Rating Group, Voluntas, and UN Women in Ukraine have released the Gender Impact Assessment of the Energy Crisis in Ukraine ahead of the fifth winter of the full-scale war.

The study was conducted by Voluntas and Rating Group on behalf of UN Women as part of the global TransformCare initiative, with financial support from the UK International Development programme of the Government of the United Kingdom.

According to a nationwide survey of Ukraine's adult population (1,200 respondents) conducted by Rating Group on February 25–26, 2026, using the CATI method:

• almost three-quarters of women (74%) have no backup energy source – among men, slightly more than half (52%);
• 56% of women and 35% of men reported moderate or serious financial difficulties;
• 42% of women and 24% of men felt less safe because of power outages;
• 44% of women and 26% of men take on the main childcare responsibilities.

Based on the results, UN Women recommends that the Government, the UN Humanitarian Country Team, and donors recognize caregivers as a priority group when preparing for winter, help households with backup energy supply, and make Points of Invincibility safe and accessible for women.

As noted by UN Women Representative in Ukraine Sabine Fraser Güneş:

"Women are preparing for another winter energy crisis with even less access to security, livelihoods, education, healthcare, and opportunities to take part in decision-making. At the same time, women's needs are growing, while international humanitarian and development assistance aimed at tackling gender inequality is shrinking. Decisions on investments in strengthening the resilience of the energy system and on preparing for the winter period are being made right now, and it is crucial that they take women's priorities into account and that women's rights organizations have enough resources to continue providing life-saving services this winter as well."

Rating Group Co-founder and CEO Oleksii Antypovych emphasized the practical importance of the study for Ukraine's current challenges:

"We all understand that another difficult winter lies ahead, and it is important to prepare for it in advance. The joint study with UN Women and Voluntas is very timely: based on the experience of winter 2025–2026, we can see who needs what kind of support the most and where additional preparation for winter is needed. And the gender dimension is very important here: a difficult winter creates additional challenges for women, who often take on, for example, most of the childcare."

Rating Group is one of Ukraine's largest research institutions, operating since 2008. The company is registered in Ukraine and has extensive experience conducting sociological surveys in Ukraine and abroad. The group includes the Rating Sociological Group, the Rating Lab research laboratory, the Rating Online platform, and the Rating Call Center.