Ukraine: For humanitarian workers who risk their lives every day, “the day never ends”

Jolina Dong

June 11, 2026 Humanitarian aid

For the UN employee Olga Skripovskaya working in Odessa, each day begins with the same question: “What has changed overnight?”

After sleepless nights, often interrupted by air raid alarms, Olga spends the morning hours studying operational reports, checking updates of information received from local authorities, and monitoring the situation in Odessa, Nikolaev, and Kherson — regions where the situation with humanitarian access can change within a few hours.

“There is always something happening here,” he says. “It’s almost never quiet.”

“The situation changes hourly”

Skripovskaya coordinates work with UN agencies operating in the south of Ukraine: conducting an assessment of whether it is possible to safely carry out humanitarian operations in specific areas and along certain routes, as well as developing recommendations for unforeseen circumstances.

“The road that can be used today may simply not exist tomorrow,” she explains.

The situation on the ground changes hourly: existing and potential threats, including mines and precision drones, require constant reassessment of routes and procedures.

“A woman sees more than the protocol prescribes”

Olga says that discipline and order play a key role in processing huge volumes of information and in making decisions related to ensuring security.

“A woman sees more than what the protocol prescribes,” he says. “You see tears, emotions — what goes beyond the procedure.”

Olga not only conducts formal safety briefings, but also studies the psychological state of her colleagues: whether they feel ready to carry out the mission, whether they are aware of the risks they will face, and whether they need additional information before departure.

Humanitarian imperative and search for balance

One of the most complex components of Skripovskaya’s work is considered to be ensuring humanitarian access to places where people urgently need help, but safety is not guaranteed. It describes a dilemma faced practically every day: how to balance responsibility for the welfare of personnel and the humanitarian imperative.

“Let’s say the protocol allows me to say ‘no’ 75 percent of the time,” he says. “But I still leave 25 percent in my heart — for the sake of these people.”

If the mission cannot proceed due to safety considerations, attention shifts to finding alternative solutions – whether that be a route change, a reassessment of the situation, or seeking a new window of opportunity.

For Olga, such persistence reflects the very essence of work to ensure the safety of humanitarian missions in conflict conditions: “If it is impossible to do something today, we start thinking about whether it can be done tomorrow.”