Ukraine

Some links and resources at a time of crisis

This page has external links to resources that we hope are helpful in building understanding and in promoting peace in relation to the war in Ukraine. Inclusion here does not imply endorsement of all parts of all the resources to which we have linked, but we hope they will help bring out some of the issues, concerns and needs that will be important in building peace in the immediate and longer term. The most recent additions to the page are at the top of each section.

• Quaker-related
• Peace and human-rights organisations and media
• Churches and other faiths
• Other media
• Better-World Info resources and links on the war in Ukraine (external website)

• Quakers in Britain|Responding to the war in Ukraine .
• Fundraising for Quaker work to support Ukrainian refugees: Friends in some of the countries surrounding Ukraine are doing work to support Ukrainian people who are suffering as a result of the war.
• NEW: NFPB Statement on the Continuing war in Ukraine, July 2023
• Text of NFPB letter to Liz Truss, (then UK Foreign Secretary), 13 May 2022
• We hosted an online meeting for Quakers on 8 February 2023 to give further consideration on where we are next led – texts of the introductions to this meeting are available here

The page will be updated as and when necessary – so please check back for more current material. We are also sharing content via our Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Quaker-related articles (most recent at the top)

• Returning evil: John Lampen’s Thought for the week (The Friend, 6 July 2023)
• A litany for Ukraine: Pray — and act — for peace – Bridget Moix, 1 March 2023
• Russia Has Suspended Participation in the New START Treaty. What Now? – FCNL 21 February 2023
• Statement on the Peace Testimony and Ukraine (October 26, 2022)
• Reflections on advocating for peace and security in Ukraine – Rethinking Security, 21 July 2022
• Messages of Peace in Times of War – Tim Gee in Friends Journal, 1 June 2022
• Ukraine: need for pathways to peace – NFPB, 13 May 2022
• If war is not the answer in Ukraine, what is? – Bridget Moix, 11 May 2022
• Alternatives to Military Violence – Matthew Legge, Canadian Friends Service Committee, April 2022
• Six Nonviolent Ways Congress Can Help Ukraine – FCNL, 12 April 2022
• When “Doing Something” for Ukraine Means Making Things Worse – FCNL, 18 March 2022
• The Peace Testimony and Ukraine – Friends Journal, 15 March 2022
• Faithfully maintaining our testimony against war – 6 March, contribution from Oliver Roberston to Meeting for Sufferings
• Would you fight in Ukraine? – Peace Education resource from Quakers in Britain
• Russia has invaded Ukraine. What are alternatives to a military response? – Canadian Friends Service Committee, 1 March 2022
• Quakers in Britain condemn attack and call for end to fighting – 24 February
• Military stand-off over Ukraine: 5 things you can do – Quakers in Britain
• Statement from Quakers in Britain – 22 February
• What can peace education do on the eve of war? – blog from Ellis Brooks, QPSW
• Open letter to the government of Canada regarding the situation in Ukraine – from Canadian Friends Service Committee
• The choice in Ukraine is simple: Peace, not war – comment from Bridget Moix, Friends Committee on National Legislation.
• Quakers of Kyiv, Ukraine – Facebook page
• The invasion of Ukraine must be stopped – but U.S. military aid is not the answer – AFSC

Peace, human rights etc. media and organisations

• British peace activists condemn charges against leading Ukrainian pacifist 7 August 2023
• OPEN LETTER – URGENT: Protest about the harassment of Yurii Sheliazhenko and request for a meeting August 2023
• ‘Swap Ukrainian land for peace’? August 2023
• RUSSIA: Jailed for refusing mobilisation on grounds of conscience – Forum 18 July 2023
• Protect Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian objectors (13.07.23)
• EBCO and WRI open letter to the Lithuanian immigration authorities 5 July [appeal to the Lithuanian immigration authorities regarding the case of Ivan Strashkevich, a conscientious objector from Belarus who is currently seeking asylum in Lithuania.]
• Another blatant human rights violation by Russia: labelling the Movement of Conscientious Objectors as “Foreign Agent” June 2023
• Vienna’s International Summit for Peace in Ukraine issues a Global Call for Action (June 2023)
• Is Zelenskyy seeking a way out? Real friends of Ukraine can help the president by demanding he enters peace talks (Peace News, June 2023)
• The UK and the Ukraine War: Drones vs Diplomacy (May 2023)
• IPB Call to Action – On the First Anniversary of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Let’s Show That There Are Peaceful Alternatives to War
• The war in Ukraine: assessing the human and environmental costs – Stuart Parkinson /SGR, 20- February 2023
• What if Ukrainians hadn’t fought back? – Alex Christoyannopoulos/Rethinking Security blog – 13 February 2023
• CND calls for dialogue to end Ukraine war as Doomsday Clock pushed closer to midnight – 24 January 2023
• Ukraine: Drop all charges against Vitaly Alekseenko immediately – January 2023
• Arms Control and Confidence-building after the Ukraine War 17 January 2023 Jordan Smith /Rethinking Security
• Christmas Ceasefire Appeal from the International Peace Bureau – December 2022
• Russia’s Mobilisation and the Ghosts of 1914 – Larry Atree/Rethinking Security blog, 7 November 2022
• How war in Ukraine is derailing climate action – SGR, 29 October 2022
• The Pathway to a Negotiated Peace in Ukraine – 10 October 2022 – World Beyond War
• As the Ukraine war drags on, it’s time for the parties to talk – Paul Rogers, OpenDemocracy. 8 October 2022
• Putin ‘ready’ to negotiate? – Peace News, 1 October 2022
• Ukraine: do not give up on peace – Peace News, 1 October 2022
• Object War Campaign – Petition to EU – Russia, Belarus, Ukraine: Protection and asylum for deserters and conscientious objectors to military service
• CND supports Russian anti-war movement call amid Putin’s mobilisation, nuclear threats – CND 21 September 2022
• How to Oppose Both Sides of a War – World Beyond War, 5 September 2022
• Peace Groups Decry Billions More in US Military Aid as Blinken Visits Ukraine – CommonDreams, 8 September 2022
• Peace Talks Essential as War Rages on in Ukraine – CommonDreams, 5 Sept 2022
• The Ukraine conflict between escalation and options for negotiations – Vision of Humanity, 1 September 2022
• Cease Fire and Negotiate Peace – petition coordinated by World Beyond War
• Liz Truss helped derail chances of peace in Ukraine – now she must back negotiations – Peace News
• NATO expansion is the problem that it claims to be solving – Peace News
• Approaching the conflict in Ukraine with learners – Highland One World Global Learning Centre
• Reflections on advocating for peace and security in Ukraine – Rethinking Security, 21 July 2022
• David Swanson – “Talk World Radio: What to Do About Ukraine – World BEYOND War” – 19 July 2022
• Approaching the conflict in Ukraine with learners: An education resource for teachers in primary and secondary settings to explore fears and develop greater agency to discuss the Ukraine conflict with their learners.
• IFOR addresses the UN Human Rights Commission on the right to conscientious objection
• NATO and a War Foretold – (Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies, World BEYOND War, June 27, 2022)
• Memo on Ukraine Diplomacy – (John Gittings, published by NATO Watch 23 June 2022)
• The Russia-Ukraine war and the climate crisis (SGR presentation, 11 June 2022)
• Paul Rogers on the Ukraine Crisis, an update – (Peace News video 8 June 2022)
• Chomsky: We Must Insist That Nuclear Warfare Is an Unthinkable Policy (Truthout interview 2 June 2022)
• Ukraine: peace negotiations now! (Peace News, 1 June 2022)
• Chomsky: our priority on Ukraine should be saving lives, not punishing Russia (Peace News 1 June 2022)
• Ukraine and Global Human Security – Paul Rogers and Richard Reeve, Rethinking Security, 31 May 2022
• A Nordic Initiative for Peace in Ukraine and Lasting World Peace – 30 April 2022

• Thinking through ‘Lethal Aid’ – ForcesWatch, 26 April 2022
• Ukraine/Russia: Exploring the right to be a conscientious objector – 19 April 2022
• Statement of The Ukrainian Pacifist Movement Against Perpetuation of War – 19 April 2022
• Ukraine and the ethical debate on armed drones: some early reflections – Drone Wars, 14 April 2022
• Ukraine: A British pacifist responds – Peace News, April 2022
• Thoughts of a Russian Peace Activist – Peace Pledge Union, 1 April 2022
• How the West paved the way for Russia’s nuclear threats over Ukraine – Peace News, April-May 2022 edition
• Campaign Against Arms Trade Statement on the War in Ukraine – 30 March 2022
• End the war. Ban nuclear threats. Peace News – 29 March 2022
• Ukraine, NATO and the nuclear threat (CND , 28 March 2022)
• Ukraine Negotiations: No Fly Zone, Nukes, Neutrality, and Disarmament – Joseph Gerson, CommonDreams – 28 March 2022
• A people’s guide to stopping the war in Ukraine – 24 March 2022
• To the victor go the spoils … a heap of ashes – Diana Francis and Andrew Rigby, Rethinking Security, making make the case for a cessation of military struggle, in favour of civilian-based resistance – 23 March 2022
• VIDEO: Civil Resistance in Ukraine and the Region 23 March 2022
• Ukrainian Pacifist in Kyiv: All Sides Have Fueled the War. Only Comprehensive Peace Talks Can End It – 22 March 2022
• We must turn solidarity with Ukraine into the new normal for all refugees 22 March 2022
• Video: George Lakey on ‘Ukraine: Is there a nonviolent response to aggression?’ – 20 March 2022
• From Aleppo to Mariupol: Stopping the use of explosive weapons in populated areas – Ian Davis in Rethinking Security, 18 March 2022
• Building from Ukraine: From Solidarity to Systemic Change – Richard Reeve, Rethinking Security 11 March 2022
• Paul Rogers’ talk for Peace News on the Ukraine Crisis, 9 March 2022 – Video and Transcript
• Ukraine: No to war! Resist all militarism! – Peace Pledge Union page with links to resources, suggestions for action etc.
• The Time to Act is Now: Joint Statement Nobel laureates Dmitry Muratov and ICAN on Russian Nuclear Threats 2 March 2022
• The tragedy of Ukraine and the urgency of peacebuilding Dylan Matthews, Peace Direct – 1 March 2022
• A Blueprint for a Reasonable Path to Peace for Ukraine – Jeffrey Sachs / Common Dreams 28 March 2022
• Putin and Zelenskyy, Talk to Each Other! – from Yurii Sheliazhenko, Ukrainian Pacifist Movement
• War in Europe: the UK must provide Sanctuary – City of Sanctuary
• Fellowship of Reconciliation condemns Russian invasion of Ukraine
• Ukraine Crisis: Protecting civilians ‘Priority Number One’; Guterres releases $20M for humanitarian support – UN News, 24 February
• Peace Pledge Union condemns Russian invasion of Ukraine
• ICAN condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
• UNA-UK’s Statement on Russian invasion of Ukraine
• Soaring concern for human rights and human lives as Russia invades Ukraine – Amnesty International
• No war in Ukraine: for peace and human rights – video of webinar from ‘Another Europe is Possible
• Will Truth Invade Ukraine? – Yurii Sheliazhenko, Executive Secretary of Ukrainian Pacifist Movement
• Statement by the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement
• Independent American and Russian Women Call for Peace
• How to end the Ukraine crisis and redirect military spending towards climate, health and prosperity – briefing from NatoWatch
• The Ukraine crisis: how to respond? – Mary Kaldor, 22 Feb 2022
• Unarmed Resistance to Occupation: Lessons for Ukraine – Andrew Rigby on Rethinking Security’s blog
• Militarism Cannot Prevent War: An urgent call for de-escalation, demilitarisation, and disarmament in relation to Ukraine and beyond – Ray Acheson, WILPF
• War Resisters’ International statement on preparations for war in Ukraine
• Medical Appeal: No War in Europe!
• END Info newsletter, February 2022, with comment and analysis from a peace and disarmament perspective on the current situation

Churches and other faiths

• Cardinal Zuppi visits Washington DC as part of peace mission for Ukraine July 2023
• WCC head appeals for peace in meeting with Russian patriarch (May 2023)
• The invasion of Ukraine, one year on: a time for prayer and reflection – United Reform Church, 20 February 2023
• Activities of Church and Peace members marking one year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – February 2023
• STATEMENT ON THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE – Pax Christi, February 2023
• Call for the Weekend of Action on February 24-26, 2023 – Church and Peace
• WCC delegation visits Ukraine amid ongoing war – 7 Aug 2022
• Faith Groups to Congress: Support Peace Through Diplomacy in Ukraine – FCNL, 5 July 2022
• Message from participants in ecumenical round table on Ukraine, World Council of Churches – 30 March 2022
• Patriarch Kirill: Putin ally faces backlash after ‘blessing’ war – 28 March
• A Call to Peace with Justice – from the Iona Community, March 2022
• CEC–CCEE Joint Committee appeals for an end to war in Ukraine – 23 March 2022
• Joint message by Archbishops of Armagh for St Patrick’s Day – 16 March 2022
• Pope in video call with Patriarch Kirill: ‘Wars are always unjust’ – 16 March 2022
• A Declaration on the “Russian World” (Russkii mir) Teaching – 13 March 2022
• Over 280 Russian Orthodox priests worldwide call for end to war – 9 March 2022
• WCC acting general secretary to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow: “raise up your voice so that the war can be stopped” – 2 March 2022
• An open letter to His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill, Moscow – From Baptist minister the Revd Dr Keith Clements, former General Secretary of the Conference of European Churches – March 2022
• Ukraine Liturgy from the Wild Goose Resource Group wishes to offer – WORDS FOR WORSHIP IN A TIME OF WAR

Other media, analysis and comment

• It’s almost 18 months since Russia invaded Ukraine, and peace seems no closer 8 August 2023
• Russia’s military wives and mothers are challenging Putin’s war on Ukraine 7 August 2023
• Russia conscription laws change, leaving some fearful of Ukraine war call-up August 2023
• Africa’s Ukraine-Russia peace mission: What was achieved? June 2023
• The Ukraine Conflict: Pathways to Peace – January 2023
• Ukraine suspended right to conscientious objection to military service – Connection e.V. – 5 Sept 2022
• Just Say Nyet: Russia Faces Dissent in the Military – Foreign Policy in Focus, 6 September 2022
• Mass Media and the Politics of Permanent War – 29 August 2022
• Stalemate between Putin and NATO in Ukraine puts us all at risk – OpenDemocracy – 4 July 2022
• Ukraine Peace Settlement Project – University of Cambridge
• There’s still hope for a negotiated end to the Ukraine war – Paul Rogers/OpenDemocracy 14 May 2022
• Ukraine Needs a Negotiated Peace Because Everyone Will Lose This War of Attrition – 11 May 2022
• António Guterres urged to take lead in securing peace in Ukraine or risk future of UN – 19 April 2022
• How can Russia’s invasion of Ukraine end? Here’s how peace negotiations have worked in past wars – 14 April 2022
• Western hypocrisy: What Joe Biden gets wrong about Russia – Paul Rogers/OpenDemocracy – 2 April 2022
• The wider implications of the Ukraine crisis – Nic Hailey, International Alert, 30 March 2022
• Putin’s Nuclear Threats Are a Wake-Up Call for the World – Uri Friedman, The Atlantic, 15 March 2022
• Why banning men from leaving Ukraine violates their human rights – The Conversation, 8 March 2022
• Ukraine – what can internationalists do? – New Internationalist
• Ukraine doesn’t need to match Russia’s military might to defend against invasion – George Lakey in Waging Nonviolence
• I’m a conflict mediator. This is a way out of the Ukraine crisis – Guardian article, Gabriel Rifkind
• How did we reach this point in the Russia-Ukraine crisis – and what’s next? Open Democracy – Paul Rogers
• On the Brink: Understanding the Ukraine Crises & Paths Toward a Just Peace Webinar from Massachusetts Peace Action
• What would real peacebuilding in Ukraine look like? – OpenDemocracy article from Almut Rochowanski
• Ukraine’s freedom: wider truths and avoiding war – OpenDemocracy article from Ivan Hutnik
• Who would benefit from Russia going to war with Ukraine? – Paul Rogers on OpenDemocracy