Giving people stability

At first glance, it seems contradictory: reconstruction is already underway in the midst of the war of aggression that has been affecting the whole country since 2022. Does it make sense to repair buildings, electricity lines and hospitals if Russian combat drones could easily destroy them again?

In fact, this assistance is particularly important. Germany and other international partners are supporting reconstruction efforts now so that the population is not cut off from essential services and people maintain hope for the future.

Support for those living their lives amid war

Millions of people have stayed in Ukraine and must go about their daily lives despite the ongoing fighting in the country. To do so, they need electricity, water and heat. However, infrastructure facilities like power and heating plants are being targeted repeatedly by Russian attacks, resulting in widespread power and heating outages.

GIZ is tackling this ‘logic of war’ with new approaches. For example, it has procured smaller, decentralised systems such as combined heat and power units for Ukraine. The units are mobile and harder to target for attack. The two combined heat and power plants that we delivered to Ukraine at the end of January 2026 alone now supply 86,000 people in Kyiv with emergency power and heat.

We are adapting reconstruction efforts to the wartime conditions, with flexible technical solutions that can be repaired or replaced more quickly.

Securing hospitals

However, essential services include much more: since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, we have contributed to ensuring that 4.7 million people receive better medical care. The focus is on supporting numerous hospitals, some of which work closely with German hospitals. People can continue to rely on quality treatment for illness or injury there. At the same time, we are working together to make health care facilities safer: operating rooms, diagnostic equipment and other important areas for patients and staff are being relocated to secure rooms in basements. Underground parking garages are being prepared so that people can shelter in them during attacks.

Reconstruction also serves an important social function: it is vital for the people who stayed in the country to feel that they have not been left on their own. This is especially true for all those living close to the front lines. They are often older people, who cannot or do not want to leave their homes.

With our support, local initiatives have set up points of contact. Here, residents from front line areas can receive psychological support and assistance in finding a new place to live if their home has been damaged. Mobile medical practices ensure access to health care in these areas.

Schooling for children near the front lines

There are still thousands of children living near the front lines. For years, many could only attend school online. But children need a sense of community. With support from Germany, schools are therefore being set up in bunker complexes and made child-friendly. In the schools, children and young people can come together to learn, sing, play – and forget about the war for a few hours.

Setting up schools in bunkers is not ideal, but it can provide schoolchildren with a sense of normalcy and help strengthen their mental wellbeing. A lack of educational opportunities could produce a lost generation in the long run, one with few prospects for the future. That is why it is important to rebuild and equip damaged schools all over the country swiftly – so that classes can continue.