President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is an all-out attack on everything we stand for at the Open Society Foundations. 

In response, we have pledged an initial $25 million to launch the Ukraine Democracy Fund and urge other funders to join us in supporting civil society in Ukraine in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assault on democracy.

This initiative builds on Open Society’s more than three decades of work in Eastern Europe to support human rights organizations, independent journalists, and other civil society groups. The aim of this fund is to join with private foundations, philanthropists big and small, and the private sector to raise $100 million over the duration of the crisis and its inevitably protracted aftermath.

The rest of the world must not stand idly by as a free and independent sovereign nation is trampled by an autocrat who thinks he can act with impunity. We must show Putin—and autocrats everywhere—that he cannot. 

Learn more about the initiative on our website, and listen to the voices of our colleagues working in the region below.

Defending Civil Society in Ukraine

“This is about our right to exist.” Oleksandr Sushko, executive director of the International Renaissance Foundation in Ukraine, writes on the commitment by civil society to preserve the dream of a free, democratic Ukraine, and why the Ukrainian people will always resist Russia’s brutal and illegal aggression.

Q&A: Standing Up for Ukraine

“Ukraine may be the victim, but the entire world is affected by Russia’s attack.” Viorel Ursu, division director with Open Society’s Europe and Eurasia program, reflects on his own brush with Russian aggression, the Foundations’ history of support for Ukraine, and minimizing harm on the road ahead. 

Alexander Soros: Putin’s Russia Reveals What’s At Stake in Ukraine

Open Society Deputy Chair Alexander Soros writes for Euronews on how supporting Ukraine’s hopes for an independent, democratic future—and challenging Putin's assault on democracy—involves more than a humanitarian response. It calls for a redoubling of support for the idea of an open society.