Social Work in Ukraine: Professional Responsibility in a Time of Prolonged War
Blog by: Prof Tetyana Semigina
Expert, League of Social Workers of Ukraine;
Secretary (2012-2016) and Life Member, International Association of Schools of Social Work
MSW, PhD & Dr.habit. (Political Sciences), Professor
Four years ago, we woke up not to the sound of alarm clocks, but to explosions. Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv. Within days, Russian troops were approaching the capital. We were told Ukraine would fall in three days. We did not fall. We are still standing.
But the war has not ended. As Ukraine marks the fourth year since the full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation, the situation remains volatile, dangerous, and increasingly complex. The cumulative social consequences are deepening.
Since February 2022, social workers in Ukraine have operated under armed conflict, mass internal displacement, economic instability, destruction of infrastructure, and repeated trauma. Millions have been displaced. Families have been separated. Children grow up under air raid sirens. Veterans return with complex physical and psychological injuries. Communities near the frontline face constant threat.
From the first days of invasion, social workers were involved in evacuations, emergency assistance, and humanitarian coordination. Today, they continue working with internally displaced families, veterans who have acquired disabilities, widows and children of those killed, survivors of violence, and communities living with collective trauma. They do this amid blackouts, missile attacks, and prolonged uncertainty. Many social workers themselves are displaced or personally affected by loss.
We did not fall. We are still standing.
Strengthening the Profession Amid Crisis
The war has demonstrated unequivocally that social work is essential to national resilience. It has also exposed structural weaknesses in the profession. Historically, social work in Ukraine has remained an unfinished project – without licensing, a fully institutionalised supervision system, or a coherent model of continuous professional development.
The League of Social Workers of Ukraine, established in 1999, is a professional civil society organisation uniting practitioners, service leaders, and academics. The League focuses on professional capacity-building, implementation of pilot projects, and contributing to the development of standards and the national professional association. Throughout the war, its members have supported frontline practitioners and strengthened the structural foundations of the profession.
Social workers now require expanded competencies: advanced trauma-informed practice, ethical decision-making under resource scarcity, interdisciplinary coordination, digital and hybrid service delivery, and approaches to community resilience. Practitioners themselves require supervision, ethical guidance, and psychosocial support to prevent burnout and secondary trauma.
In 2025, the project “Strengthening the Professional Development and Competency System of the Social Service Workforce,” implemented by UNICEF and the League in collaboration with the National Social Service of Ukraine, and funded by the Government of Sweden, marked an important step. Experts from the League developed proposals for a structured, standardised professional development system aligned with European standards. The model introduces competency frameworks, modular and cumulative learning pathways, and strengthened supervision mechanisms. Its aim is to replace fragmented short-term trainings with a coherent, sustainable system supporting practitioners throughout their careers.
Looking Ahead: Professional Solidarity and the Future
A few months ago, the League established more structured professional dialogue with the British Association of Social Workers. This exchange is deeply important. We aim to learn how continuous professional development is organised in the UK, how licensing and supervision function, and how practitioner wellbeing is supported within a regulated professional framework. International professional solidarity is not symbolic – it strengthens our ability to serve people under extreme conditions.
There is no clear horizon for “post-war recovery.” The war continues. But the decisions made now about professional standards, education, and workforce support will shape Ukraine’s long-term social stability.
Social work in Ukraine today is not a story of recovery. It is a story of sustained professional responsibility under prolonged war – and of determination to uphold human dignity even in the most difficult, unhuman circumstances.
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For those interested in exploring social work development in Ukraine in more depth, an open-access volume has recently been published: Social Work in Wartime Ukraine: Changing the Professional Landscape (Tallinn: Teadmus, 2026). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/400516002
