31 October – 5 November 2016 Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij was on a working visit in Kyiv, Ukraine, where he held a series of official meetings with the Heads of Ukrainian Churches, the President, Vice Prime Ministers, Ministers and other high-ranking state officials of Ukraine, as well as with representatives of the international community and Ukrainian civil society, and appeared before the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Foreign Affairs Committee.
The meetings of the UWC President involved discussions on a range of issues primarily related to the defence of the territorial integrity of Ukraine; combatting the hybrid war of the Russian Federation, including Russian disinformation; the extension of targeted economic sanctions against the Russian Federation until it fully complies with the Minsk agreements and de-occupies Crimea; the defence of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the residents of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine which have been violated as a result of Russian aggression, as well as international support for the UN General Assembly resolution on human rights violations in Crimea, as initiated by Ukraine; the deployment of a police mission by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to Eastern Ukraine and an OSCE observer mission to Crimea; the need for a Tomos of Autocephaly for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate; the protection of human, national and religious rights of Ukrainians in the Russian Federation; Russian court rulings calling for the demolition of the Holy Trinity Church of the Bohorodsk Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate in Nohinsk; and the trial of the Director of Ukrainian Literature Library in Moscow. Also addressed was the importance of expediting the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine; the ratification of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, including by the Netherlands; the adoption of a visa-free regime for Ukrainian citizens travelling to EU member states in the Schengen area taking into account the fulfillment by Ukraine of all criteria; the realization of reforms in Ukraine; UWC support for the economic development of Ukraine; and combatting corruption in Ukraine, including with the obligatory e-declaration of assets by state officials.
During his visit to Ukraine the UWC President was accompanied by Director of the UWC Mission to Ukraine Serhiy Kasyanchuk.
Individual meetings were also attended by UWC Vice President and Chair of the UWC Committee in Support of the Economic Development of Ukraine Olena Koszarny and Assistant to the Director of the UWC Mission to Ukraine Volodymyr Kistianyk.
“The meetings in Ukraine were very productive and focused on strengthening the effectiveness of joint actions in furthering priority issues for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
View a video of the UWC President’s meeting with the President of Ukraine HERE and HERE.
More information on specific meetings of the UWC President in Ukraine is available on the official websites of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate, President of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
