UWC President on how the diaspora helps Ukraine and puts pressure on the strongest of the world

UWC President Paul Grod, who is visiting Ukraine, gave a prime-time interview to the top Ukrainian channel “1+1” as part of a telethon that has been ongoing since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.

The interview focused on worldwide Ukrainians’ assistance to Ukraine – both in connection with the ongoing Russian aggression and in the post-war reconstruction, on advocacy for Ukraine’s accession to the EU, and so on.

As Mr. Grod noted, what previously seemed impossible has become possible, and today such is the slogan of all Ukrainians. “Regarding getting candidate status [in the EU], all European politicians told us that it was impossible. And together with the President of Ukraine, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and diplomats, we started a very active process to convince all European countries that this is possible, why it is necessary, and why it is to their advantage.”

In his opinion, Europeans began to understand Ukraine much better after the start of a full-scale war and now have no doubts that Ukraine deserves its place in the European family.

Answering a question about frozen Russian assets, the president of the UWC cited the example of Canada, which, a few months ago, was the first to pass a law stating that Russian assets should be confiscated. “They haven’t confiscated anything yet, but at least there is a law. And now the Ukrainian community in Canada is putting pressure on the government to start the confiscation. This is a good example, and we will work in all countries of Europe and North America so that they adopt the same laws and implement them.”

Paul Grod called the theses spread by Russian propagandists about the world’s apparent fatigue from helping Ukraine “completely false.” “Looking at the polls that we conduct and not only, both North America and Europe  continue to support Ukraine strongly.”

“It is clear to us – and we say this to all countries – that the victory of Ukraine means the complete restoration of its territorial integrity: Crimea, Mariupol, Luhansk, Donetsk. Until we achieve this, there is no victory,” said Paul Grod. He emphasized that such an unequivocal understanding of victory by all Ukraine’s partners is essential when Putin tries to push some “compromise”.

The President of the UWC spoke about assistance to defenders of Ukraine. “We see what physical advantage Russia has – how many materials and people they will throw in this war. And we need to provide maximum support for the defenders of Ukraine. These are not only the weapons that our partners provide but also the help that we can collect. That’s why I came to Ukraine – to convey what we procured, what we bought, to hear what the next requests are.”

Mr. Grod also called the Ukrainian Armed Forces his most fantastic impression from the visit.

“It is important that we continue to build the Ukrainian world. This Russian threat will not leave us soon. And that is why we must educate the next generations of conscientious Ukrainians in the diaspora,” Paul Grod emphasized.