On Wednesday-Thursday, June 17-18, the Center for US-Ukrainian Relations, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation and the American Foreign Policy Council will convene the eighth annual US-UA Working Group Summit: Providing Ukraine with an Annual Report Card. This online conference, held in (2) three-hour segments spanning consecutive days, will bring together government and key non-government representatives from Ukraine, Canada, the EU and the US to take measure of Ukraine's 2019-2020 progress/regress in six categories: "robust democratic politics, developed market economics, ever greater energy security, ever greater general security, viable social cohesion and an established national identity.". At the conclusion, a final grade will be assessed based on the contributions of over two dozen speakers (program below).
Through the generous support of our patrons, the forum will be available to stream free of cost at:
For more information, please either contact UCCA's National Office by phone at (212) 228-6840, or email the Conference Coordinator at drijmail@yahoo.com, or else the Program Coordinator at waz2102@columbia.edu.
|
|
|
The VII US-UA Working Group Summit was held at the University Club in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, June 13, 2019. The KyivPost summarized that event HERE
|
|
|
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the largest grassroots representation of Americans of Ukrainian descent, welcomes the news that the 30 member states of NATO have formally recognized Ukraine as an Enhanced Opportunities Partner (EOP). This announcement was made just one day after the United States Department of Defense announced its plans to authorize $250 million towards the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), funding “additional training, equipment, and advisory efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s capacity to more effectively defend itself against Russian aggression.” Both initiatives had been championed by UCCA on behalf of the Ukrainian American community.
In response to the NATO announcement, Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, stated that, “Ukraine’s status as an Enhanced Opportunities Partner is a recognition of the tremendous sacrifices made by the brave men and women of the Ukrainian armed forces in support of NATO operations and the dedication of the Ukrainian government to continue to make serious structural military reforms.” As a NATO partner, Ukraine has provided troops to Allied operations, including in Afghanistan and Kosovo, as well as to the NATO Response Force and NATO exercises.
UCCA’s President, Andriy Futey, reacted positively to the news as well, stating that, “Ukraine today stands as the only non-NATO partner nation to have contributed actively to all NATO-led operations and missions for over 20 years. This recognition of Ukraine is yet another step towards full NATO membership, but stands by itself as a positive sign of support for the full restoration of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, including over the Crimean Peninsula. Towards this goal, we are glad to see Ukraine’s defense being prioritized by the Pentagon, with half of the funds recently authorized – $125 million – going towards hardware for increasing the ‘defense capacity of Ukraine in the maritime domain and improvement of the air surveillance systems to monitor sovereign airspace.’”
UCCA continues to advocate for stronger - and specifically sectoral sanctions - against the Russian Federation until it withdraws all of its covert and overt forces and equipment from Ukraine and de-occupies the sovereign territory of Ukraine, including Crimea.
|
|
A video library of past conferences is available on UCCA's Facebook page, as well as on YouTube. You can view a playlist of the VII US-UA Working Group Summit from 2019 online: https://bit.ly/UCCATube
|
|
|
|
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) is a non-profit, non-partisan community-based organization that has represented the interests of Ukrainians in the United States since 1940.
|
|
Український Конґресовий Комітет Америки (УККА) є неприбутковою, безпартійною громадською організацією, яка представляє інтереси українців у Сполучених Штатах Америки з 1940 року.
|
|
|
|
|
