UNHCR Cash Assistance for Winter Heating

To help protect vulnerable households from harsh winter conditions, UNHCR, in collaboration with the Government of Ukraine, is providing one-time cash assistance of UAH 19,400 per household. This support is intended to help families in frontline areas purchase solid fuel for heating during the winter season 2025/2026.

Only households that on the date of submitting application reside in residential buildings/premises heated with solid fuel may be considered for this type of assistance in the following nine oblasts:

  • Sumy;
  • Kharkiv;
  • Kherson;
  • Luhansk;
  • Donetsk;
  • Dnipropetrovsk;
  • Zaporizhzhia;
  • Mykolaiv;
  • Chernihiv

Frist Priority: Cash assistance for heating will be provided to recipients who at the time of application reside in territorial communities (settlements) within a 10-kilometer zone from the state border with the Russian Federation or the front line. The reference date to delineate the front line is 01 July 2025.

Second Priority: Within the limits of available funding and as a second priority, Cash assistance for heating will be provided to socially vulnerable recipients residing in some territorial communities (settlements) beyond the 10-kilometer zone that are at higher risk of exposure during winter season.

Priority categories of socially vulnerable recipients of Cash assistance for heating are:

  • Recipients of a housing subsidy for the purchase of solid stove fuel;
  • Recipients of a benefit for the purchase of solid stove fuel;
  • Older people living alone who are not able to work;
  • A single mother (single father) who is not married and the record of the father (mother) of such a child is entered in the Register of Births in accordance with the established procedure at the direction of the mother (father), or the mother (father) in case of the death of one of the parents receiving assistance to single mothers (fathers);
  • Persons receiving childbirth assistance; large families; persons with disabilities (together with their family members) and families with a child/children with disabilities;
  • Families consisting of internally displaced persons (except for families consisting of internally displaced persons temporarily accommodated free of charge in buildings, structures, premises, where compensation for consumed housing and communal services is provided to institutions, enterprises, institutions, organizations regardless of ownership, individual entrepreneurs, as approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of May 27, 2025 No. 616 “Some issues of providing state support for the accommodation of internally displaced persons”);
  • Family-type children’s homes in which at least one child from among orphans or children deprived of parental care, or persons from among them, or children left without parental care is placed for upbringing; foster families in which at least one child from among orphans or children deprived of parental care, or persons from among them, or children left without parental care is placed for upbringing.

Enrolment for Cash for winter Assistance

The enrollment for winter assistance is guided by Resolution No. 985, dated 13 August 2025, which outlines the application process. UNHCR is not directly enrolling for the program.  Eligible households can submit their applications to local government authorities at their declared/registered or actual place of residence/stay in the nine frontline regions:

  • Sumy;
  • Kharkiv;
  • Kherson;
  • Luhansk;
  • Donetsk;
  • Dnipropetrovsk;
  • Zaporizhzhia;
  • Mykolaiv;
  • Chernihiv.

Applications may be submitted:

  • In person at local authorities
  • Electronically (with a qualified electronic signature)

The deadline for application is 24 August 2025.

PLEASE NOTE: UNHCR do not provide registration for Winter Heating program.

Questions should be addressed to the local authorities. UNHCR cannot respond to any questions why a household was selected or not for cash for winter assistance program.

Cash assistance for winter amount and delivery method

The assistance amount is UAH 19,400 per household regardless of family size. UNHCR will ensure that households are only paid once. All referred households will go through a thorough verification exercise and de-duplication with other humanitarian partners. The whole amount will be transferred to one member of the household, who is registered as head of household/focal point through the transfer method selected by the head of the household (Bank, PrivatMoney or Western Union transfer).

PLEASE NOTE: Households who received or are receiving regular multipurpose cash assistance from UNHCR will not be excluded from winter assistance, if also identified by the local authorities.

Data Requisite

UNHCR will receive personal data from the Local Government authorities and MoSP for the purpose of executing payments in line with national data protection regulations.

UNHCR receives personal data only for households that are eligible for assistance. These include:

  • Name, patronymic and surname, sex and date of birth of all household members
  • Tax IDs for all household members
  • Bank details (IBAN) and phone number for the head of household
  • Address of selected households
  • Specific needs or vulnerabilities of the households/ reason for inclusion (applicable for 2nd priority)

Q&A: Data Correction for Winter Cash Assistance Applications

Data Correction and Update Procedures via UNHCR Hotline

During the initial phase of data receipt, UNHCR reviews key data fields to ensure the successful delivery of assistance. If discrepancies are identified, UNHCR may directly contact local authorities to request confirmation or correction of the data.

Applicants may request updates or corrections to their application exclusively through the UNHCR hotline, and only for the following specific cases:

1. Name, Patronymic, and Surname

  • Upon verifying the caller’s identity, the hotline team registers requests to correct spelling errors in names or to update surnames due to changes in marital status.
  • Changes to the name of the head of household are not permitted via the hotline.
  • To change the head of household’s name, applicants must contact local authorities, who will then resubmit the updated data to UNHCR through the agreed data-sharing mechanism.

2. Sex and Date of Birth

  • Upon verifying the caller’s identity, the hotline team registers requests to correct data entry errors related to sex or date of birth. These requests are subject to further review and processing.

3. Tax Identification Numbers (Tax IDs) and/or Passport numbers

  • The hotline team registers correction requests for Tax IDs or passport numbers after verifying the caller’s identity. It is strongly recommended that the IBAN, Tax ID or passport number, and the IBAN holder’s name belong to the same individual to ensure successful processing. All requests for Tax ID corrections will be shared with local authorities for verification and confirmation.

4. Bank Details (IBAN)

  • The hotline team can:
    • Upon identity verification, the hotline team can
    • Register requests to correct IBANs due to data entry errors. It is strongly recommended that the IBAN, Tax ID or passport number, and the IBAN holder’s name belong to the same individual to ensure successful processing. All requests for IBAN corrections will be shared with local authorities for verification and confirmation.
    • If the applicant wishes to use a different family member’s bank account, they must contact local authorities, who will resubmit the updated data to UNHCR.

5. Phone Number

  • The hotline team can register correction requests for phone numbers due to data entry errors, following callers’ identity verification. All such requests will be shared with local authorities for verification and confirmation.

6. Payment Method

  • Upon verifying the caller’s identity, the hotline team can register requests to change the payment method from IBAN to Cash Transfer (Privat Money).

7. Address of Selected Households

  • The UNHCR hotline team does not register requests for address changes or corrections.

8. Specific Needs or Vulnerabilities

  • The hotline team does not register requests to correct household-related vulnerabilities or reasons for inclusion.