UWC represents global Ukrainian community at Ukraine Recovery Conference

ROME – A delegation from the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) is representing the interests of the global Ukrainian community at key meetings during the Ukraine Recovery Conference currently underway in Italy’s capital.

Representing the UWC in Rome are President Paul Grod; Vice President Zenon Potoczny; Chair of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain Petro Rewko; UWC Executive Director Roman Zyla; Head of the UWC Mission to Ukraine Andriy Shevchenko; and Oles Horodetskyy, leader of the Christian Association of Ukrainians in Italy.

Ahead of the conference, the UWC delegation had the opportunity to meet with Keith Kellogg, the U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine, who carries a specific diplomatic-military mandate of finding a lasting and just peace in the Russo-Ukrainian war. 

“Increased U.S. support means saved lives and the defense of freedom,” said UWC President Paul Grod, thanking Kellogg for his continued backing and stressing the urgent need for more military aid to Ukraine.

The UWC delegation also had the honor of meeting with Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister Andriy Sybiha. Discussions focused on global diplomacy, unity among Ukrainians worldwide, and victory in the grinding, bloody war.

Sybiha expressed gratitude to the global Ukrainian community for its persistent support of Ukraine abroad and bolstering Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

“We discussed the efforts of Ukrainians worldwide to increase pressure on Russia to stop the war, strengthen sanctions, and enhance Ukraine’s defense capabilities,” Sybiha said. “I am grateful to the global Ukrainian community for its activity in promoting Ukraine’s interests abroad and supporting our Defense Forces.”

During their visit to Italy, the UWC delegation participated in a meeting with Italian Senator Cinzia Pellegrino, a member of the Commission on European Union Policy and the Extraordinary Commission for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights of the Senate of the Republic.

The conversation focused on the return of Ukrainian children forcibly and illegally taken by Russia without parental consent and the protection of human rights in wartime Ukraine.

In a friendly discussion with former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, the topics included strategic support for Ukraine and the importance of international solidarity in countering Russian aggression.

The UWC delegation’s visit will continue with a “People’s March” in Rome, followed by the Forum of Ukrainians in Italy on July 12, which will gather Ukrainian organizations from dozens of Italian cities for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion began.