February 24 marks the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, but an ever-changing “hybrid war” combining military operations with other forms of social and economic influence, has been waged since 2014.
Ukrainian civil society built up a strong backbone in response to this unpredictable and dangerous context. A powerful volunteer movement was then mobilized in response to the social and humanitarian catastrophe unleashed by the invasion. But the destruction and displacement of the last year have forced local organizations to rapidly reorient their activities. Operations have been adapted in response to the changing need of the population and the unprecedented international humanitarian response. This has presented many challenges for Ukrainian civil society.
Community organizations are responding to dramatic social changes. Women are adopting new roles in the labor market and as leaders of the volunteer movement. Many civil society organizations have had to adapt their programming toward the relief and prevention of sexual and gender-based violence. Ukrainians have experienced severe trauma and both government and voluntary services are struggling to meet the mental health needs of the population. International support should therefore take full account of the trauma-based and gender-based needs of Ukrainian communities. It should seek to increase the capacity and enhance the expertise of local civil society organizations.
There has been a proliferation of new actors in Ukrainian civil society. Traditional aid has been reoriented and small donors have become far more involved through academic communities, labor unions and other international networks. Large numbers of local volunteers are now able to receive funding for aid, transportation, and logistics. But this rapid change has led to the duplication of service provision in some places and insufficient support in others. Local groups directly interact with people living in rural areas in ways the state and international organizations cannot, but aid to villages is often redirected through larger regional organizations.
A better contextual understanding is needed to ensure aid reaches the people and areas where it is most needed, to avoid conditionality and competing mandates, and to include local voices in decision-making. Better transparency and communication between actors at different levels would improve the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance, and conflict sensitivity hubs would improve coordination.
Ukrainian civil society has been remarkably resilient to the challenges of the last year. The international response needs to recognize the context and realities on the ground in Ukraine, to have greater cooperation and common understanding with Ukrainian CSOs. Only a greater focus on the grassroots level, paying attention to the specific needs and sensitivities of Ukrainian civil society, can ensure representative, inclusive recovery and reconstruction and durable peace in Ukraine.