Realist.Online explored whether transformations are really taking place in Ukrainian society and what this will lead to.

Aim for mutual assistance

Yulia Svyatenko , Associate Professor of the Department of Practical Psychology, Candidate of Psychological Sciences , is convinced that the difficulties associated with the war make Ukrainians more united .

“Today, a feeling of mutual assistance, of kindness has actually covered the whole country. Even those people who previously did not think of helping, give in to the impulse to be on the same wavelength with everyone,” she said..

The expert believes that the main reason for these transformations is the peculiarity of the Ukrainian mentality.

“We initially are most prepared to help those who are having a particularly hard time. That is why, alas, frauds connected to raising funds “fo someone who needs an operation” are still popular in the country. People simply cannot ignore the grief of others ... And today’s events have exacerbated these feelings. I believe that if our people were not inclined to mutual assistance, then we would not see mass manifestations of support today," Svyatenko concluded.

Perhaps the most important thing is that Ukrainians are gradually beginning to realize that together they are a force. That in crisis situations, such as war, only by joining forces can any difficulties be effectively overcome. It would be a mistake for the authorities to neglect such potential.

At the same time, we should talk about mutual cooperation between the authorities and the population. If a Ukrainian believes that the state will create better social conditions for him and his/her family in the future, legislative protection will improve, s/he will rebuild the country with redoubled energy, even experiencing hardships at first. But for this, the decision makers must change their priorities, away fom big business towards ordinary citizens. Unfortunately, there are no changes in that direction yet.

Trying to “play” the old way

Previously, we have repeatedly talked about the systematic reduction of public spending on the social sphere , education, and medicine. At the same time, utility tariffs , taxes, prices for domestically produced products were constantly increasing. The trend towards desocialization continues in wartime. For example, is bill 7160 worth the deregulation of labour relations, which was recently adopted by the Verkhovna Rada. The bill, among other things, states that during martial law it is permitted to use the labour of women for all types of hard work and work in harmful or dangerous working conditions [previously prohibited for women] The only exceptions are pregnant women, and women raising a child up to one year old. Have the legislators thought about the expediency of such exploitation? How will this affect the health of today’s and future mothers?

Also, there have been no proposals from the authorities to force big business to take a more active part in the restoration of the state, Vitaly Dudin, Candidate of Law, Chairman of the Council of the associatiin Social Movement told Realist.online .

“The authorities are mainly guided by the criteria that were in place before the war: to impose additional duties on citizens. Apparently they think that people are not organized and will respond to the situation “with understanding.” But you should not abuse the patience of the population! Yes, there is a volunteer upsurge, a sense of mutual assistance. However, the authorities must also understand the boundary between what is necessary and what is extreme and harmful to the public interest," he said.