an extensive understanding of the context and humanitarian needs in Kharkiv, Poltava, and Dnipro regions.  

Through the work of our implementing local partners, over 50 000 people in war-affected communities gained access to life-saving bomb shelters, hospitals, uninterrupted water, electricity and heating supply, as well as were able to evacuate to well-equipped IDP shelters from the frontline communities. Overall, 44 projects on bomb shelter reconstruction, 14 – on civil infrastructure rehabilitation, 46 – on equipment of IDP shelters and 21 on rebuilding damaged due to war housing were supported by Helvetas.  

Regions where the Localization project is being implemented, have taken in thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing the war in eastern Ukraine. A key aspect of IDP adaptation in host communities is social infrastructure, particularly access to education. In Ukraine, schools without shelters that can not guarantee safety are only allowed to conduct lessons remotely. To ensure continuous education, Poltava communities are working to equip schools with shelters. However, due to a lack of funding, the shelters are only equipped with basic furniture. Helvetas supports the creation of comfortable educational spaces in schools to allow children to regain access to quality education and socialization. 

Ukrainian organizations that received grants were also supported to improve their organizational, technical, and administrative capacities. 40 capacity development grants were issued to local initiatives, as well as various trainings on fundraising, inclusion, audit, social media management, monitoring and evaluation, artificial intelligence usage, and damage assessment to support Ukrainian NGO’s in their reconstruction efforts were held. 

Partnerships with national and local authorities 

Due to Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, Ukrainian companies faced reduced domestic demand, driving them to explore exports as a solution. Nearly 45% of these companies plan to start or continue exporting. However, many are unaware of the available support. Helvetas supported the Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office in developing a pilot dashboard on export potential of Ukrainian regions, which was integrated into Diia Business web-portal. 

In line with its strategy to strengthen economic resilience, Helvetas supports, at the request of government authorities, conducting research both at the national level and on local trends. By providing up-to-date analytical data, Helvetas helps the authorities to implement evidence-based policies and to make informed decisions.