Ukraine's children are faces of hope as war continues
Every Ukrainian child deserves peace and a bright future
Ukraine
Four years on, Ukraine's children have continued to face immense challenges.
The prolonged war in Ukraine has triggered a complex protection crisis for children, exposing them to ongoing violence, displacement, and the loss of essential services.
Today, one in three children – 2.2 million girls and boys, up from 1.9 million in 2025 – now requires humanitarian assistance, as sustained exposure to violence, displacement, family separation and the erosion of essential services continue to shape their daily lives.
Renewed and intensified attacks have driven additional waves of displacement, with more than 3.4 million people currently internally displaced.
World Vision started working in Ukraine in March 2022 through 6 and now 3 active offices in Ukraine (Kyiv, Dnipro, Mykolaiv), which currently support aid efforts reaching conflict-affected people.
While also supported Ukrainian refugees and host communities in Moldova, Romania, and Georgia. World Vision Ukraine Crisis Response in Moldova concluded its operations in June 2025 and transitioned to WV Romania registered Moldova Foundation.
Since the onset of the crisis, World Vision’s Ukraine response and its local partners have reached over 2.3 million people, including more than 1 million children, providing essential support through food assistance, cash support, child protection services, education programming, livelihoods support and mental health care.
World Vision continues to actively respond to Ukraine’s ongoing needs, reaching 22 of the 24 regions in Ukraine and delivering both immediate emergency relief and sustainable long-term recovery.
World Vision urges all parties to respect humanitarian law, protect infrastructure, and ensure safe access so children and families can get the help they urgently need.
Ukraine's children and families deserve better.
Childhood Under Siege: World Vision’s Four-Year Response in Ukraine
Childhood Under Siege: World Vision’s Four-Year Response in Ukraine
"The needs of children in Ukraine have evolved, and so must our response. Beyond immediate relief, children require protection, psychosocial care, quality education, and economic stability. Our role is to respond holistically, strengthening systems, restoring livelihoods, and supporting communities from survival to recovery. World Vision remains committed to walking alongside children and families until hope, dignity, and peace are restored.”
— Arman Grigoryan, World Vision Ukraine Crisis Response Director
In Their Own Words
Intimate, unfiltered, and profoundly human, these personal narratives capture life under war. Through multimedia stories from Ukraine, see the world through their eyes: children waiting for fathers on the frontlines, mothers mourning lost husbands, and families navigating displacement. Amid the rubble and uncertainty, witness small acts of courage, moments of tenderness, and the enduring hope that drives them to rebuild and carry on.
Letters from Children: Echoes of Innocence Amidst the Shadow of War
During four years of war in Ukraine, children's voices have expressed their hopes, fears, and longing for peace through heartfelt letters. These writings reveal their inner struggles and dreams for a brighter future, reminding us of the importance of listening to and protecting the next generation affected by conflict.
Growing roses under drone fire in war-torn Ukraine
Olena’s 21 greenhouses of roses have been destroyed multiple times by war. Despite shattered glass, frozen profits, and labor shortages, she keeps rebuilding. How does a small business survive in a war zone?
Widowed by War: One Mother's Fight to Build a Livelihood in Ukraine
He never met his father, but the message is unmistakable: “I love my dad.” In war-scarred Ukraine, seven-month-old Tamerlan’s pacifier captures a story of loss carried from birth. Behind it is his mother Hanna, a displaced widow rebuilding her family’s future through World Vision's livelihoods training that turns survival into self-reliance.
Women Farmers Rebuilding Ukraine: Anna’s Mission to Empower Veterans Through Her Agricultural Startup
Ukraine’s faith leaders trained to support mental health
In hard times, people often turn to their local church leaders for comfort and guidance.
World Vision’s work in Eastern Europe
Our teams have been present in Eastern Europe for decades responding to natural disasters, conflict, refugee movements, economic hardships and the educational, physical and emotional needs of extremely vulnerable children.
Our response to the crisis in Ukraine began by assisting families fleeing to Romania, where we worked since 1990 following the fall of communism. In the past 30 years, World Vision Romania has supported more than 560,000 children from 500 rural communities. In the first month of the crisis, we have rapidly expanded to reach some of the most vulnerable families in Ukraine itself, as well as in Moldova.
Last year, we supported 3.2 million people across the Middle East and Eastern Europe with emergency response programmes and we have already reached almost 50,000 children and families for this crisis as well, with a focus on protecting the most vulnerable.
How does World Vision respond to emergencies?
World Vision teams have been responding to humanitarian needs for more than 70 years and we are present in 100 countries. When emergencies strike, local World Vision staff partner with global humanitarian specialists and churches in the disaster zone to respond at scale.
What is World Vision doing to help families impacted by this crisis?
World Vision is supporting refugees in Romania, Moldova and Georgia while helping the displaced families Ukraine.
We are engaging closely with the U.N. and other partners to closely monitor the unfolding crisis and its potential humanitarian demands.
We also support our offices across the region, including Georgia, where we're partnering with UNHCR to run shelters, and are helping Ukrainian children process their experiences and enrol in local schools. We know that the impacts of this crisis, from both a humanitarian and economic perspective, may have a significant ripple effect.
How can you help children and families impacted by this crisis?
Donate to help children and families forcibly displaced by the crisis in Ukraine.
Pray for peace to be restored quickly and that children and families will be protected from harm.
Advocate and add your voice to call for peace in Ukraine and protection for affected children and their families.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the situation facing children?
We are deeply concerned about the impact of this crisis on vulnerable children and their families. We are witnessing significant forced displacement within Ukraine and to neighbouring countries. Additionally the economic impact of the crisis threatens to have a severe impact on oil and commodity prices, potentially deepening child poverty far beyond Eastern Europe. As always, children are the most affected by the conflicts.
What is World Vision's ability to reach the affected people?
World Vision is building a multi-country, multi-year response to meet the needs of people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine and those trapped or displaced within the country. We have been responding in Romania and Georgia from the very start of the crisis and have quickly expanded to reach the most affected families. In Ukraine, we have been supporting hospitals across the border from Romania who are trying to meet the needs of families displaced by the conflict, and are working with a range of faith and local organisations to put in place aid pipelines and logistics to support vulnerable and displaced populations further within Ukraine. In Moldova, the poorest country in Europe, and who has taken the largest number of refugees per capita, we’re supporting vulnerable families in both the host and refugee communities. We will continue to respond based on careful assessments of the fast-moving situation on the ground.
Is there a role for churches in Ukraine?
As a Christian organisation, we have decades of experience mobilising communities of faith to play their part in restoring peace and wellness, and we will seek to engage churches and faith groups to serve. We are partnering with faith groups and churches in Ukraine and Moldova to reach children and their families with essential aid. Our Romanian office has been working with faith leaders there for decades, and we will continue to work with all people of goodwill to save lives and livelihoods, help those who have lost homes and communities, and to protect the vulnerable.
Tragically, we live in a world of broken relationships where injustice, inequality, corruption, and disasters rob millions of their lives, their health and their futures. In World Vision, together with children and communities, we seek to uncover the deeper, often hidden, social, cultural and spiritual issues that prevent children from enjoying life in all its fullness.
What is World Vision doing to help families impacted by the crisis?
World Vision has been responding from the start of this conflict, providing hot drinks and liaison services at the border, equipping safe, warm spaces for children to play in processing centres and supporting shelters in Romania, Ukraine and Moldova to help children and families fleeing the conflict.
We are currently responding in Ukraine, Romania, Georgia and Moldova, and are partnering with local organisations to quickly scale up and reach the most vulnerable families fleeing the conflict. Our programmes are and will target the most vulnerable children and women with: non-food items and cash assistance; child protection and anti-trafficking programmes; mental and psychosocial support; and education.