Olena Kupenko

The Covid-19 pandemic changes people’s behavior, determines the interpersonal distance of communication, and deepens the digitalization processes of public life. This paper aims to establish the social trust impact on the social sustainability of Ukrainian territorial communities in the Covid-19 pandemic. For an empirical study, four territorial communities of Ukraine were taken, which geographically represent the whole of Ukraine. It used the online survey method based on Google forms. A randomly selected 1530 respondents aged 18+ were interviewed in 2021, where the quota sampling by gender, age, and territorial community has been preserved. The study proves that the family remains the basis of social stability for Ukrainians. In difficult situations, the population expects help from their relatives and is ready to help themselves. However, institutional social trust is highly deficient, with only 5.8% of citizens wishing for help from local authorities in the face of the pandemic. The survey shows that the poorest part of the population is prone to atomization and demonstrates the lowest interpersonal and institutional trust level, weakening social stability due to the risks of numerous divorces, labor migration, and the problems of family members’ isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic has widened the gap between the poorest and wealthiest groups. Therefore, social resilience management should aim to improve institutional and interpersonal social trust. Furthermore, public authorities should unite the community using economic, social, cultural, and religious instruments since atomized individuals cannot withstand local and global challenges efficiently.

Acknowledgment
The paper was prepared in the framework of the research project “Sustainable development and resource security: from disruptive technologies to digital transformation of Ukrainian economy” (№ 0121U100470) and “ Jean Monnet Chair in EU Economic Policies and Civil Society” (619878-EPP-1-2020-1-UA-EPPJMO-CHAIR).

A full-scale Russian invasion in Ukraine changes people’s behavior and determines the current person’s resilience/vulnerability in society. This paper aims to estimate individual resilience/vulnerability and its factors in the community during wartime. It used the online survey method based on Google Forms and online focus-group interviews during May-August 2022 at four territorial communities in Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, and Sumy regions, which geographically represent the whole of Ukraine. A randomly selected 468 respondents were interviewed, including 139 internally displaced persons and refugees and 329 who did not consider themselves in any vulnerable category. The survey shows that according to the “Well-being and baseline status” factor, 66.3% of respondents confirmed an increase in their activity in response to the war.
Along with a high level of trust in their family during wartime, indicators of social atomization (broken social ties, isolation of people from each other) are high. Thus, 37.4% of respondents noted that they rely only on themselves and solve their problems independently, without anyone’s help. Using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, it was found that the social resilience of the Ukrainian population is mainly based on individual resilience rather than on the resilience of mechanisms. For almost 50% of the respondents, there are manifestations of atomized sustainability and vulnerability, which increase the likelihood of post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, the control over disaster management processes should be based not only on data monitoring but also on training and innovativeness to increase social resilience.

Acknowledgment
This study was funded by a grant “Restructuring of the national economy in the direction of digital transformations for sustainable development” (No. 0122U001232).