In 2025, UN Security Council Resolution 1325, Women, Peace, and Security marked its 25th anniversary. For Ukraine, the resolution has become especially relevant since the beginning of russia’s aggression: new war-driven circumstances have posed severe challenges for most women and girls now who seek various methods to meet them. Women actively enter the security and defense sector; by August 2025, approximately 100,000 women were serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with 5,500 on the frontline. Women operate drones, take part in demining operations, serve in the National Police and the State Emergency Service, and study at military higher education institutions. They participate in creating the conditions for a sustainable and just peace, participate in negotiation processes, along with people-to-people diplomacy, to mobilize broader international support for Ukraine. Many also focus on assisting those affected by the war and on shaping prospects for the country’s recovery and future development.
Through innovative approaches, Ukraine has already gained substantial experience in implementing UNSC Res 1325. The book Navigator 1325 brings these achievements together and tells the story of the positive practices that have driven this progress. The book’s protagonists are women and men who develop and implement Ukraine’s state policy on gender equality as an element of a modern civilizational framework: they volunteer, support the families of women and men in military service, sew uniforms for women serving in the AFU, conduct gender-sensitive security audits of communities and territories. They develop the legislative framework to support those affected by war, including the payment of urgent interim reparations, implement compensation projects for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, and defend “Ukraine’s interests” internationally. This book consists of twenty-five success stories that together portray contemporary Ukraine and the significant role of women in shaping this modern reality. The stories attest to Ukraine’s modernity and effectiveness as a European state and to Ukraine’s capacity to be part of a developed European community.
This publication reconstructs the methodology behind these successful stories. Reading the book will help many activists and leaders apply this experience not only in Ukraine, but also for the benefit of other countries that are experiencing armed conflict by helping to recognize the importance of women’s participation in security, peacebuilding, and post-conflict development.
The audiences for this publication are professionals working on the design and implementation of gender policy; politicians; civil servants; researchers; representatives of civil society organizations; local authorities, as well as members of an international audience interested in the actual situation in Ukraine and those supportive of Ukraine’s ongoing fight for independence.
Navigator 1325 was published within the project Women. Peace. Security: Acting Together that was implemented by the Ukrainian Women’s Fund, with financial support from the Government of the United Kingdom.