Sotsialnyi Rukh
UKRAINE’s SOCIAL MOVEMENT (Sotsialnyi Rukh) published this resolution, adopted at their annual conference, on their website September 28, 2025. This is a Google translation of their resolution. The first paragraph presciently identifies the problem of corruption that broke out in media with the charges against top officials for a $100 million kickback scheme. The body of the resolution expands the analysis and proposes remedies.
WORKERS, YOU ARE important for the future of Ukraine!
Ukraine is stuck in a dead end of corrupt neoliberalism, which postpones the end of the war and forces the population to suffer from poverty. The work of all state institutions is permeated with the priorities of personal gain, lack of planning and isolation from the broad masses. Such a system cannot win.
The working people of Ukraine massively and sacrificially restrain the enemy, which contrasts with the model of the state, which depends on a narrow circle of individuals and is unable to care about the common good. The country’s resources are being depleted not only by the occupiers, but also by greedy big businessmen who make money on the key needs of society – in the energy and defense industries. The reaction of society to such abuses was the protests in July 2025 under anti-corruption slogans.
The so-called “reset” of the Government has only accelerated the risk of adopting laws desirable for the oligarchs. The arrival of Yulia Svyrydenko, Oleksiy Sobolev, Taras Kachka and other adherents of unbridled capitalism from the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) to key positions clearly demonstrates this. The greatest threat comes from the ministry headed by Mr. Sobolev, which seeks to make the employed population disenfranchised by developing a draft Labor Code and at the same time has taken over the powers in the field of ecology, simplifying the exploitation of natural resources by business. Our state is becoming unlivable, and hopes for a fair reconstruction are melting away every day.
This state of affairs is an echo of global trends. The pressure of reactionary forces in the world and the treacherous behavior of the US administration have made all Ukrainians feel a lack of security. Disruptions in the supply of weapons to repel the Russian aggressor are shifting the global balance of power in favor of the oppressors. But security is not limited to the issue of weapons. It is also about social security – the stable functioning of critical infrastructure, fair remuneration for conscientious work, as well as far-reaching protection for those who find themselves in difficult life circumstances. All this forms the foundation on which effective defense can rest.
Both defense and welfare are the main functions of the state. Private capital is not interested in this due to its orientation to profit and the desire to give less to the budget. Despite the hopes of the people of Ukraine that the state will start caring more about solving people’s problems, the opposite has happened. Scandals are breaking out one after another with businessmen making money from anything, including the production of weapons. All this is a consequence of the centralization of power, hiding information behind the “fog of war” and the erosion of democratic principles. Unfortunately, the state does not act as a social shield for the people, but as a corrupt superstructure. The lack of support is acutely felt by everyone, especially military personnel, people who are forced to leave their homes, as well as those who are raising new generations of Ukrainians in this uncertain time.
The mass force that can change history at a critical moment was and remains the working class, whose political potential is not being used. The working masses have moved away from politics, becoming objects of the games of the ruling classes. If working people unite, they can change the rules of politics, and in the future – take power away from the current elites. Because the social influence of railway workers, doctors, energy workers and educators has increased many times over due to their colossal contribution to welfare. Everyday life depends on their unwavering performance of duties, so it will be difficult for the authorities to argue with their opinion.
Conversely, capital plays no role in keeping society afloat. The state budget is not funded by income taxes: they have always been hidden offshore, and since the beginning of the invasion, they have fallen due to the collapse of exports. The budget is largely supported by payroll taxes (13.11% of revenues), which finance defense, as well as international aid, which finances the social sphere.
The role of critical infrastructure sectors, which operate outside the logic of the market, but are vital for stability on the battlefield and in the rear, has increased. Workers employed in these sectors are most often victims of Russian attacks, but the Pension Fund of Ukraine does not pay them the promised compensation due to bureaucratic problems with obtaining the status of critical infrastructure facilities. The presence of such a problem nullifies any claims to a people-oriented policy.
The level of support for pensioners and people with disabilities, given the huge amounts of international financial support, is unacceptable. In order to justify the pitiful social standards, false ideological clichés about the threat of growing “paternalistic sentiments” are spreading (both among the authorities and in the opposition camp).
The lack of positive developments in the field of social support, combined with low salaries, leads to mass emigration abroad, especially among young people under the age of 22.
For decades, the state has been adapting to investors and businessmen, because they supposedly generate profits. But it is becoming clear that making profits now, that is, in the conditions of a war-torn economy, is impossible. It is high time for broad segments of the population to prioritize their needs, because everything depends on them. The level of well-being will be determined not by economic efficiency, but by the extent to which the population demands to be treated humanely. The disproportionate influence that the oligarchy retains on the government must disappear so as not to hinder Ukraine from developing.
Believing that only overcoming the capitalist course will allow the interests of the working people to be fully ensured, the Social Movement emphasizes the priority of the following demands:
1. A common economy for the sake of a common victory. Nationalization under workers’ control of the infrastructure, defense industry, and enterprises that exploit minerals. A 50% quota for representatives of labor collectives in the supervisory boards of such enterprises will be a safeguard against corruption and usurpation of power by servants of capital. This will allow accounting for resources that can be used for defense. The socialization of energy enterprises, among other things, will prevent an environmental crisis, which is expressed in the deterioration of the state of water, soil and air. It is especially necessary to carry out 100% nationalization of the defense-industrial complex in order to make it impossible for private individuals to earn money on orders and to ensure stable working conditions for personnel. During the period of martial law, there can be no market for renting housing, medicines or military technologies – all processes must be regulated by independent state bodies that are not guided by the thirst for profit. Refusal to finance medical institutions according to efficiency criteria, as this leads to the transformation of medical care from a guaranteed right into a commodity. The expansion of the public sector in the economy will become a bridge to full employment, provided that employment services and trade unions cooperate. The tax system should perform a social function, counteracting excessive property differentiation through wealth taxation.
2. Rebooting the welfare state. A protracted war should be perceived as a social risk factor for the entire population, and social protection should be recognized as a duty of the state. Social protection bodies should be proactive and offer assistance to families of military personnel, affected workers, and vulnerable segments of the population, even before the people themselves apply. Empty newly built housing should serve IDPs and military personnel while the housing crisis continues. In times of war, the state cannot burden the population with debt collection for utility services and increasing tariffs. The period of residence in front-line territories, as well as staying in IDP status after 24.02.2022, should be credited to citizens as insurance experience, regardless of official employment. To prevent the risk of intellectual backwardness of the population, work in education should be encouraged by providing all educators with a salary not lower than the national average and access to safe, comfortable shelters. Independent monitoring of educational losses should be introduced, especially in frontline regions.
3. Revival of mass democracy. The authorities should listen to citizens when implementing policies at all levels – through the creation of new institutions of public representation and the election of representatives of the labor collective to manage enterprises. It is necessary to guarantee workers the right to an annual paid leave of 14 days for volunteer activities so that they can support the army and solve social problems. The parliament, whose term of office has expired, does not have the right to consider draft laws regarding which representatives of the public have expressed concerns about narrowing the scope of citizens’ rights and freedoms. Guaranteeing the legal bindingness of petitions addressed to state authorities. Holding elections as soon as possible after the abolition of martial law. In order to prevent politicians who have discredited themselves with ties to oligarchs from coming to power, property qualifications should be abolished, the threshold for political parties should be lowered to 1%, and freedom of self-nomination should be guaranteed. Solving everyday social problems should become both a policy goal and an incentive for broader involvement of the masses in political life. The contradictions accumulated in society should be resolved through increased real political competition, provided that human rights and ideological pluralism are affirmed.
It is the working people – workers, educators, doctors, railway workers, energy workers – who should become the driving force behind Ukraine’s renewal. You create all the country’s wealth, you protect it, you have the full right to decide how to manage it.
The “Social Movement” calls on all working people to unite. Create trade unions at your enterprises. Demand participation in making decisions that affect you. Organize councils in your communities. Don’t wait for permission from above – take this right yourself.
Only through mass organization and solidarity is it possible to win the war and rebuild justly after it. History shows that all significant social transformations were achieved through struggle from below, not bestowed from above.