Ukraine: Three Years of War, Resilience, and Hope for the Future
A Personal Struggle Amid Conflict
“I’m trying not to cry, but I can’t help it. Thankfully, I have tissues on hand,” confesses Natalia Datchenko, a Ukrainian staff member at UNICEF, as she recalls the explosions that marked the beginning of the war three years ago.
Along with the initial shock and anger, Datchenko felt a surge of determination. “I knew, without a doubt, that I wanted to help others and protect people. I had to do something,” she remembers.
Prioritizing the safety of their families, UNICEF staff were advised to evacuate before resuming their work. Datchenko relocated to Lviv with her family.
“There were 12 of us packed into a tiny train compartment,” she recalls. “I held a stranger’s child because there was nowhere for them to sit. The train moved slowly to reduce the risk of attacks. When we finally arrived, we saw families with children sitting on the cold stone floor at the Lviv station. It was February, and it was freezing.”
Pushing Forward Despite Hardship
Lyudmyla Kovalchuk, a staff member at UN Women in Ukraine, lived near Kyiv International Airport, one of the war’s first targets.
“We woke up at five in the morning to the sound of explosions,” she says. “Even though we had heard warnings of an invasion, it was still unimaginable when it actually happened.”
Three years later, exhaustion has set in, but life and work continue. Many Ukrainian women, now raising children alone, struggle to find employment while constantly moving to keep their families safe. Others serve in the military—around 75,000 women—requiring specialized support.
“We’ve adapted to working under these conditions,” Kovalchuk explains. “When planning meetings, we ensure there’s a shelter nearby in case of attacks. We avoid long events because the longer we stay in one place, the greater the risk. Our experience working in hybrid formats during the pandemic helped us adjust.”
The Emotional Toll of War
Anastasia Kalashnyk, another UN Women staff member, formerly lived in Zaporizhzhia but relocated to Kyiv with her family two years ago.
“After February 24, 2022, my children stopped attending daycare and school. My husband lost his job when the foreign company he worked for shut down operations and left the country,” she recalls.
Her workload, however, increased significantly. Since 2017, Kalashnyk has been responsible for emergency aid efforts for women in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, many of whom were forced to flee.
“The hardest part was hearing their stories—women I had known for years—describing their escapes from occupied territories and the fates of their husbands who went to fight,” she says.
To support displaced women, UN Women and local NGOs created “safe spaces” where they could seek support, share experiences, and begin healing.
“I watched a woman named Olga slowly come back to life after surviving trauma,” Kalashnyk shares. “She started smiling again. Now, she’s one of the center’s activists, helping others.”
The Cost of War
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), over 12,600 civilians have been killed and more than 29,000 injured in the last three years, including at least 2,400 children.
Millions live in constant fear, particularly those in occupied areas who have limited access to humanitarian aid. An entire generation is growing up in wartime conditions.
Relentless attacks on infrastructure have deepened the crisis. More than 10% of Ukraine’s housing stock has been destroyed, displacing at least two million families. Over 3,600 schools and universities have been damaged, forcing hundreds of thousands of children to rely on remote learning.
For three consecutive winters, attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid have left cities without electricity, heating, and essential services in freezing temperatures. Currently, 12.7 million people require humanitarian aid.
Holding on to Hope
“Everything that has happened is exhausting,” Kalashnyk admits. “But my children give me hope. What they’re going through is unfair, and I have to be strong—not just for them, but for all Ukrainian families.”
She also finds hope in the continued support from the UN and other international organizations. “They didn’t abandon Ukraine. They stayed, they helped, and now they are discussing rebuilding. These talks about the future reassure me that we have one.”
Datchenko echoes this sentiment. “At first, we were united by anger. We shared our pain together. But now, we are driven by the desire to rebuild—to restore communities, support families, and create a
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