Vatican aid is headed to hard-hit areas including Fastiv and Kyiv, with distribution organized through parish networks.
Pope Leo XIV has strengthened his support for Ukraine amid the ongoing war by sending new humanitarian aid to areas hardest hit by winter bombings, including 80 electricity generators, along with food and medicine.
According to the official Vatican News outlet, the assistance was sent at the pope’s request through the Dicastery for the Service of Charity. Three trucks carrying the generators departed Rome to help communities facing severe cold after repeated attacks on energy infrastructure.
Nighttime temperatures in Ukraine have fallen as low as minus 15 degrees Celsius, forcing many families to leave their homes in search of warmth in shelters, often the only places where they can receive a hot meal. The generators are intended to ensure electricity and heating in these shelters during the harsh winter months.
Along with the generators, the pope also sent food and large quantities of medicine, including antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, supplements, and melatonin, which has been especially sought after to help people sleep amid constant fear and stress caused by ongoing attacks.
The vehicles departed from the Basilica of St. Sophia in Rome, the church of Ukrainians in Italy, and have already reached Fastiv and Kyiv, two areas particularly affected by recent bombings. Once in Ukraine, the aid is distributed through parish networks in the dioceses.
This is not the first time Pope Leo XIV’s repeated appeals for peace have been accompanied by concrete action. On Dec. 28, 2025, he sent three other trucks with special food supplies designed to meet the most urgent needs of civilians in wartime conditions. At that time, the papal almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, explained that the food dissolves in small amounts of water to become high-energy chicken and vegetable soups.
Pope Leo XIV has consistently condemned the war in Ukraine. Following the Angelus on Jan. 11, he lamented the impact of recent Russian attacks that left more than a million households without water or heating in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
“New attacks, particularly serious ones, directed above all at energy infrastructure, precisely while the cold becomes harsher, are striking the civilian population heavily,” the pope said.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
