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The Kyiv School of Economics estimates that over 222,000 private homes have been damaged since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022. Full repairs will take time and funding from larger donors, so smaller non-profits are working to make homes livable for those who remain read more
 "No glass to fix Ukraine's 10 million windows shattered in Russian shelling, so there is...")
Oleh, 52, a local builder and volunteer of the Insulate Ukraine charitable organisation, carries frames for replacing broken windows, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Mykolaivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, June 18, 2024. REUTERS
Tetiana Beibyko, a pensioner in eastern Ukraine, now has a polyethylene window in her home after the glass windows of her five-story building were shattered by shelling.
More than 28 months into Russia’s full-scale invasion, around 10 million windows in Ukraine have been destroyed, according to the group Insulate Ukraine.
Beibyko lives about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the front lines and is one of over 4,000 people who have had their broken windows replaced with inexpensive polyethylene sheets provided by the organisation. “There’s no draught, no blast of air,” Beibyko, 68, said from her home in Mykolaivka, Donetsk. “Before, it was all shattered. There was a hole here.”
Her building’s exterior now features a mix of boards, gaps, and flapping plastic. “All the windows were smashed when we were hit,” said fellow resident Iryna Ivanenko, 63. “I tried to seal it with plastic and whatever I could find.”
The Kyiv School of Economics estimates that over 222,000 private homes have been damaged since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022. Full repairs will take time and funding from larger donors, so smaller non-profits are working to make homes livable for those who remain.
Insulate Ukraine, a local group, has been providing these polyethylene windows. “They are a temporary solution for a long-term problem,” said Harry Blakiston Houston, 27, the founder of Insulate Ukraine. “Some buildings have had shattered windows since the start of the war, and there are still millions of windows left to replace.”
With high demand for imported glass causing long waits, Houston developed a faster and cheaper solution using PVC pipes and polyethylene, materials available in local stores.
Although these windows are not bulletproof, they offer more protection than glass. “These windows are designed to withstand blast waves and are less likely to cause injuries from glass shards,” said Stanislav Stupak, an Insulate Ukraine representative.
With inputs from Reuters
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