We are delighted to announce that the distribution of 1,939 sleeping bags for the new phase of Winter Hugs, our priority humanitarian programme for this winter in Ukraine, has been completed.

This operation was made possible thanks to the decisive support of our Canadian friends, the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (https://www.cufoundation.ca) and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (https://www.ucc.ca), as part of the CUF-UCC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, and to the remarkable work of our local partner Union of Help to Kherson (https://biz.ks.ua), which was responsible for implementing the action on the ground.

The winter of 2025-2026 is being marked by a particularly critical humanitarian situation in the front-line areas. In Kherson, repeated Russian strikes on the energy infrastructure have led to prolonged power cuts, the absence of heating in many homes and direct exposure to extreme cold, sometimes for days on end.

Against this backdrop, Winter Hugs was conceived as a simple, rapid and vital response: to provide an immediate source of warmth for families living under the bombardments.

On the ground, our partner Union of Help to Kherson operated in an environment marked by constant risks:

• threats from drones making it impossible to use trucks
• split deliveries of small civil vehicles
• decentralised distributions to avoid congestion
• strict respect for the confidentiality of beneficiaries

Despite these constraints, all the sleeping bags were distributed in record time.

In the field, these sleeping bags proved to be essential:

• for elderly people living without heating, they provide vital thermal protection
• for internally displaced persons, they are often used as mobile beds in temporary accommodation or shelters
• on a human level, they convey a message of solidarity and support in a city under constant pressure

We would like to express our sincere thanks to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation and the Canadian Ukrainian Congress for their trust and their constant commitment to the Ukrainian civilians.

We also salute the courage, rigour and professionalism of the Union of Help to Kherson teams, who ensured the complete success of this mission in extremely difficult conditions.

While Winter Hugs has brought immediate relief to almost 2,000 households, the needs remain considerable. In the frontline areas, sleeping bags are now one of the most sought-after humanitarian items of the winter season.

The Small Projects Team remains fully committed to continuing this programme and continuing to provide rapid, concrete and effective responses to the populations most at risk.