Resistance to War in Ukraine: Actions, News, Analyses, and Resources for Nonviolence

On this page, we will keep track of nonviolent resistance actions that taking place around the war in Ukraine and other news, actions, and resources. Check in regularly.

A note:

While the best time to begin nonviolence is at several stages before war emerges, we will find nonetheless that many forms of nonviolent action are taking place and it helps to share these stories widely to counter any narrative that promotes war. This also means searching the media for articles that try not to demonize or dehumanize, and fill in a wider picture that shows how accountability to and for this situation goes beyond one leader, questioning instead our collective imagination that has been colonized by violent solutions in the first place. May we collectively learn the lessons for nonviolence that the intensified focus on this conflict is bringing to light.

UPDATE: Encouraged by the utility of this page, we are beginning a project of resource lists to highlight and orient people to examples of nonviolent action in other violent conflicts around the world. It should be an excellent resource and we can use your help. Send a note via the link at the bottom of the site to volunteer if you would like to help us!

Updated: April 11

Maria Stephan, PhD, co-author of Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict, talks about the power of nonviolent, nonmilitary actions in Ukraine.

Actions inside of Russia and from Russians

Russian Burned Down Military Recruitment Office To Prevent Draftees From Being Sent To War In Ukraine

Russian activists and artists use spray paint to share anonymous and subversive views on a city’s walls.

Woman interrupts Russian newscast protesting war in Ukraine

Russia’s Antiwar Protesters Are Terrified And still marching.

An anti-war protester in Moscow says the risk of arrest is worth it

Police arrest more than 3,000 people as protests grow across Russia.

This morning on the Moyka River in St. Petersburg. Someone wrote "No to War" on the river's ice.

"No To War": Entire Staff Of Russian TV Channel Resigns Live On-Air

Anti-war Russian FSB agents have helped thwart three assassination attempts against Zelensky, Ukraine claims

Protests, petitions and statements from organisations and individuals demonstrate huge, and courageous, opposition to war from inside Russia.

Russians are against the war on Ukraine! (Long resource in Russian and English)

Russian Environmentalist Speaks Out on Putin’s Attack on Antiwar Protesters & Independent Media

Top-manager of RU search engine Yandex resigned over its decision to block truth about war

Pensioner arrested at anti-war protest in Russia

Some Russian oligarchs speak out, cautiously, against war

Russian mothers and children arrested for protesting war

Russian Billionaire Roman Abramovich To Sell Chelsea FC–Donate Proceeds To Help Victims In Ukraine

An independent committee is tracing the fate of sons deployed in Ukraine amid reports of heavy casualties and low morale

Russian Billionaire Behind Revolut Fintech App Publishes Anti-War Letter

Russian Official Apologizes for Ukraine Invasion at UN Climate Summit

Russian troops have 'deliberately punched holes' in their own gas tanks

Chronicles of Russian Resistance: Reports on the opposition to war inside Putin’s Russia

Thousands of Russians are attempting to flee in order to dodge conscription.

Russian official apologises for war in Ukraine at UN climate meet
Russians hold anti-war rallies amid ominous threats by Putin

Russians find detained loved ones as videos released by Ukrainian officials share who was asked to fight

5,000 Russian contract servicemen rioted in the #Russian city of Belgorod and refused to go to fight in #Ukraine, reports Obozrevatel

‘Russia is against war’: Thousands rally in rare show of dissent, Al Jazeera, 2.24

More than 150 senior Russian officials sign open letter condemning Putin's invasion of Ukraine as 'an unprecedented atrocity' and warn of 'catastrophic consequences' while urging citizens 'not to participate'

An open letter from over 6,150 Russian scientists and science journalists against the war with Ukraine

Over 1,700 Russians detained during anti-war demonstrations

Over 900,000 Russians sign petition to end war in Ukraine

Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev writes 'No War Please' after Dubai semifinal win

Citizen and Other Actions Inside Ukraine*

Russian soldiers release Ukraine town’s mayor and agree to leave after protests

*We have removed content that shows captured Russian soldiers speaking about their plight as it may violate Geneva Conventions. You may read about it here.

Residents of a town Dubno in Rivne region and nearby villages made 2,5 tons (!) of dumplings to send to the hospitals in Kyiv and the region.

Hundreds of Ukrainians protest against invasion in Kherson days after Russia seizes city

Civilians chant and film Russian military away

Ukraine’s Zelensky to Russians: ‘What are you fighting for and with whom?’

Ukraine is asking Russian mothers to come pick up their sons captured in Putin's invasion

Workers and citizens block Russian army from road to nuclear power plant

Man allegedly removes landmine with bare hands

Roadsigns changed to send messages to occupying Russian military

At the Ukrainian border, a mother brings a stranger's children to safety

Video of Ukrainian ‘tank man’ trying to block Russian military convoy goes viral

Ukrainian man offers to tow Russian tank back to Russia after it runs out of fuel

“Flight” as a nonviolent option in escalated conflict, more than 425k Ukrainians flee country

In sign of lack of fear, unarmed woman approaches Russian soldiers with a message, and it goes viral

Ukrainian citizens stop Russian tank as a group

Raising people’s spirits, Ukrainian farmer allegedly steals Russian tank using his tractor

Reports from Within Ukraine

Nonviolence Int’l in Kyiv: Resistance Mounts to Russian Invasion as 2,000 Civilian Deaths Reported

Ukrainian Pacifist’s Message to the World: U.S., NATO & Russia Share Responsibility to Avoid War

People of colour struggle to escape Russian invasion of Ukraine

“Ukrainians Only”: Nigerian Student Fleeing War Describes Rampant Racism Against Africans at Border

Citizen Actions Around Globe

Belarusian railway workers today sabotaged the railway lines leading to Ukraine, making it impossible for the Russians to resupply by train.

7 Ukrainian refugees are taken in by a Russian immigrant in Germany

Squatters have taken over a London mansion linked to a Russian oligarch

In Poland, protesters demand a ban on road cargo traffic between the E.U. and Russia and Belarus.

Musicians took part in a flashmob in London’s Trafalgar Square, to show solidarity with Ukraine.

Polish moms left strollers at the train station, for Ukrainian moms who may need them when they arrive in Poland with kids

Russian embassy road in Vilnius to be named 'Ukrainian Heroes Street'

Georgian men refused to provide Russian ship with fuel and when asked what should Russians do without fuel - their answer was "use the paddles instead

Volunteers extend help to thousands of refugees from Ukraine

Kremlin website goes down as Russian TV channels ‘hacked to play Ukrainian songs’

Anonymous launches attacks against Russia and pledges support for Ukraine against ‘Kremlin’s brutal invasion’

Anonymous leaks database of the Russian Ministry of Defense

Street art in response to conflict

Greta Thunberg's climate activist group to launch protests against Russian invasion of Ukraine

Tech and Big Business Actions

Musk says Starlink active in Ukraine as Russian invasion disrupts internet

Big Tech restricts Russian state media from buying ads

BP retreats from Russia's Rosneft at cost of $25 bln over Ukraine invasion

Airbnb is working to provide free, short-term housing for up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees

TikTok war: How Russia's invasion of Ukraine played to social media's youngest audience

Political Actions excluding Generalized Sanctions

*Generalized Sanctions have been removed from this list because their intent is “punishment” of civilian populations. Targeted sanctions will be included.

United Nations allocates $40 million to help Ukraine

ICC to begin investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine

Kazakhstan refuses to send troops to Ukraine to join fighting for Russians

Germany seizes Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov’s $600m superyacht – report

Switzerland freezes Putin’s assets, breaking with past practice to join sanctions

Ukraine’s Volunteer ‘IT Army’ Is Hacking in Uncharted Territory

Putin’s allies abandon him over Ukraine invasion

Departing from protocol, Pope goes to Russian embassy over Ukraine

Vatican offers to help talks between Ukraine and Russia

Ukrainian government offering amnesty and 5,000 rubles to soldiers who lay down their arms voluntarily

‘We will take care of you,’ Slovakia tells Ukrainians fleeing invasion

Statements, Appeals, and Signs of Solidarity including Protest Actions

“In Indian Country, people are wearing Kokum scarves for solidarity with Ukraine”

Statement from the Gandhi Development Trust and Phoenix Settlement Trust, Ela Gandhi

NO WAR! Voices for peace from civil society worldwide, FOR

Fellowship of Reconciliation Statement on Ukraine

The Time to Act is Now: Joint Statement Nobel laureates Dmitry Muratov and ICAN on Russian Nuclear Threats

War Resistors International Statement on War in Ukraine

An Interfaith Call to Peace for Ukraine, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

War is out-dated, non-violence is the only way: Dalai Lama on Russia-Ukraine war

Major cities showing symbolic solidarity with Ukraine: Twitter

In Japan and across Asia, an outpouring of support for Ukraine

Russian Vodka Is Getting Taken Off The Shelves Over Putin's Invasion Of Ukraine

Major US television program (SNL) begins with Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York performing Prayer for Ukraine.

Protesters around the world condemn Putin’s military invasion, express solidarity with Ukraine

Pax Christi USA’s statement on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict’s Statement on Ukraine

International Campaign on the Abolishment of Nuclear Weapons’ Statement Condemning Invasion of Ukraine

War Prevention Initiative: “Nonviolent alternatives must be pursued in Ukraine to deescalate war.”

Nonviolence International calls for asylum for war resisters, Feb 24, 2022

Pax Christi’’s Letter to Pope Francis encouraging more mediating intervention from Pope

Community of Sant'Egidio: An appeal for a ceasefire and for Kyiv to be proclaimed an "open city".

A statement on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the threat of nuclear weapons, Anna Ikeda

Pope called for March 2nd Ash Wednesday to be a day of fasting and prayer for this war

Analyses and Resources

5 ways to support courageous nonviolent resistance in Ukraine

How the Russian people can end Putin's war

Here are 20 concrete actions each of us can take to support peace and relief efforts in Ukraine, and strike at the root causes of war.

What would be signs protests in Russia are making a difference?

War is a Crime Against Humanity: An interview with Joanne Sheehan of War Resisters League

It’s time to take inspiration from Ukraine and double down on global democratic solidarity

The U.S. Should Respond to Putin’s Unconscionable Invasion of Ukraine With Diplomacy, Not War

How Ukraine has become the crucible of the new world order

This is what it's like inside Russia's anti-war movement

Ten points on Ukraine from a peace policy perspective

Ukrainian Pacifist in Kyiv: Reckless Militarization Led to This War. All Sides Must Recommit to Peace

Ukraine’s secret weapon may prove to be civilian resistance

The dangerous assumption that violence keeps us safe

We Can’t Trust Everything We See About the Livestreamed War

We should condemn the Russian invasion, but also recognize that the United States has been violating other nations’ sovereignty for years.

Dan Cohen Is Joined By Former United Nations Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter To Discuss The Crisis In Ukraine.

The Field of Peace

Putin’s Not the “Genius”—Russia’s Anti-War Protesters Are

Addressing Racial Bias in Media Reports of Conflict

Civilians in rebel-held areas in northern Syria express solidarity with Ukrainians and cast doubt on impact of western sanctions

Booklist highlighting alternative approaches to war in Ukraine

Putin’s Invasion, De-escalation and negotiation are the only way out of this crisis.

Analysis: Ukraine doesn’t need to match Russia’s military might to defend against invasion

Film: The Orange Revolution, about 2004 nonviolent actions in Ukraine from the ICNC

Ukrainians vs. Putin: Potential for Nonviolent Civilian-Based Defense

Commentary: This is how we defeat Putin and other petrostate autocrats, Bill McKibben

Condemn War Everywhere Facebook Post: Airstrikes in 48 hours globally

Art and Poetry and Symbolism

These Ukrainian artists capture the country's spirit and the war's toll

How sunflowers became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance

I want to be a Ukrainian, Meg Wheatley

I No Longer Pray for Peace (poem)

Street art in response to conflict

DakhaBrakha, Ukrainian Folk Quartet