The Charity & Security Network strongly condemns the Russian government’s decision to invade Ukraine, which poses a serious threat to the Ukrainian people, as well as the civil society groups working on their behalf. C&SN’s mandate is to protect and enable civil society so that it can support peace and human rights, aid civilians in areas of disaster and armed conflict, and build democratic governance. Russia’s invasion makes all of these missions dramatically more dangerous for the people committed to carrying them out.
At the heart of civil society are the people who participate in it and the people it serves. It is these brave people who inevitably bear the brunt of conflict and war. C&SN urges the United States and the international community to urgently pursue diplomatic and humanitarian strategies to support the Ukrainian people and achieve an end to this conflict.
C&SN and our network of members will continue to closely monitor the situation and work to protect and enable civil society efforts in Ukraine that are essential to meeting the needs of the Ukrainian people during this conflict.