Finland’s humanitarian assistance in Ukraine

Finland responds to Ukraine’s acute needs by providing humanitarian assistance that will save lives, alleviate human suffering and protect human dignity. Finland allocated a total of EUR 106.45 million in assistance to respond to the humanitarian situation in Ukraine between February 2022 and May 2026. Ukraine is the largest recipient country of Finland’s humanitarian aid.

Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine has caused immense destruction and suffering. According to a UN estimate, approximately 10.8 million Ukrainians, or about 30 per cent of the population, need humanitarian assistance and protection in 2026. It is estimated that 16 per cent of them are persons with disabilities. People in the frontline especially have increasingly serious needs.

Humanitarian assistance is allocated under a separate budget item Humanitarian Assistance to Ukraine. During this government term, funding has amounted to a minimum of EUR 20 million per year; in 2026, it is EUR 22 million. Finland channels humanitarian assistance through UN specialised agencies, the International Red Cross Movement and Finnish civil society organisations. Finland’s humanitarian assistance prioritises helping those in the most vulnerable situations, especially persons with disabilities.  

Finland has several important partners in Ukraine. They are the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF), a pooled fund managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In early 2026, Finland allocated EUR 5 million in humanitarian assistance to the Ukraine relief operation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The ICRC and the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) provide vital assistance specifically to people in the frontline and offer technical and material support for repairing destroyed infrastructure and maintaining power and water supply and health services. Finland also supports the ICRC’s humanitarian mine action in Ukraine – the ICRC raises awareness about the dangers of mines and helps the injured through rehabilitation. 

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) focuses on providing protection and emergency relief, supporting local communities, finding sustainable solutions for internally displaced people and returnees, and supporting the reconstruction of the country. Finland is funding the UNHCR Ukraine operation by EUR 6 million in the early part of 2026.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has several operations in Ukraine: a comprehensive country operation delivering food kits primarily in hard-to-reach and frontline areas and distributing cash assistance to people internally displaced or affected by the war; the school meals programme, which the WFP is implementing within the framework of the Ukrainian Government’s school nutrition reform; and agricultural mine action carried out with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization FAO. Finland has supported all of these operations. It has also indirectly supported Ukraine by providing a total of EUR 14.5 million in funding through the WFP to grain exports to countries suffering from food insecurity. In the early 2026 round of distribution of funding, Finland allocated EUR 5 million to the WFP country operation in Ukraine and EUR 1 million to the humanitarian mine action of WFP and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Finland also finances the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF), a pooled fund managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Most of Finland’s support to Ukraine has been channelled through the UHF. The UHF pools contributions from multiple donors into a single fund and decides on the allocation of funding to different actors and sectors locally in Ukraine. This allows the most pressing humanitarian needs to be considered in funding decisions. The UHF strongly supports the humanitarian work of local civil society organisations. Funding decisions are made with particular attention to gender equality, the inclusion of persons with disabilities, protection and education in emergencies. In early 2026, Finland allocated EUR 3 million to the UHF.

In addition, Finnish civil society organisations deliver humanitarian assistance in Ukraine. In the call for applications for programme-based support for 2026–2029, Finland granted EUR 2 million for the humanitarian activities of YMCA Finland in Ukraine. The organisation supports the learning of children and young people in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Poltava by providing remedial teaching and learning materials as well as skills training aimed at promoting young people’s wellbeing and employment prospects. The project also promotes the psychosocial wellbeing of children and young people.

Finland’s support to Ukraine in 2024

In 2024, Finland granted a total of EUR 20 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, including:

  • EUR 5 million to the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF) managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). 
  • EUR 6 million to the Ukraine relief operation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The ICRC provided vital assistance and offered technical and material support to repair destroyed infrastructure and to maintain power supply, water supply and health services. In addition to protecting civilians, the operation promoted international humanitarian law, monitored the living conditions and treatment of prisoners of war and helped to reunite families separated by the conflict.
  • EUR 4 million to the Ukraine operation of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The UNHCR’s operation provided, among other things, emergency relief, offered alternative energy sources (including generators and backup power supplies) and housing solutions, and supported the early recovery and resilience of local communities.
  • EUR 2 million to the Ukraine operation of the World Food Programme (WFP). The WFP’s operation focused on distributing food kits in hard-to-reach and frontline areas and on providing cash assistance. The WFP also offered food supplies to hospitals, for example. Additionally, Finland provided EUR 0.5 million in support through the WFP for school meals in Ukraine.
  • EUR 2.5 million to the two-year humanitarian project of the civil society organisation Fida International in Ukraine. The project provides cash assistance and psychosocial support primarily to internally displaced people in the Zaporizhzhia and Zakarpattia regions.

Finland’s support to Ukraine in 2025

In 2025, Finland granted a total of EUR 21.75 million in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, distributed as follows:

  • EUR 3 million to the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF) managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
  • EUR 5 million to the Ukraine relief operation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The ICRC provided vital assistance to people and offered technical and material support for repairing infrastructure destroyed in attacks and maintaining power and water supply and health services. In addition to protecting civilians, the operation promoted international humanitarian law, monitored the living conditions and treatment of prisoners of war and helped to reunite families separated by the conflict.
  • EUR 7 million to the Ukraine operation of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The operation provided emergency relief, offered alternative energy sources (including generators and backup power supplies) and housing solutions for internally displaced people, and supported the early recovery and resilience of local communities, among other things.
  • EUR 4 million to the Ukraine operation of the World Food Programme (WFP). The operation focused on distributing food kits in hard-to-reach and frontline areas and providing cash assistance. The WFP also provided food supplies for hospitals, for example.
  • EUR 1 million to the project of Save the Children International and EUR 0.75 million to the project of Plan International in Ukraine. The former improved access to school for Ukrainian children, as well as enhanced child welfare, and mental health and psychosocial support services in Sumy and Kharkiv. The project by Plan International responded to the urgent mental health and wellbeing needs of children and young people affected by the violence of war in the conflict-ridden regions of Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa.

The website was updated on 3 June 2026.

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