When Russia’s full-scale invasion upended daily life in Ukraine, ordinary people became extraordinary actors. Neighbours opened their homes to the displaced. Volunteers built supply chains under shelling. And especially, women, youth, and minority groups organised to make sure no one was left behind. Alongside the ordinary people, Ukrainian civil society evolved from a fragmented collection of activist movements into a diverse ecosystem responding to society’s needs and contributing to national resilience and governance. In this sense, civil society has proven itself as the beating heart of Ukraine’s resilience.
More than 70% of Ukrainians say they trust volunteer organisations over state institutions. That trust has been earned through action: from emergency evacuations in Kharkiv to the rebuilding of destroyed buildings to host vulnerable people, these groups have filled critical gaps where governments and international agencies could not move fast enough. In fact, volunteering has become one of the most powerful and visible expressions of civic mobilisation in Ukraine.
However, many of these groups are running on empty: volunteers are exhausted, staff are overstretched, and funding cannot sustain long-term recovery, and the communication around recovery agenda is leaving behind the expertise that local civil society actors could bring. Local actors remain marginalised within international humanitarian architecture and receive little direct funding despite delivering most frontline work. Without shifting power and resources, civil society risks being sidelined.
Our new report, From the Ground Up: Ukraine’s Civil Society in Recovery, shows that rebuilding Ukraine is not only about repairing bridges or homes. It’s about rebuilding trust, dialogue, and dignity.
Civil society is already leading the way. Organizations have played an essential part in supporting the resilience of society in the face of Russian aggression and is looking increasingly towards the role they will play on the road to recovery.
ActionAid Eastern Europe proposed recommendations to different stakeholders to strengthen the local voices in the recovery processes to make sure that the solutions are contributed to support the community.
“Recovery isn’t just rebuilding infrastructure. It’s about trust, dialogue, and dignity. That’s what civil society can bring.”
What is needed now is political will and genuine partnership: funding that covers real costs, spaces where grassroots voices shape decisions, and recognition of the work already done.
Ukraine’s future is being written by its own people. The recovery of Ukraine stands the best chance of success if it is rooted in local leadership. That is where real recovery begins — from the ground up.
“If civil society doesn’t draft tomorrow’s policies today, someone else will.”