“Ukraine talks,” “peace negotiations,” “US-brokered peace talks”: for weeks, the media have been reporting on the so-called “peace process” for Ukraine led by the United States. The reporting largely ignores whether such negotiations can be effective. Nor does it address the question everyone should be asking: who should be determining Ukraine's future?

A quick-fix process aimed at swiftly signing a peace agreement and ending armed violence does not build lasting peace. The coverage on the “peace negotiations” for Ukraine mostly focuses on the diplomatic processes, ignoring the evidence-backed fact* that durable peace requires a social process involving consistent and daily efforts, backed by political will and the inclusion of a broad spectrum of civil society actors. These are essential factors for lasting peace.

Peace is not just about ending war

Because peace is not just about ending war. Lasting peace focuses on the long-term: on promoting decent living conditions for all people, on eliminating direct violence and structural inequality, on creating genuine security for all, including economic security, on political participation and access to resources, on respecting human rights.

In Ukraine, women bear the burden of war, while men pay the price of fighting on the front lines. While some Ukrainian women have joined the military (70,000 in 2025), many are responding to the urgent needs of their communities: they create support networks build shelters, provide psychosocial support. Consciously or not, they are also building peace. Every day.

The women show how grassroots peacebuilding involves

• creating spaces for dialogue and reflection,

• using their networks to support displaced persons,

• collecting testimonies,

• documenting war-related violence and crimes

• listening to and responding to the needs of their communities.

Focusing only the high-level peace negotiations, where power players talk to power players, ignores the needs and demands of communities and the important role women play in building peace away from the spotlight of negotiations in Abu Dhabi or Geneva. Their voices are automatically excluded from conversations about Ukraine's future.

Whether in Ukraine or elsewhere, too often the inclusion of women in the formal stage of peace processes, namely negotiations, is seen as a “question for later.” Research has shown a robust correlation between peace agreements signed by female delegates and durable peace (Krause et al 2018) and has demonstrated that women's participation in peace negotiations increases the probability of a peace agreement to last 15 years by 35% (UN Women 2015). It is unequal and patriarchal power structures that often restrict and/or render invisible the participation of women and marginalised populations. These inequalities in access are also often reinforced by the fact that women and feminist peacebuilders do not always see themselves as key players in peacebuilding.

Developing their own peace discourse and strategies

As part of PeaceWomen Across the Globe’s programme in Ukraine, our Ukrainian allies are working to raise awareness of this issue. They are creating spaces for dialogue in which women and feminists committed to peace – whether in exile, displaced, or in frontline areas – can reflect on what peace means to them, develop their own discourse on peace and strategise to counter dominant narratives. Through a network of allied organisations, nearly 1,600 people from 13 regions of Ukraine were able to participate in events over the course of a few months, allowing them to discuss, for some for the first time, their hopes and fears for the future of their country.

This is a crucial step towards reclaiming words, narratives and concepts that are too often misused by (geo-)political interests. As one participant from the Sumy region said: "It's not about external peace, but a process within society that we want to create for ourselves. We need to rebuild our society through peacebuilding."

* Krause, J., Krause, W., & Bränfors, P. (2018). Women’s Participation in Peace Negotiations and the Durability of Peace. International Interactions, 44(6), 985–1016.