SPECIAL PROJECT
20 August 2026
The full-scale war has transformed the way social services are delivered in Ukraine, elevating the role of civil society. Over the past four years, Ukrainian NGOs and charities have become an integral part of the country's support system, working with veterans, people with disabilities, internally displaced people (IDPs) and those facing difficult life circumstances. These organisations are often the first port of call for people seeking help, stepping in where the state lacks the capacity or resources to address every urgent need.
Demand for support is expected to increase, and NGOs are ready to continue their work. Yet concerns are already emerging about the sustainability of Ukraine's civil society should international funding decline, as external funding currently accounts for around half of Ukrainian NGOs' budgets.
How can Ukraine build effective cooperation between the state and non-governmental organisations and ensure the financial sustainability of civil society if international funding declines? And what role should civil society play in the country's European integration and post-war recovery?
For this special report, prepared as part of the EMPOWER project, Ukrainska Pravda has spoken with representatives of international organisations, local government, the public sector, civil society and the charitable sector. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in partnership with the European Union and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
What the war has changed, and why now is the time to discuss cooperation between NGOs and the state
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine is now in its fifth year. As Russia continues its offensive operations and regularly attacks Ukrainian towns and cities, thousands of Ukrainians have lost their homes and been forced to flee frontline areas for safer parts of the country. According to official data alone, there are 4.62 million IDPs in Ukraine. As of May 2026, the number of people with veteran status exceeded two million.
На фото: Міхаель Кьолер, посол Великої угоди (Grand Bargain Ambassador)
Despite the challenges posed by the war, the Ukrainian state continues to function across all key areas – political, economic, social, legal, environmental and international. Yet there are many issues that state institutions do not have the capacity to address quickly enough, and for the fifth year running, civil society and charitable organisations have been stepping in.
However, even as demand for civil society support continues to grow, the international funding landscape is changing. According to Matthias Schmale, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, funding from international partners is declining, forcing civil society organisations to scale back non-essential activities and concentrate their remaining resources exclusively on critical areas, specifically work on the front line, evacuating people from dangerous areas and responding to the aftermath of airstrikes.
The decline in emergency funding is increasingly driving debate among experts about the future of Ukraine's civil society sector. With international donors winding down emergency response programmes, concerns are growing over the long-term sustainability of civil society organisations and how the experience they have gained can be incorporated into the state system.
NGOs should not replace the state: defining roles in Ukraine's recovery
Ukraine is defending itself in a full-scale war while providing social protection to millions of IDPs and veterans and advancing reforms. These overlapping demands have placed the state system under constant strain, pushing it to the limits of its institutional capacity. This is precisely where the work of civil society, non-governmental and charitable organisations becomes pivotal.
Meanwhile, budget cuts are forcing organisations to set clear priorities. According to Grand Bargain Ambassador Michael Köhler, NGOs should focus on those areas where the state is clearly falling short or failing to cope. He emphasises that Ukraine will continue to have large numbers of IDPs and others requiring assistance even after the war is over. Without a strong lobby, these groups risk being overlooked by policymakers, which makes civil society organisations indispensable both as providers of support and as advocates for their interests.
Pictured: Heiko Thoms, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to Ukraine from September 2025 to 4 August 2026, speaking at a conference
Köhler warns, however, that a prolonged focus on crisis response and plugging gaps in the social support system could divert civil society organisations from their core mission. Without strong ties to the communities they serve, they risk evolving into little more than project implementers and service providers.
"A civil society organisation should be a bridge between people and real assistance. Otherwise, it becomes just another commercial enterprise. The role of an NGO is not only to distribute humanitarian aid, but also to strengthen democracy and help shape a society prepared for EU accession," Köhler says.
The debate over the future of Ukraine's civil society sector is gaining momentum as emergency funding declines. With international donors winding down their emergency response programmes, concerns are growing over the long-term sustainability of civil society organisations and how the expertise they have accumulated can be embedded within the state system.
To strengthen the capacity of Ukrainian civil society organisations, the EMPOWER project has been operating in Ukraine for the past three years with support from the German Government and EU humanitarian aid. The project's network now brings together more than 55 partner organisations working across 11 regions of Ukraine with vulnerable groups in war-affected regions. By supporting local initiatives, EMPOWER helps expand access to social services, strengthen community resilience and foster partnerships between communities, state institutions and civil society.
"During the war, civil society stepped in to perform functions that were critical to sustaining support systems in many communities. The next challenge is to ensure that this experience is not seen merely as a temporary wartime solution, but becomes an integral part of the long-term architecture of Ukraine's recovery," said EMPOWER Project Manager Eike Vater.
According to Eike Vater, the key questions now are what future awaits civil society once the humanitarian response phase is over, and whether civil society organisations will remain a tool for crisis response or become a fully-fledged component of the social services system alongside state and municipal institutions.
Pictured: Eike Vater, EMPOWER project manager
The importance of flexibility and close collaboration between Ukrainian NGOs and local communities is also emphasised by representatives of local government.
Mykhailo Netiazhuk, Mayor of Fastiv, emphasises that this cooperation enables swift decision-making when problems need to be resolved immediately, without the delays associated with amending the regulatory documents governing the use of budget funds.
For example, the mayor highlighted the vital support provided by civil society representatives to people in Fastiv last winter, when the situation became critical and nearly 500 people in the community were found to require home care.
The local authorities recognise the problem and understand that the range of social services needs to be expanded. The mayor also believes crisis response remains essential as the war continues. Russia's tactics are unpredictable, and countering them requires flexibility and the ability to respond quickly – precisely the qualities that NGOs provide.
Matthias Schmale points to another challenge: as the full-scale war has entered its fifth year, civil society risks assuming responsibilities that should remain with the state. He emphasises that the future role of civil society should not be to replace the state, but to complement it where genuine gaps exist and help strengthen state capacity where institutions are unable to deliver services.
На фото: Міхаель Кьолер, посол Великої угоди (Grand Bargain Ambassador)
He also emphasises the importance of organisations working in partnership with communities. Non-governmental organisations should play a more significant role than merely providing services. By being embedded in the communities they serve, they can identify systemic gaps and better understand specific local needs. Moreover, given the risks posed by corruption, civil society must be involved in monitoring the quality and fairness of public service delivery. In other words, NGOs should not only provide support but also analyse and scrutinise the actions of authorities at all levels.
Finally, Matthias Schmale and other experts, including Vitalii Muzychenko, Director of the Fund for the Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities, identify another important role for civil society: advocating for the interests of the most vulnerable members of communities and those who receive insufficient support. After all, it is NGO representatives who often enjoy a high level of trust among the people they work with. Through this trust, they can help local authorities better understand citizens' current needs to develop the social services system.
Finding new sources of funding
International aid is being scaled back. According to Volodymyr Sheihus, Executive Director of the Ukrainian civil society organisation ISAR Ednannia, these funding cuts are not simply a temporary challenge, but part of a broader global trend. For Ukrainian organisations, this is a signal that they need to find new ways to sustain their work, strengthen cooperation and become more self-reliant.
Sheihus says reductions in spending on humanitarian and civil society projects are being observed at the UN level, as well as across EU and OECD programmes. The resulting funding gap is directly affecting the non-governmental sector. In his view, the way forward for Ukrainian organisations is to join forces and achieve a new level of financial independence that would make them less vulnerable to the decisions of individual donors.
Thanks to sustained international support, the reduction in funding in Ukraine has not yet reached the catastrophic scale seen in Africa or Syria, Sheihus notes. However, the broader global trend is clear: funding is being cut, creating challenges for the entire sector.
На фото: Міхаель Кьолер, посол Великої угоди (Grand Bargain Ambassador)
To avoid being forced to shut down as international donor programmes wind down, the civil society sector must seek diverse sources of support, from private donations to long-term cooperation with major businesses and authorities at both the central and local levels.
After all, if the state and local authorities continue to address only urgent challenges, questions will inevitably arise over the allocation of domestic budgets. Without support from local authorities, some civil society organisations may be left with no support at all.
Orysia Lutsevych, head of the Ukrainian Forum at Chatham House, says outright that the current financial model is precarious, as around half of Ukrainian NGOs' budgets are still coming from international funding.
"If we imagine that major international donors eventually withdraw from Ukraine, how will the civil society sector be funded, and where will that funding come from?" Lutsevych noted. "That is precisely why we need to start developing a culture of domestic philanthropy now, seeking support from Ukrainian businesses and ordinary citizens. However, international aid still accounts for around half of our organisations' budgets, and this balance needs to change urgently."
If international grants continue to dry up, Ukraine will have to seek domestic sources of funding to support the civil society sector. According to experts, one option is to amend the legislation.
Grand Bargain Ambassador Michael Köhler cites Germany as an example, where the state has established funding mechanisms for NGOs through the judicial system: when judges impose fines on offenders, the money often goes by law directly to charitable organisations or the national Red Cross Society rather than to the state budget.
На фото: Міхаель Кьолер, посол Великої угоди (Grand Bargain Ambassador)
In the expert's view, the Ukrainian government, international donors and activists need to sit down at the negotiating table now to develop a similar model and involve the private sector in funding it.
Inna Solodka, Ukraine's Deputy Minister for Social Policy, Family and Unity, emphasises the importance of cooperation between the state and civil society. She says everyone understands that donor funding is finite, making it essential for the state to take up temporary solutions that have proven effective and turn them into long-term measures. To allocate funds through the state budget, it is necessary to clearly determine how much funding is required for a particular service and what steps are needed to standardise it. Solodka says it is precisely feedback from civil society that will be crucial in developing standards that work in practice.
The government is currently considering extending a pilot scheme for a service known as supported living (a set of measures aimed at creating the conditions necessary for a person to live independently and protecting their rights and interests – ed.). The service is already operating under the "money follows the person" model and has delivered results. However, it requires further refinement, and the government is engaging the public in discussions on the issue.
Shared responsibility for Ukraine's European integration and recovery
Michael Köhler highlights a unique feature of Ukrainian non-governmental organisations: "Ukraine has a very vibrant civil society. It has national civil society organisations and purely local organisations based, say, in just one region, which know that region very well. It is a very vibrant network. It is also good that civil society is present in practically every sphere of social services as well as in other areas, such as the environment. They are, in fact, everywhere, whatever sector you look at."
However, Köhler argues that the civil sector must shift from putting out daily fires towards developing long-term solutions. The foundations for systems and services that can operate after the war need to be built now, as Ukraine will eventually have to adapt its social sector to the EU's strict standards. In the expert's view, this will require changes in mindset, approaches and funding sources. Civil society itself must drive this transformation instead of waiting for the state or international partners to take the lead.
На фото: Міхаель Кьолер, посол Великої угоди (Grand Bargain Ambassador)
The experts believe that a truly harmonious balance between the authorities and the public – not merely one that exists "on paper" – is possible only when the state places the individual at the centre of its attention, addressing not only material needs but also people's mental well-being. This, however, requires a new social contract between the state, local communities, businesses and volunteers, based on a clear understanding of each actor's role.
Ukraine's potential accession to the EU opens new avenues for civil society, but it also comes with greater expectations. European integration is not limited to adapting legislation and state institutions to European standards; it also depends on the active participation of civil society organisations in overseeing reforms, advocacy and the development of public policy.
На фото: Міхаель Кьолер, посол Великої угоди (Grand Bargain Ambassador)
Today, Ukraine is working towards meeting the requirements established within the EU accession negotiation process. For civil society organisations, this opens up opportunities to assess reform progress, provide expert recommendations and exercise public oversight over the implementation of the state's commitments. However, playing this role requires strong expertise, institutional capacity and a deep understanding of European policies and procedures.
Programmes run by the EU and international partners help develop these competencies by providing opportunities for training, professional exchanges, research and organisational capacity-building. These include initiatives such as Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe, as well as programmes implemented with EU financial support through international and Ukrainian organisations.
На фото: Катерина Осадча, очільниця фундації Катерини Осадчої
Michael Köhler notes that despite the openness of European institutions to cooperation with civil society, the state remains their primary partner in the European integration process. This is why it is important for civil society organisations to strengthen their expertise so they can become full participants in this dialogue and make meaningful contributions to reforms. Civil society must take responsibility not only for pointing out where the government is falling short, but also for initiating support where it identifies problems. It must learn how to work with the state.
Conclusions
Non-governmental organisations in Ukraine have become a powerful example of how a support system should respond to society's needs. However, the country will function most effectively when state institutions, communities, civil society organisations, businesses and international partners work in synergy, complementing and reinforcing one another.
Ensuring that civil society remains a reliable partner for the state requires a sustainable model for its long-term development. This means expanding funding sources, building the institutional capacity of civil society organisations, incorporating successful practices into the state social services system, and establishing a clear division of responsibilities between the state, local communities and civil society.
Strong institutions, engaged communities and mutual trust between the state, civil society, businesses and international partners are the foundation for high-quality social services, effective reforms, Ukraine's recovery and its European integration. This cooperation is key to building a modern European Ukraine that places people, their rights and well-being at the centre.
The activities are carried out with the support of the German Government and the European Union through projects funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in partnership with local and international organisations.
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The use of site materials is allowed only with a reference (for online publications — a hyperlink) to "Ukrainska Pravda" no lower than the third paragraph.Any copying, publication, reprinting, or further distribution of information containing a reference to "
Interfax-Ukraine" is strictly prohibited.
Any copying, reprinting, or reproduction of photographic works and/or audiovisual works owned by Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
Materials marked as PROMOTED are advertisements and are published as advertising. The editorial board may not share the views promoted in them.
Materials marked as SPECIAL PROJECT and WITH SUPPORT are also advertisements, but the editorial team participates in preparing this content and shares the views expressed in these materials.
The editorial board is not responsible for the facts and value judgments published in advertising materials. According to Ukrainian law, the advertiser is responsible for the content of the advertisements.
Project founder: Georgiy Gongadze, Editor-in-chief: Sevgil Musaeva, Founding editor: Olena Prytula, Editorial e-mail: [email protected]
Registered online media entity; media identifier — R40-02280.
Address: 01032, Kyiv, Zhylianska St., 48, 50A. Phone: +380 95 641 22 07