Mapping grassroots solidarity networks during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine
About
In the first weeks following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of grassroots initiatives emerged across Poland almost overnight. They organized transport, food distribution, housing, legal support, open-source intelligence and crisis communication—often faster than formal institutions were able to respond.
Perevirka was created to document these distributed networks of care and make visible the infrastructures that enabled them to operate.
Developed by the Nerdka collective, Perevirka combines qualitative research with digital storytelling. The project took the form of an interactive map tracing relationships between organizations across Poland, accompanied by a long-form editorial built from in-depth interviews with activists and organizers.
Rather than focusing on institutions or large NGOs, we documented micro and medium-scale initiatives—the groups able to move immediately, adapt quickly and invent protocols in real time.
Because if the micro didn’t exist, the macro wouldn’t work.
Challenge
The humanitarian response to the invasion was decentralized, fast-moving and constantly changing.
Grassroots organizations were improvising logistics across borders, sharing critical information through ad-hoc communication networks and creating support systems while the crisis was still unfolding. Many of these initiatives were informal, volunteer-led and largely invisible to broader public narratives.
The challenge was not only to document what they were doing—but to capture how they were doing it:
- How did independent groups coordinate at speed?
- Which digital tools supported action on the ground?
- How were trust and communication maintained under pressure?
- What kinds of infrastructures emerge when institutional systems are too slow?
The project required a format capable of representing relationships, complexity and urgency without flattening them into a static report.
Our approach
As part of Nerdka—a collective exploring the social impact of emerging technologies through queer and feminist lenses—we approached Perevirka as both research and infrastructure.
Our process combined:
Qualitative interviews
Conversations with organizers from:
- Letjaha
- SDK Słonecznik
- Zupa dla Ukrainy
- KMWTW
- Wolno Nam
- Stewardessy Pokoju
- Tosia
- Cyber Elfy
Network mapping
We visualized how initiatives connected with one another: resource sharing, communication channels, logistics, and overlapping communities.
Editorial synthesis
Interview material was transformed into an accessible long-form article exploring recurring themes across the network.
Digital experience design
An interactive website brought together map, research and editorial narrative into a single public archive.
The goal was not to produce a neutral directory, but a living portrait of solidarity infrastructure—how communities self-organize, coordinate and sustain each other during crisis.
Key insights
1. Grassroots speed depends on pre-existing networks
Many organizations mobilized rapidly because relationships already existed. Previous activism, local organizing and community ties became critical infrastructure once the crisis began. Existing trust networks enabled immediate action long before formal procedures were established.Perevirka revealed how resilience is often built quietly before crisis—and activated when needed.
2. Digital tools become emergency infrastructure
Communication platforms became operational infrastructure. Discord servers managed logistics. Signal coordinated transport. Telegram delivered urgent information and enabled real-time verification. Open-source intelligence communities worked to identify misinformation and geolocate evidence. These platforms were not neutral tools—they actively shaped how aid could happen.Mapping this layer was central to the project.
3. Care is logistical and relational
Aid wasn’t only transportation or supplies. Food distribution, translation, housing support, childcare, emotional presence and simply being physically together were equally essential.The project highlighted how logistics and care are inseparable — and how grassroots organizing often holds both at once.
Role
As part of Nerdka, I co-developed the project across research and design.
My contribution included:
- Research and interviews with participating organizations
- Structuring and synthesizing insights
- Designing the interactive map experience
- Translating complex social networks into a readable visual system
- Shaping the website as a public-facing archive
The work required balancing editorial clarity with complexity: representing networks without oversimplifying them, while keeping the experience accessible to wider audiences.
Credits
Nerdka collective: Michał Oparowski, Jeremiasz Rzenno, Justyna Górowska, Kat Zavada
With thanks to all interview participants and collaborators.
Created as part of the 3rd edition of the Support Program for Creative Environments, implemented by Jasna 10 / Świetlica Krytyki Politycznej in Warsaw within the Centrum Jasna programme funded by the City of Warsaw.
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