Volunteer Activities of Religious Organizations in Ukraine During the Russian-Ukrainian War (2014-2025)

Authors

• Serhii Stelnykovych, Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State UniversityFollow
• Ivan Kovalchuk, Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State UniversityFollow
• Iryna Miakinchenko, Kyiv Applied College of Tourism and HospitalityFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

0000-0001-9121-8977

Abstract

The article analyzes the volunteer activities of religious organizations in Ukraine during the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014–2025. Two stages are identified. In the first stage (2014–early 2022), volunteer initiatives of religious organizations adapted to the localized conflict in Donbas. In the second stage (early 2022–2025), under the conditions of the full- scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, volunteering by religious organizations took on the character of humanitarian mobilization. The role of interfaith structures–above all, the All- Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO)–in shaping and supporting volunteer initiatives is demonstrated. It is argued that humanitarian assistance to civilians and military personnel was implemented primarily at the level of individual denominations. The article concludes that religious organizations became an important component of the volunteer movement and a factor of Ukraine’s national resilience in the humanitarian dimension.

Recommended Citation

Stelnykovych, Serhii; Kovalchuk, Ivan; and Miakinchenko, Iryna (2026) "Volunteer Activities of Religious Organizations in Ukraine During the Russian-Ukrainian War (2014-2025)," Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 46 : Iss. 5 , Article 13.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55221/2693-2229.2738
Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol46/iss5/13