FOURyears after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s women are losing jobs, safety and access to vital services as deliberate attacks have wiped out nearly two-thirds of the country’s energy generation capacity, United Nations officials warned Friday.
Speaking in Geneva, UN Women’s Chief of Humanitarian Action Sofia Calltorp said widespread power blackouts are doing far more than keeping the lights off. Extended outages are stripping women of economic security, restricting their movement, and leaving them more exposed to harassment and violence.
“No electricity means no school for my children and no electricity means no job for me,” Calltorp recounted one Kyiv resident, Irina, telling her during a recent visit. “It means no salary.”
Women are disproportionately employed in the sectors hardest hit by power cuts — education, health, social services and retail — and are losing work at elevated rates as a result.
The human toll has been severe. UN Women confirmed 2025 was the deadliest year of the conflict for women since the invasion began, with more than 5,000 women and girls killed and 14,000 injured since February 2022. Officials cautioned the real figures are likely significantly higher.
The crisis is now being compounded by sharp reductions in foreign aid funding. One in three women-led humanitarian organisations in Ukraine warned they may not survive beyond six months, according to a recent survey. UN Women projects these groups will lose at least $53.9 million by year’s end, potentially cutting off an estimated 63,000 women from services in 2026 — including support for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.
“Weakening women’s organisations at this moment risks weakening the entire humanitarian and recovery architecture of Ukraine,” said Sabine Freizer Gunes, UN Women’s representative in the country.
The broader humanitarian picture is equally dire. The World Health Organisation has verified more than 2,870 attacks on healthcare facilities over the past four years, killing 233 and injuring 937 healthcare workers and patients. The number of people living with disabilities has grown by nearly 390,000 — more than 10 percent — since the invasion began.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned that power outages carry life-threatening consequences for the elderly, disabled and chronically ill, while the psychological strain is spreading across the wider population.
“Prolonged darkness, isolation and constant uncertainty are exhausting communities,” said Jaime Wah, the IFRC’s Deputy Head of Delegation in Ukraine.
