1,000 Jewish Homes in Ukraine Need Repairs After Russian Strikes

About 1,000 Jewish homes in Ukraine are in urgent need of repair after recent Russian missile and drone strikes damaged residential buildings across the country, according to World Jewish Relief.

The London-based Jewish aid charity said elderly Jewish residents and Holocaust survivors are among those affected. Windows were shattered, roofs were damaged and some buildings were declared unsafe, forcing residents to leave their homes.

The warning comes amid an intensified Russian aerial campaign against Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv and Sumy. Ukraine has reported several major barrages in recent weeks, including one attack involving 90 missiles and 600 drones, and another involving 73 missiles and 656 drones.

During a briefing, World Jewish Relief CEO Paul Anticoni said the situation facing Ukraine’s Jewish population is urgent.

“Ukraine’s Jewish community is one of the most vulnerable Jewish communities in the world right now,” Anticoni said.

World Jewish Relief has worked in Ukraine for more than 30 years and supports around 8,000 elderly Jews through local partners. Since Russia’s invasion in 2022, the group has provided emergency aid, welfare support, home care, medical assistance and home repairs.

Anticoni said the current repair needs are far greater than the organization’s existing capacity.

“We have repaired 3,500 Jewish homes over the past 15 years,” he said. “But today, I estimate there are 1,000 Jewish homes in urgent need of repair.”

Julia Goldenberg, director of 2U, World Jewish Relief’s Kyiv partner, said the damage has continued to mount after repeated Russian attacks on civilian areas.

“Only during one night of the May 24 attack, we received reports of 50 more damaged apartments,” Goldenberg said.

She said the repairs are not limited to rebuilding broken windows or damaged roofs.

“When we appear to help, it’s not just the fixing of people’s homes. It’s the fixing of their lives, really,” she said.

Among those affected is Rita, an 86-year-old Holocaust survivor in Kyiv. Born into a Jewish family in Vinnytsia, she fled the Nazis as a child and lost her father during World War II. More than eight decades later, her apartment was badly damaged in a Russian strike.

“We were all covered in glass and the entire window frame fell on me,” Rita said. “I was really shocked by how the blast wave shattered the glass into such tiny pieces. It’s frightening.”

Another Holocaust survivor, 86-year-old Ida Drobotko from Sumy, was also forced from her home after her apartment was severely damaged in April. Windows were shattered, the roof was partially destroyed and the building was later declared unsafe.

Beth Saffer, World Jewish Relief’s Head of Older People Programmes, said older residents are often the least able to relocate, even when their homes are damaged or unsafe.

“Older people have been the least likely to relocate within Ukraine and certainly to leave the country,” she said.

World Jewish Relief said the scale of damaged Jewish homes now exceeds available repair resources, as Russian missile and drone strikes continue to threaten civilian areas across Ukraine.