As English increasingly functions as a global language, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms are becoming important spaces for engaging with social issues, conflict, and peace. Virtual Exchange (VE) offers a pedagogical framework that enables learners to interact with international peers and to encounter global challenges through authentic dialogue rather than abstract content alone. This study explores how VE embedded in an EFL course supports students’ learning about social issues and world peace through written intercultural communication. Based on data from the Ibunka international virtual exchange project, the study analyzes online discussions among university students from multiple countries, including participants living under active war conditions in Ukraine. Using a mixed qualitative-quantitative content analysis, the study examines how learners engaged with themes such as war, justice, solidarity, and global responsibility. Intercultural communicative competence (ICC), as conceptualized by Byram and reflected in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), serves as an analytical lens to explain how disciplinary learning about peace and conflict unfolds through interaction, inquiry, and reflection. The findings show that students moved beyond descriptive exchanges to interpret complex sociopolitical issues, relate diverse perspectives, mediate meaning, and critically evaluate global structures and ethical problems, demonstrating critical cultural awareness, which aligns with the development of intercultural and global citizenship. The study contributes to research on virtual exchange demonstrating that VE enables learners to understand global issues as lived realities shared across borders, fostering dialogue, empathy, ethical judgment, and a sense of responsibility essential for global citizenship.