The War in Ukraine, Volunteers and Non-profit Organizations: Regulatory and Law-Related Challenges

Abstract

The military invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on February 24, 2022, and the further introduction of martial law affected all spheres of Ukrainian society, including the non-profit sector’s activities. As a result, civil society institutions were forced to adapt to new public needs, as well as to emerging security challenges and new regulatory restrictions. In this research note, we examine on one side, how the martial law and previous legislation (and the related societal upheavals) have shaped the new roles and functioning of non-profit organizations in Ukraine and, on the other side, what the challenges to volunteers’ and domestic non-profit organizations’ activities in Ukraine deriving from these regulations and legislations. The identification of these challenges ensues from a survey of the Ukrainian non-profit sector as well as an analysis of Ukrainian regulation, statistical data, and recent scientific papers. Overall, we highlight a key discrepancy between Ukrainians’ concept of charitable activities as well as humanitarian aid and the Western approach to the same concepts and suggest regulatory improvements to address other challenges identified to facilitate philanthropic activities in Ukraine.