War-Tested Resilience in Ukraine: Surviving Year One

Abstract

Abstract The war in Ukraine, a NATO-Russian proxy war, continues to influence the global security architecture, but the immediate consequences are felt especially by those in the conflict area. The local population decided, through the actions carried out from the very first moment of the invasion, to oppose the Russian occupation and was categorized as an extension of the armed forces and a central pillar of the Ukrainian resistance. The paper analyzes the pressures to which the civilians in Ukraine were subjected during the first year of the conflict, such as: the bombing of residential areas, energy blackmail, torture, killings, rapes, robberies or the deportation of children from the occupied areas. After a year of war, the resilience of the population continues to fuel the morale of frontline troops, and a future peace agreement cannot be concluded without holding those guilty of war crimes or crimes against humanity accountable.