It is hard to imagine what could be more tragic than losing a home. It’s not just walls and a roof, it’s a place where laughter rang out, where children’s footsteps left a mark on the floor, where memories were woven into every corner. But for millions of Ukrainians, the house has turned into ashes today. The war mercilessly broke into their lives, shattering their homes, destroying their dreams, robbing them of their sense of security. Every rocket, every explosion is not just brick ruins, it’s broken destinies, lost lives, mutilated memories. The war stole not only physical walls – it took away the main thing: the home, which was the heart of every family. And with it, a piece of your soul that you will never get back.
Bloody traces of war in numbers
For many Ukrainians who lost their homes, the usual life seemed unshakable, but now it seems only a ghost. At one moment, a rocket or a projectile can erase not only the house, but also everything that was important. For many people, this means losing a part of themselves—memories, places where their parents saw them grow up, where they dreamed, loved, celebrated victories and suffered losses.
War does not just destroy walls, it destroys everything around. It destroys communities that have held together for decades. It leaves people without roots, without a place where they can feel safe. More than 10 million Ukrainians became homeless, having lost their homes, where there were once families, friends and happy moments.
Over 290,000 objects were recorded in the State Register of Destroyed and Damaged Property during the three years of the full-scale invasion. According to the World Bank, 10% of Ukraine’s housing stock has been damaged or completely destroyed due to Russian shelling. According to the regional military administrations, as of 2024, more than 143,000 private and more than 24,000 apartment buildings have been destroyed or damaged.
High-rise buildings were most destroyed in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kyiv, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions. Donetsk, Kyiv, Kherson, Kharkiv, Luhansk and Mykolaiv regions experienced the greatest destruction of private houses.
For data regional military administrations have sad statistics:
- Vinnytsia region – 143 objects of the housing fund;
- Volyn region – 37 objects of the housing stock (private houses);
- Dnipropetrovsk region – 1,923 high-rise and private buildings in total;
- Donetsk region (controlled territories) – more than 4,000 apartment buildings and 39,000 private residential buildings;
- Zhytomyr region – 4,200 private and apartment buildings;
- Transcarpathian region – 55 buildings;
- Zaporizhzhia region – 7,000 private and up to 1,000 apartment buildings;
- Ivano-Frankivsk region – 3 residential buildings;
- Kyiv region – 1,767 multi-story buildings, 24,405 private houses;
- Kyiv – 135 private houses and 829 apartment buildings;
- Kirovohrad region – 135 buildings;
- Luhansk region – 8,800 private and 3,400 multi-apartment residential buildings;
- Lviv region – 822 buildings;
- Mykolayiv region – 1,579 high-rise buildings and 7,633 private houses;
- Odesa region – 1432 buildings;
- Poltava region – 345 private and multi-storey residential buildings;
- Rivne region – 231 objects;
- Sumy region – 738 apartment buildings and 4,099 private houses;
- Ternopil region – 34 apartment buildings and 27 private residential buildings;
- Kharkiv region – 6,340 high-rise and 19,983 private buildings;
- Kherson region – 24,659 objects. Since the de-occupied part of the right-bank Kherson region is shelled daily, the number of damaged objects is 6.4% on average every month.
- Khmelnytskyi region – private housing was the most affected – 2,457 houses and 58 multi-story buildings (Khmelnytskyi, Krupetsk and Chornoostrivska territorial communities), which is 84% of all damaged objects in Khmelnytskyi region.
- Cherkasy region – 250 buildings;
- Chernivtsi region – 10 private houses;
- Chernihiv region – 9,387 private houses and 999 apartment buildings.
There is not a single region left in Ukraine where the bitter breath of war is not felt. Once quiet streets and cozy houses are now destroyed, and instead of children’s laughter, sirens often sound. In every corner of the country, from east to west, from south to north, the war left its bloody traces. Houses in which people lived for generations have become ruins, windows are broken, and now the walls are replaced by burnt bricks. These are not just destroyed buildings – these are broken lives, lost memories, broken destinies. Each region of Ukraine now has its own pain, its own tragedy. According to approximate calculations, about 4.5 million people lost their homes. And this is about 1.8 million families. And this is a real disaster for the country. Considerable funds will be needed to restore housing, despite the fact that hostilities continue in the country, and the economy is almost destroyed.
Ruins instead of the future
Those who were left without a home did not just lose a roof over their heads. They lost a place that gave them a sense of belonging. It is a deep, unhealed wound that no amount of shelter or financial aid can fully heal. But even those who managed to leave and find shelter cannot find peace. They carry with them the pain and fear that their place in the world no longer exists. They wonder: will they ever see that house again? Will their children be able to return to where they were once happy? Will the peace they had before the war return?
After the repeated attack of the Russian Federation on Ukraine in the area of Vovchansk community of Kharkiv region, the aggressors simply wiped the town of Vovchansk off the face of the earth. Many people have lost their homes and now simply have nowhere to return.
“When I look at the destroyed streets of the city on social networks, my heart just bleeds. The reality became such that all that remained of Vovchansk were ruins, photos, and memory, both for people and on the Internet. I have a question: will the state rebuild this town? Now there are no enterprises there, the infrastructure is damaged. So why do people return there?”, – thinks Ihor, a resident of Vovchansk.
Natalya, a resident of the Vovchansk community, remembers her house not just as walls and a roof, but as a place where her life was preserved. Here she grew up with her sister, they dreamed, laughed and made plans together. Warm evenings in the yard, mother’s meals in the kitchen, children’s laughter echoing in the rooms. Then two more little lives appeared in these walls – her daughters, who made this house even brighter.
“Now there is nothing left of my house but an empty, charred foundation. The explosions erased from the face of the earth everything that had been built for years, which had witnessed the most important events in the life of my family”, Natalya recalls with sadness.
When Natalya applied for help for reconstruction, after standing in endless queues, she received only an empty promise: “after the end of the war, you will be reimbursed for everything.” And it hurts no less than the ruins of her house. What does “after” mean? How to live now, at this moment, when there is nowhere to return, nowhere to bring children? Her home was her fortress, her history, and now it’s just a shadow waiting to come back to life…someday.
Serhii, a resident of Mariupol, who lost an apartment in a high-rise building, also confirms the facts of the imperfection of the system of providing assistance from the state for the reconstruction of lost housing:
“You can pass dozens of wonderful laws, but if there are no clear algorithms on how to implement them, then all of them will not make any sense. What is happening with this law on compensation for destroyed property? It is very good that the people of Mariupol participated in the development of the law and ensured that the residents of the occupied territories also received the right to compensation. However, aliens could be added to the list of those entitled to compensation with the same success. Because isn’t it the same, if in fact there is no mechanism to confirm the fact of the destruction of housing for those whose city is occupied”
The state offers many initiatives and projects, but all of them require serious funding and still remain only initiatives on paper. While people need a roof over their head immediately. Declared amounts of aid often do not correspond to real needs. The amount of housing allocated for IDPs is insufficient, and the process of obtaining it is delayed for months or even years. Many people are faced with difficulties when completing documents and imperfect work of electronic services. And in some cases, the distribution of housing is even accompanied by corruption schemes. And as it turns out in practice, housing is not given to those who really need it, but to those who have the opportunity to “solve the issue for a reward”. The topic of housing remains the most acute problem for the vulnerable population group called IDPs. Unfortunately, to date, there is no fully functioning program in the country that would systematically solve the problem of providing shelter for IDPs and take into account the needs and capabilities of everyone. Providing only a few dozen families of IDPs with housing for a short period of time does not increase people’s confidence in getting their own home for the rest of their lives.
Of course, the state provides the possibility of temporary accommodation in dormitories, but every day they become more and more crowded. And not everyone easily copes with the constant stay in a large crowd of people. So many IDPs are trying to carve out their own corner. The state provides monthly assistance in the amount of UAH 2,000 for adults and UAH 3,000 for children and persons with disabilities. But this money is not enough to pay for rented accommodation. In addition, these payments were stopped by many IDPs. Probably, the authorities believe that the war is already over, and people do not need them.
Receiving compensation for lost or damaged housing
What a thorny path lies before obtaining compensation for lost or damaged housing! Grief-stricken people must collect evidence of home damage, which means putting themselves at risk in order to obtain evidence of a damaged household. And then there is a whole journey to various institutions and the collection of waste paper. At the end – the long-awaited reward in the form of a pile of certificates and a promise to compensate when the war is over.
By the way, despite the fact that we live in the digital age, where it seems that everything should be solved in two clicks, in practice it turns out differently. People stand in long queues to register their household in the Unified State Register. And then it turns out that the technical passports are already out of date, and to restore them, you need to pay UAH 3,500 – UAH 4,000. If we compare it with the monthly help from the state in the amount of UAH 2,000-3,000, then it is interesting, where to get such money.
Elizaveta, a resident of Bakhmut, is trying to find a positive emotional mood after losing her apartment, because somehow one has to cope with the challenges of fate. So the woman assures herself that she is on a business trip. But in addition to difficulties with finding housing, the woman who has a cat and a dog also encountered a wave of misunderstanding and aggression from her compatriots.
“I have heard so much negativity. Complete strangers treated me rudely, reproached me that such a set of animals should be kept at home, and not rented. But the fact is that I don’t have a home. When I started my animals, he was there, but now he is not. I had a large three-room apartment in Bakhmut with wide corridors and a large balcony. And it is not my fault that now there is nothing. It hurts a lot. For the first time, I felt such humiliation from my compatriots”, – remembers Elizaveta.
How to cope with the loss of a home in foreign countries
In different foreign countries, losing a home due to war, natural disasters or other crises is a serious problem, and countries have different approaches to helping people who find themselves in such a situation.
Germany has one of the most developed refugee assistance systems. After the Syrian conflict, Germany took in hundreds of thousands of people, providing them with temporary housing, medical care and social support. Refugees are placed in special centers or temporary shelters until they are provided with permanent housing. In addition, the government supports integration programs to help people find work, learn the language and adapt to life in a new country.
Sweden, like Germany, has a strong refugee support system. Upon arrival in the country, people receive temporary housing, which can be in the form of special centers or government-provided apartments. The government provides access to medicine, social services and language courses. Integration programs also include assistance in employment and training, which helps people to adapt to new living conditions faster.
After earthquakes and tsunamis, such as the 2011 disaster, Japan created a comprehensive response system. People who have lost their homes are evacuated to temporary shelters, where they are provided with medical and psychological assistance, as well as material support. At the same time, the government begins reconstruction projects, focusing on the rapid restoration of residential areas. One of the key features is disaster preparedness: the government invests in advance preparation and education of the population about possible natural disasters.
During natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the US government provided assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The victims were relocated to temporary housing complexes, provided with financial compensation for housing restoration, and also supported insurance payments. For the homeless in the United States, there is a program for providing temporary shelters, as well as financial grants for renting housing. However, even with this support, many people face difficulties due to red tape and a lack of affordable housing.
Turkey has taken in millions of Syrian refugees during the conflict, setting up special camps where they are provided with housing, food and medical care. However, in urban areas where there are many refugees, the problem of overcrowded apartments and insufficient infrastructure often arises. In addition, after earthquakes such as the one in 1999, the Turkish government implemented disaster response systems with an emphasis on rapid resettlement and reconstruction of housing complexes.
After the devastating earthquake in 2015, which left many people homeless, the Nepalese government and international organizations have been actively involved in the reconstruction. The victims were provided with temporary housing in tents and emphasis was placed on joint reconstruction with the participation of the community. International organizations such as the United Nations have funded home reconstruction projects and supported long-term disaster-resilient housing initiatives.
In the conditions of the constant threat of military conflicts, Israel has developed special systems of shelters and rapid response. People who lost their homes due to rocket attacks are provided with temporary apartments, and compensation is also provided for the restoration of destroyed property. Psychological care is an integral part of victim support because the impact of war on people is extremely traumatic.
In many countries, the issue of losing a home is considered comprehensively, with an emphasis on providing not only material, but also psychological support. After such disasters, people need not only housing, but also stability that helps them feel safe again and find new strength to rebuild their lives.
Learn to live without a home
Returning to life after losing a home is difficult. People learn to live anew, build new homes, try to adapt, but the heart still returns to the destroyed home. Where their roots once were, there are now only ruins. They remained nowhere – without a future and without a past. The feeling of emptiness and loss will forever remain a part of their lives.
Each destroyed house is a separate life, a separate story that will never be the same again. The war took not only the walls, it stole the souls of those who called this place their home. When a person loses something valuable and important to him, the feeling of loss remains for the rest of his life, and therefore can lead to a psychological disorder. It is important not to ignore this pain, but to seek help from specialists.
“Therapy can help work through trauma and gradually reduce the impact of anxiety and fear on everyday life. If left unaddressed, these feelings can continue to haunt a person throughout their lives, affecting their ability to enjoy life and build a future.”, explains psychologist Nataliya Gaevska.
Painful challenges of fate affect people in different ways: someone is united by pain, while someone, on the contrary, looks for the culprit and takes out their aggression on others. Experts emphasize that it is important not to face the disaster, but to try to get used to the new circumstances of life, to study the traditions and habits of the inhabitants of a new place, which will make it possible to adapt faster. It is also worth remembering that despite the loss of a home, we remain who we were. And this means that our skills and abilities will certainly be needed in the new place of residence.
The ruins of a house are more than broken bricks and glass underfoot. It is a symbol of the stolen future, where instead of comfort and joy, the cold of war and emptiness reigns. Millions of Ukrainians were left without a place that once gave them a sense of belonging and security. But even among these ruins burns the indomitable spirit of people who believe in rebuilding – not only homes, but also life.
The state should immediately change its approach and turn its face to those who lost their homes due to the war. These people have already experienced excruciating pain and loss, and instead of receiving support and help, they face a heartless bureaucracy. Complicated and confusing procedures for obtaining compensations turn the process into endless obstacles. This not only demoralizes people, but also undermines their faith in their own state.
