Extreme winter cold making life harder for Ukraine people in conflict zone

Hoping to find safer places to live, families in the region have had to endure a battle for survival, in buildings without heat or electricity.

In Ukraine, extreme winter cold is making life harder for thousands of people whose lives have already been torn apart by conflict.

Hoping to find safer places to live, families in the region have had to endure a battle for survival, in buildings without heat or electricity. Since 2014, conflict in Ukraine has forced 1.5 million people to flee their homes, according to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR. After five years, many of the displaced are often forced to choose between buying food and medicine or paying for heating.

In 2018 the agency stepped up the distribution of aid, including clothing, fuel and cash, to thousands of displaced households in eastern Ukraine.