On 12-15 October 2017, the President of the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) Eugene Czolij, at the invitation of the UWC member organization, the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, concluded a working visit to London and Manchester, United Kingdom, to discuss current Ukrainian issues during meetings with government officials, civil society representatives and Ukrainian communities, and also to take part in the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the UWC.
During his meetings, the UWC President thanked the United Kingdom for helping Ukraine protect its territorial integrity. Eugene Czolij also urged the United Kingdom, on the basis of the recommendations from the September 2017 EU‑Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee meeting, to: a) increase the sanctions against the Russian Federation in response to the steps undertaken by the Russian authorities to integrate the occupied territories of Eastern Ukraine into the Russian Federation and in response to the further deterioration of the human rights situation in Crimea; b) support the deployment of a UN peace-keeping mission in coordination with Ukrainian authorities with full access to the whole territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, including to the Ukrainian-Russian border as recognized by the international community; c) take measures to terminate the Nord Stream 2 project, which is detrimental to European energy security; and d) support the initiative to establish a broad investment package for Ukraine akin to the Marshall Plan to boost implementation of difficult reforms and economic growth. Eugene Czolij stressed the need for the international community to continue countering Russian disinformation and drew attention to the most recent major reforms in Ukraine. He also called on the United Kingdom to recognize the Holodomor of 1932-33 as genocide of the Ukrainian people.
On 14 October 2017, the UWC President attended a concert in Manchester organized by the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, chaired by Petro Rewko, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the UWC. In his speech, Eugene Czolij outlined the main priorities of the UWC, which are primarily linked to the support of Ukraine, and called on the Ukrainian community for further cooperation in the achievement of our common goals. He also presented long-standing activists of the Ukrainian community with certificates of recognition.
On 15 October 2017, Eugene Czolij attended Divine Liturgy at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in London. Afterwards, he delivered a speech on the subject of supporting Ukraine.
Throughout his stay in the United Kingdom, the UWC President was accompanied by Bohdan Terlecky, Member of the Board of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain.
“The Ukrainian World Congress expresses its gratitude to the United Kingdom for its support of Ukraine and to the Ukrainian community led by the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain for their productive cooperation in protecting the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” said UWC President Eugene Czolij.
List of individuals with whom the UWC President met:
Applebaum Anne, Washington Post columnist, Pulitzer-Prize winning historian, Professor of Practice at the London School of Economics Institute of Global Affairs, author of many scholarly works, including “Red Famine – Stalin’s War on Ukraine”
Galibarenko Natalia, Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom
Harkenrider Zach, Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in the United Kingdom
Heakin Kevin, Deputy Lieutenant of Greater Manchester
Khan Afzal, Member of the United Kingdom Parliament, Shadow Minister for Home Office and Immigration Issues
Lewis Julian, Member of the United Kingdom Parliament, Chairman of the Defence Committee of the House of Commons
Lutsevych Orysia, Manager of the Ukraine Forum at the Russia and Eurasia Programme, Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House
Mahmood Khalid, Member of the United Kingdom Parliament, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Foreign Affairs, Shadow Minister on Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Hassan Naeem, Councillor at Manchester City Council
Pollitt Nicola, Additional Director of Eastern Europe & Central Asia, Foreign & Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom
Pomerantsev Peter, Director of Arena Institute of Global Affairs, The London School of Economics and Political Science
Sutyagin Igor, Senior Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies
Whittingdale John, Member of the United Kingdom Parliament, Chairman of the All‑Party Parliamentary Group on Ukraine
In the photo left to right: N. Galibarenko, J. Whittingdale, E. Czolij and B. Terlecky
