Humanitarian Dimension of the Solidarity of the European Union with Ukraine in the Full-Scale Russo-Ukrainian War

Abstract

The purpose is to analyze the humanitarian dimension of the EU’s solidarity with Ukraine and to highlight the importance of the concept and the main mechanisms of humanitarian support of Ukraine in the countering of full-scale Russian armed aggression.

The research methodology is based on interdisciplinary tools and systemic and synergistic approaches, which deepen the analysis of EU policy towards Ukraine in the fight against Russian armed aggression, the study of solidarity as a constant functional system of relations between EU member states, EU institutions, European citizens, and Ukraine. The content analysis of EU documents provides grounds for distinguishing between the “humanitarian aid” and “humanitarian support” concepts. The comparative method and the statistical analysis of the open sources make it possible to study the dynamics of migration flows from Ukraine and the mass internal movements of people in Ukraine, which determine the need for humanitarian aid and the mechanisms of EU solidarity with Ukraine.

The scientific novelty consists in the distinction between the “humanitarian aid” and “humanitarian support” concepts and the identification of the main mechanisms of humanitarian support as an important component of the EU’s international solidarity with Ukraine to preserve the national resilience of the state and society in the fight against the armed aggression.

Conclusions. Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine has become a strategic geopolitical threat to the entire civilized world, causing a global shift in European and international security. Since its beginning, the EU and its Member States have mobilized significant resources to support Ukraine in overcoming the humanitarian crisis. The European Union has provided and continues to provide Ukraine not only with emergency and humanitarian aid but also with political, economic, and financial support, which has a humanitarian dimension and is aimed at the institutional resilience and capacity of the state, the social protection of Ukrainian citizens both within the state and those who have found shelter in EU countries. Humanitarian support has increased since Ukraine was granted candidate status for EU membership. Humanitarian support comprises emergency and humanitarian aid for Ukraine’s citizens and state, as well as technical, macro-financial, and budgetary aid, grants, loans, and guarantees from EU member states, and current EU initiatives designed to back social welfare, education, healthcare, state institutions, and civil society. Humanitarian aid to Ukraine is coordinated through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, of which full member Ukraine became in April 2023. The means for providing humanitarian support to Ukrainian citizens on the territory of EU Member States is the unprecedented EU Temporary Protection mechanism. Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, the EU and its Member States have provided Ukraine with more than € 38.8 billion in humanitarian. The prospects for further studies are determined by the relevance of researching the mechanisms of EU solidarity with Ukraine in its various dimensions and manifestations, the Brussels policy towards Ukraine in countering Russian armed aggression for the sake of Ukraine’s victory, and the construction of a new architecture of European security.