Hope from the Grassroots: Ukraine

By Josh Leach on February 20, 2025

The Trump administration’s efforts to shut down global humanitarian aid could not come at a worse time. Armed conflicts around the world are claiming lives and displacing millions from their homes. Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is about to enter its third year, with no just resolution in sight. In Burma (a.k.a. Myanmar), the ruling military junta continues to brutally suppress the Burmese people’s aspirations for a free democracy. And in Haiti, paramilitary groups have hijacked the nation’s capital and unleashed a reign of terror on innocent civilians. 

The need for international solidarity has never been greater. Yet, the new U.S. presidential administration has chosen this moment, of all times, to turn its back on the people most affected. 

When politicians and powerful governments let us down, we look to our grassroots partners. Their innovative, community-led solutions find ways to advance collective liberation, regardless of whether government officials are on board. In this three-part series, we share regional updates from UUSC’s partners. The U.S. government may be walking back from its international commitments—but our partners around the world are still putting themselves on the line to protect their communities. We will never abandon them. 

What’s Happening in Ukraine:

In February 2022, Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia launched an unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In the course of this imperialist aggression, Putin’s regime has committed innumerable war crimes, including torture, the deliberate killing of civilians, sexual violence, and the forced abduction of Ukrainian children. Many of these human rights violations have particularly impacted people who were already facing oppression and exclusion in their societies: including Roma people, women, and LGBTQ+ people. 

After three years of this brutality, the Russian government has shown no signs of compromising its imperialist war aims, or of settling the conflict on terms that would preserve Ukrainian sovereignty or guarantee the country’s safety from future aggression. 

Despite the lack of any signs from Putin of a willingness to make peace, the Trump administration has opened direct talks with his regime, sidelining Ukraine’s leadership. Senior U.S. officials have signaled that they may allow Putin to carve up Ukraine and retain parts of the country that he illegally seized. These decisions appeared to be made over the heads of the Ukrainian people—even though they are the ones whose lives and futures are most directly at stake in this conflict. 

Worse still, the new U.S. administration has sought to take advantage of Ukraine’s vulnerability to exploit its resources. In recent talks with Ukraine, the Trump administration reportedly demanded mineral wealth from Ukraine as “compensation” for U.S. military aid—while offering virtually no lasting security guarantees in exchange. Unsurprisingly, Ukraine’s leadership replied (in effect): “No deal.”

Our Partners’ Response:

While the Trump administration is spending its time facilitating Putin’s war crimes and kicking an allied nation while they’re down—UUSC’s partners are meeting real needs and helping the people most affected to reclaim their human rights.

In Ukraine and surrounding countries, our partners are fighting for the rights of Roma people, Black refugees, and other groups who were already facing discrimination in their societies even before the war, and whose exclusion risks being compounded by Russia’s imperialist aggression. 

Our partners are also working to center the leadership of Ukrainian women in responding to the conflict. Martynka, for instance—based in Kraków, Poland—provides a 24-hour hotline for Ukrainian women who have faced gender-based violence as a result of Russia’s invasion. You can learn more about their work here. 

Even if the U.S. government and powerful politicians willfully deny the need for global solidarity, our grassroots partners never will. With our support, they will keep fighting for a just and equitable future. You can help sustain their efforts with a donation to UUSC. A contribution in any amount helps our partners defend human rights—even in the midst of some of the world’s most protracted conflicts.

Image credit: Micah Bazant