Since mid-October 2026, Russia has sharply escalated attacks on power, heating and water infrastructure as the heating season begins. Long, unscheduled outages leave households without heating, light, piped water, lifts and the means to cook or keep food. For older people, people with disabilities and the chronically ill, infants and young children, and women-led households, this is life-threatening: hypothermia, carbon monoxide poisoning from improvised heating, lack of food and water, and accidents, fires and violence in the dark, above all in host communities with many displaced people. The seven oblasts host around 1.8 million internally displaced people (IOM figures, Jan 2026), including 560,000 in Dnipropetrovsk and about 650,000 in Kyiv city and oblast. - Cold: in January 2026 alone, 1,600+ people sought medical help for frostbite and hypothermia, most in Dnipropetrovsk oblast and Kyiv (Ministry of Health). In one February weekend, carbon monoxide from improvised heating killed four and injured 25, including 15 children, in eight oblasts incl. Vinnytsia, Kyiv and Poltava (SES via ZMINA). Hypothermia deaths occurred even in less damaged regions (Al Jazeera); people with disabilities who cannot move are most at risk (MSF). - Food: FEWS NET classifies Chernihiv, Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk as Stressed (IPC 2), with frontline Dnipropetrovsk up to Crisis (IPC 3); people in need are expected to peak at 1.5–2 million in January 2027. Food spoils when fridges fail (IMPACT). - Water: outages stop pumping; supply was cut across Kyiv on 3 November (Meduza) and disrupted in Dnipro on 1 November (24 Kanal). - Protection: darkness increases women’s exposure to harassment and accidents (UN Women); 27% of IDP collective sites have no back-up power (IMPACT) Life-saving assistance is urgently needed: - Light and safety: power bank and LED lamps against candle fires and falls, and to keep phones charged for alerts and 101/103 calls; - Warmth: thermal blankets against hypothermia in unheated homes; - Water and hygiene: drinking water plus hygiene items for use without running water, including incontinence and menstrual supplies; - Food: food packages for households found food insecure.