Chicago’s Ukrainian community meets with PM Shmyhal

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal held several meetings with the Ukrainian community in Chicago as part of his visit to the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank.

On April 16, at the Ukrainian Cultural Center, the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Ambassador of Ukraine to the USA, Oksana Markarova, and community representatives discussed the situation on the front lines, migration during the war, Ukraine’s demographic problem, and assistance from partners. Dr. Mariya Dmytriv-Kapeniak, M.D., President of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America Illinois Division, moderated the discussion.

Dr. Mariya Dmytriv-Kapeniak highlighted that the mass migration of Ukrainians was a key issue discussed at the Ukrainian World Congress Summit in Bucharest from April 12 to 15. She asked the Prime Minister about strategies for leveraging the Ukrainian diaspora as a resource in Ukraine’s reconstruction and the plans for repatriating Ukrainians.

“We have to win this war. That’s only half of the battle. We are facing enormous challenges – demographic, primarily. It seems to me that no country in modern history since World War II, and maybe even in World War II, has suffered such losses. This challenge does not have a simple answer. We all have to work on this together. This is the next battle after we win this war. We will fight for our demographics,” Shmyhal responded.

The Prime Minister thanked the Ukrainian community for assisting Ukraine and called for further unity for Victory.

Marta Farion, UWC Vice President for North America and Vice President of the UCCA, reported that Denys Shmyhal spoke at the University of Chicago about the Ukrainian people’s resilience and Ukraine’s reconstruction. Ukrainian and American students, as well as scholars, attended the event.

In Chicago, the Prime Minister also met with the US Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery, Penny Pritzker. They discussed attracting American investments. Shmyhal also had discussions with representatives of American businesses about prospective projects in Ukraine.