By Olha Hembik | 2026-02-12

At dawn in Warsaw, workers loaded hulking generators wrapped in Polish and Ukrainian flags and stamped with a simple promise: "Warmth from Poland." Within days, those machines would rumble into a darkened Kyiv, where families cook outside, charge phones in their cars and brace for temperatures plunging to -20°C (-4°F) after Russian strikes gutted the city's power grid.

In one week, Polish citizens and businesses raised more than 6 million zlotys ($1.5 million) for generators. About 50,000 people donated, according to the Stand with Ukraine foundation.

On January 23, organizers shipped the first 230 generators, manufactured by the Polish company FOGO, to Kyiv.

"These are big units that can heat entire houses and housing complexes," Natalia Panchenko, head of the Stand with Ukraine foundation, told Kontur.

With temperatures forecast to plunge further, organizers expanded the campaign beyond the capital. Panchenko told Kontur that the scale of destruction and the deep freeze forced them to act nationwide because they "want to warm up all of Ukraine." The initiative will send portable power stations, sleeping bags and thermal underwear to other cities.

Panchenko rejected claims that Poles have grown weary of helping Ukraine. She said the campaign disproves the "myth that 'the Poles are tired of helping Ukraine.'" She added that the Polish government, including the Foreign Ministry led by Radosław Sikorski, and politicians across the political spectrum backed the effort.

Organizers have raised their target to 10 million zlotys ($2.5 million).

A city in cold

Kyiv residents face mounting shortages.

"There are no generators or space heaters on the shelves at the biggest shopping centers in Kyiv. Everything disappeared in three days. We're running out of gas cylinders," said Piotr Kaszuwara, a Polish war correspondent and founder of the Fundacja Przyszłość dla Ukrainy UA Future.

Kaszuwara, who lives in Kyiv, told Kontur he has been without heat in his apartment for more than a week. Earlier, the heating was so weak it failed to warm even one room. He bought four gas cylinders in early January, fearing the cold, but they froze in his kitchen cupboard.

Electricity now comes only late at night.

"All my power banks, my computer, my EcoFlow and emergency flashlights have run out of power. I eat outdoors and charge my phone in my car so I can connect for channel TVP and report on what's happening here," Kaszuwara said.

In the end of January, after renewed Russian shelling, about 60% of Kyiv apartments lost power, according to TSN. Roughly 4,000 buildings were left without central heating.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko warned residents the situation could deteriorate further. Writing on Facebook on January 23, he said the capital "is preparing to respond to different scenarios" and predicted continued attacks on critical infrastructure.

"I want to be honest with the city's residents: this situation is very challenging and we might not even have seen the worst of it yet," Klitschko wrote, urging residents to consider leaving for places with alternative sources of food and warmth.

"Right now there are millions of people in Ukraine who are in a situation like mine or even much worse -- in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, on the front in the trenches," Kaszuwara said. He added that the Polish fundraising effort "offers faith that everything will be OK again."

Powering schools, hospitals

Jerzy Wójcik, publisher of the Polish-Ukrainian magazine Sestry and one of the organizers, said the campaign initially aimed to raise 500,000 zlotys ($125,000) for 100 generators for Kyiv.

Sestry promoted the effort alongside the Euromaidan-Warsaw initiative, the Open Dialogue foundation, the Democracy foundation and the Ihor Trach Foundation. Donations far exceeded expectations, allowing organizers to expand assistance nationwide.

"Thanks to the money we raised, we can provide more powerful equipment that will be able to heat not only apartments but even entire towns, schools and hospitals," Wójcik told Kontur.

Funds will pay for industrial generators to power key facilities, portable stations to restore electricity in city microdistricts, mobile power banks, gas stoves and thermal blankets, he said.

Dominika Kulczyk, Poland's richest businesswoman, along with her company Polenergia and the Kulczyk Foundation, donated 500,000 zlotys ($125,000). In a Facebook appeal to Poland's energy sector, she wrote that beyond fighting the cold, Kyiv residents are battling isolation.

"In addition to battling the cold, the residents of Kyiv are fighting loneliness. For them the warmth coming from Poland could be something bigger than just energy -- it's a message that the world remembers them," Kulczyk wrote.

"Every generator makes it possible to warm a child, cook a meal or connect with loved ones," she wrote. "Let's do this together and help Kyiv survive the winter."

The Entrepreneurship Club, United Nations Global Compact Network Poland and the Polish Red Cross also contributed.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the Polish campaign vital.

"This is a demonstration of genuine solidarity, humanity and honest support at a time when warmth and light signify safety and life," he wrote on Facebook.

On January 23, Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk, ordered 379 generators and 18 heaters from the Government Agency for Strategic Reserves sent to Ukraine.

Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski said the city collected 90 generators for Kyiv after Klitschko requested help.

"Due to the Russian attacks, the situation in Kyiv is becoming more dire with every passing day," Trzaskowski wrote, noting that hospitals, schools and residential buildings lack heat.