The beekeeping family of Olga and Oleksandr Krysiuchenko continues to work and build their future in Pryozerne, a village in the frontline region of Kherson. The couple has been engaged in beekeeping for 7 years, and since the Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, they have not only managed to stay afloat but have also turned their passion into a business.

The war shattered Oksana Posternak’s life into a thousand pieces—her hometown of Veletenske in Kherson was occupied, she endured a difficult evacuation, constant relocations, the destruction of her home by enemy shelling, and the inability to return. Having lost everything, she was left with pain and emptiness. But one thing remained unchanged—her talent for creativity. She never imagined that her hobby could become her profession.

Olga Klushanova knows what it means to start over from scratch. She lost her home for the first time in 2014 when the war forced her to leave her native Donetsk and relocate to Kostiantynivka. In 2022, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine once again tore her away from her everyday life. Together with her family, Olga moved to Dnipro, leaving behind everything that had once seemed permanent. She lost a lot but refused to let circumstances break her. Read below about how support from UN Women Ukraine and The United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) gave her the strength to move forward.

Women-led and women’s rights organizations (WROs) in Ukraine have been severely impacted by funding suspensions by the United States (U.S.), a new survey by UN Women, the Apparatus of the Government Commissioner for Gender Equality Policy of Ukraine, and the Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group, reveals. UN Women calls for more direct, flexible, and long-term funding to women’s rights organizations to ensure life-saving programs for women and girls to meet sudden funding gaps.

The Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) Working Group convened for an overview meeting to review the 2024 results of its activities with partners and to plan its 2025 work.

“UN Women's new strategy on youth and gender equality aims to empower young people to partner in achieving gender equality. UN Women is collaborating with the NGO Girls and our government partners on this important initiative to mobilize young women and men, including representatives of youth organizations, and help them become agents of change. We hope it inspires you and your organizations to become more visible and active advocates for gender equality,” noted Julia Broussard, Deputy Representative of UN Women in Ukraine.

A joint monitoring visit of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and UN Women in Ukraine took place last week in Odesa oblast. The purpose of the visit was to monitor the observance of human rights and the status of meeting the needs of different social groups in the context of the war and the recovery of Ukraine.

Every day the team of the partner organization 'Volonter-68' listen to many life stories from women and girls who are provided with humanitarian aid and evacuation. The team shared the story of Lyudmila Lisnikova from the city of Druzhkivka, Donetsk region.

In the turbulent Zaporizhzhia region, a mere 40 kilometers from the front line, daily raid sirens last up to 5 hours. Despite these harrowing conditions, over 200 thousand internally displaced persons (IDPs) have sought refuge here, fleeing the temporarily occupied territories of the region and rebuilding their lives amidst war. Among them is 26-year-old Olga Prykhodko.

Kseniia Mishyna is a community leader from Ukraine. Throughout the war, Kseniia has exemplified selfless dedication and unwavering resilience as the village headwoman of the Dniprovks district in Bilozershchina, Kherson region, where she manages four villages, inspiring change and providing crucial support to her community.

Iryna Periv (25) from Lviv is an experienced lawyer and a dedicated representative of Ukraine’s vibrant youth who has been working with the Women's Perspective Centre for about two years on the “Women’s New Horizons” project, supported by UN Women and Sweden. On International Youth Day, learn how Iryna is driving positive change through her activism and advocacy.

My name is Yana Panfilova, I am 26 years old, and I am from Ukraine. I was born with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). As a child, I feared that I would die, but my mother helped me understand that HIV is not a death sentence - you can still live a fulfilling life by taking good care of yourself. I dreamed of a world where teenagers living with HIV could create a movement and work together without hiding.

The Women’s Peace & Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) has launched a Call for Proposals in Ukraine to support civil society organizations working to increase women’s participation in humanitarian and crisis response and enhance the protection of women and girls displaced by the war in the Ukraine.

Since the launch of the Russian Federation full-scale invasion on 24 February, 2022, over 2,000 women have been confirmed dead in attacks that have wrecked homes and civilian structures across Ukraine. Total numbers are likely to be much higher: according to the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, women account for nearly 40 per cent of the over 21,000 civilian casualties recorded in 2022. And of the estimated 7.9 million internally displaced peoples in Ukraine, women now constitute at least 90 per cent.

The Women’s Peace & Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) has launched a Call for Proposals in Ukraine to support civil society organizations working to increase women’s participation in humanitarian and crisis response, enhance the protection of women and girls, and improve the socio-economic recovery and political participation of women and girls displaced by the war in Ukraine.

Anastasia Perepylytsia, 44, is no stranger to displacement. In 2014, she had a stable job in finance and lived a normal life together with her husband and two children in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. But when the Russian army invaded her hometown, she had to flee with her family to Zaporizhzhia, a city situated on the banks of the Dnieper River in the south-east.

Currently, 15.7 million people in Ukraine are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and protection. Attacks on populated civilian areas and infrastructure continue in eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, endangering people’s lives and access to basic services. UN Women Ukraine has reprogrammed its activities to reach those women and men that are most in need of essential items not available in the territories experiencing the fiercest attacks in the eastern Donetsk region.

As of 25 March, more than 10 million people had been forcibly displaced by the war in Ukraine, with more than 3.7 million fleeing to neighbouring countries. To gage the differential impacts of the war and the specific needs of vulnerable groups, UN Women and CARE International produced a Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) and drew out recommendations on how to improve humanitarian responses.

As the war in Ukraine continues to take its toll on women and girls, UN Women reiterates the UN Secretary-General’s urgent call for peace. The war must stop now.

Millions of people have been fleeing their homes in Ukraine since the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022 turned into a full-fledged war. In Cahul, a border region in the south of the Republic of Moldova, local public authorities, volunteers and civil society are doing what they can to help, guide and host those on the move.