Nutrition of Ukrainians during wartime: philosophical and sociological dimensions

This paper examines wartime nutrition in Ukraine through the lenses of philosophy of food and sociology, treating everyday eating practices as a cultural code that reflects identity, values, and social order under extreme conditions. The study focuses on how the full-scale war reshapes food-related routines, meanings, and inequalities, with particular attention to the experience of civilians in frontline and large urban contexts such as Kharkiv. Drawing on a conceptual analysis of food as a social institution and a set of situated practices, the article discusses major wartime determinants of nutrition, including disruptions of supply chains, limited physical access to food, changes in household strategies, dependence on humanitarian assistance, and the psychological dimension of eating under stress. The findings highlight that nutrition during wartime functions simultaneously as a field of survival and as a sphere where cultural continuity is negotiated. The paper argues that documenting these transformations is essential for understanding social resilience and for designing evidence-informed approaches to humanitarian support and post-war recovery in the food domain.