Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the necessity of societal resilience in the face of external threats. Ukraine’s resilience has been driven not only by its military, but also by the mobilization of civil society and the private sector. NGOs, volunteers, and businesses have played a crucial role in humanitarian aid, economic stability, and defense support. The EU and its member states must strengthen their own societal resilience by drawing lessons from Ukraine’s experience, enhancing multi-sector engagement, and preparing for future crises. This policy brief outlines key challenges and strategic recommendations to reinforce EU and its member states resilience through effective collaboration between the public, private, and third sectors.
Introduction
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The war in Ukraine: unprecedented external aggression and its impact on society
Ukraine has demonstrated exceptional resilience despite facing unprecedented aggression from Russia. The war has tested the country’s ability to sustain critical infrastructure, maintain governance and protect civilians. Ukraine’s resilience has been driven by strong civic engagement, adaptive business, and international collaboration, all of which are crucial for societal resilience in crisis situations. Civil society, businesses, and international partners have played a crucial role in supporting displaced populations, sustaining economic activity, countering disinformation. The resilience of Ukrainian society is built on its ability to adapt quickly to crisis situations, demonstrating coherence, unity, and social adaptability.
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Defining societal resilience in wartime
Resilience is concept in the social sciences to explain the variability among people who cope with various adversities and their ability to recover. Social sciences offer three types of resilience: individual, community, and societal. Societal resilience refers to the ability of a nation to cope and recover from adversities/crises on a societal scale. Societal resilience in wartime refers to a nation’s ability to withstand, adapt to, and recover from external aggression while maintaining essential services, social cohesion, and national security. Societal resilience in Ukraine is influenced by multiple interconnected components, including human, cultural, organizational, political, and economic factors.
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The necessity of multi-sector engagement
Government efforts alone cannot ensure societal resilience. Ukraine’s experience demonstrates that resilience requires an integrated effort from all sectors. The war has underscored the critical role of NGOs, businesses, and international partners in providing humanitarian aid, countering cyber threats, maintaining public services etc. Civil society institutions have been crucial in crisis management, bridging the gap between government efforts and local community needs. Collaborative initiatives between the government and private sector, such as energy infrastructure repairs have strengthened Ukraine’s ability to respond to prolonged crises.
Challenges to Societal Resilience During War
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Displacement and humanitarian crises
The war has led to the displacement of millions of Ukrainians, both internally and across borders, over 10 million people fled their homes, creating immense pressure on humanitarian organizations and host communities. Ensuring access to shelter, healthcare, and employment for internally displaced persons and refugees was a major challenge. Local and international NGOs have played a vital role in providing essential services, but challenges remain in ensuring sustainable integration and long-term support for displaced populations. Decentralization in Ukraine gave more power, resources and responsibilities to local communities and became a crucial advantage during full-scaled aggression, providing the high ability of Ukrainians to self-organize with plenty examples when people helped each other during occupation and evacuation.
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Economic disruption and business sustainability
The destruction of infrastructure, disrupted supply chains, and financial instability have posed significant economic challenges. Many small and medium enterprises struggle to remain operational, while larger corporations face difficulties maintaining production and export activities. However, Ukraine’s ability to adapt through business continuity plans, international economic assistance, and local entrepreneurship has mitigated some of these effects. Despite economic shocks, Ukraine’s business sector has displayed flexibility, with many companies shifting their focus toward defense production, humanitarian assistance, and fast recovery.
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Psychological resilience and social cohesion
Continuous exposure to violence, loss, and uncertainty has taken a toll on mental health. Psychological resilience is critical to maintaining morale and productivity. Social cohesion amid rising tensions and trauma is vital for national unity. Prolonged conflict has placed severe mental health strains on both civilians and military personnel. National initiatives, including psychological resilience programs such as “Ukrainian Mental Health Initiative” have been effective in helping with wartime stress. A lot of training materials have been created to work effectively with panic attacks, losses, war traumas, psychologists and their associations have launched different support programs for victims. Psychological resilience has been reinforced by grassroots initiatives, social networks, and volunteer movements that provide emotional and practical support.
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Disinformation and hybrid threats
Russia’s use of disinformation, cyberattacks, and propaganda seeks to destabilize Ukraine by spreading fear, distrust, and misinformation. Countering these hybrid threats is crucial to maintaining public confidence and international support. Despite controversial attitude and critics Ukraine’s “United News” telethon, a joint effort by major national broadcasters, has been a key initiative in providing reliable wartime information. Civil society organizations have played a prominent role in fact-checking and disseminate truthful information.
The Role of the Third and Private Sectors
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NGOs in humanitarian aid, reconstruction, and psychological support
NGOs have played a crucial role in providing food, medical assistance, housing, and psychological support. For example, organizations like the Ukrainian Red Cross and Razom for Ukraine have been instrumental in delivering emergency medical aid and mental health support to war-affected civilians. The Come Back Alive Foundation has provided military and humanitarian assistance, ensuring the sustainability of defensive operations and relief efforts. The Ukrainian volunteering movement has become one of the crucial bricks in resisting the invaders. Grassroots initiatives have facilitated local integration, NGOs have not only provided emergency aid but have also contributed to long-term resilience by fostering solidarity, recovery and local self-organization.
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Businesses maintaining economic stability and supporting defense efforts
Ukrainian businesses have adapted by shifting production towards military needs. For instance, Ukroboronprom, state-owned defense conglomerate, has increased production of military equipment, while private enterprises such as Roshen and Nova Poshta have allocated significant resources to support humanitarian aid and logistics. Agricultural companies, such as Nibulon have maintained grain exports despite logistical challenges, helping to sustain Ukrainian economy and global food security, and MHP have ensured domestic food supply by adapting production processes. After massive russian attacks on critical infrastructure, both large businesses, such as mobile operators, and local SME quickly responded to power outages by widely deploying autonomous power sources. The private sector plays a vital role in ensuring supply chain resilience, economic stability, allowing for the reallocation of resources to support wartime needs.
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Successful multi-sector collaboration in Ukraine
Several successful models of collaboration have emerged, such as:
- Public-private partnerships in logistics and energy sector: Companies like Nova Poshta and Ukrzaliznytsia have provided transporting humanitarian aid and evacuating civilians from conflict zones. These collaborations have ensured the uninterrupted flow of essential goods across the country. Naftogaz and Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s energy companies, have worked with international partners to repair and stabilize Ukraine’s energy grid.
- Tech companies assisting in cyber defense and counter-disinformation campaigns: Ukraine’s IT sector has become a crucial player in national security. Initiatives like IT Army of Ukraine, a volunteer cyber force, have helped defend against Russian cyberattacks, while social media campaigns led by StopFake and other fact-checking organizations counter russian disinformation.
- International corporate and philanthropic support: “United24” fundraising platform launched by the Ukrainian government, has successfully gathered millions in donations for medical aid, defense, and rebuilding efforts, demonstrating the effectiveness of coordinated donation campaigns.
Policy Recommendations
By learning from Ukraine’s experience and adapting strategies accordingly, the EU and member states can reinforce its ability to withstand future shocks and external pressures through: strengthen resilience planning by integrating multi-sectoral cooperation into national security strategies; increase funding and logistical support for NGOs engaged in crisis response and social resilience; expand investments in energy diversification to reduce dependence on external or centralized suppliers; enhance cybersecurity initiatives, including public-private partnerships to counter hybrid threats; create regulatory framework for recovery programs, including incentives for businesses to invest in resilient infrastructure.
Short-Term Measures are: expand government and international funding channels for NGOs and businesses involved in resilience efforts; streamline regulatory frameworks to support volunteer initiatives and wartime business operations; improve crisis communication strategies to counter disinformation and maintain public trust; strengthen asylum policies and labor market access for displaced persons.
Medium-Term Strategies are: institutionalize public-private partnerships to ensure sustained collaboration in resilience-building, e.g. food, energy and cybersecurity; provide tax incentives and subsidies for businesses involved in defense, logistics, and humanitarian aid; strengthen community-based programs to bolster local resilience and self-reliance; develop EU-wide resilience training programs for crisis preparedness.
Long-Term Vision is: create an institutional framework for rapid response to future crises, incl. establishing of European Resilience Coordination Center; promote digital literacy and cybersecurity education to build public resilience against hybrid threats; strengthen workforce development strategies to ensure a skilled labor force for future crises.
References
- Chatham House (2024). Building long-term resilience in Ukraine. The battle with corruption in wartime. https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/2024-03/2024-03-22-wilton%20park-conference-pre-read.pdf
- Eastern Journal of European Studies (2024). Resilience of the Ukrainian society in wartime: components and influencing factors. https://ejes.uaic.ro/articles/EJES2024_1501_REZ.pdf
- Prism UA (2023). 12 Lessons in 12 months of russian war. https://prismua.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/12_Lessons.pdf
- Sciencedirect (2023). Prediction of societal and community resilience among Ukrainian and Polish populations during the russian war against Ukraine. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212420923002728
The brief is published within the framework of ‘Strengthening Ukrainian expert voice in the European Union and EU member states and partners’ project, supported by a grant from the Foundation Open Society Institute in cooperation with the Open Society Foundations.