On 20 February 2017 the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) opened the UWC Mission to International Organizations in Brussels coinciding with Nebesna Sotnia Heroes Day. The UWC Mission was established to expedite the advancement of the European choice of the Ukrainian people that was fully supported by the Ukrainian diaspora and for which the Nebesna Sotnia Heroes sacrificed their lives.
The opening of the UWC Mission was held at the office of the Association of Ukrainians in Belgium, which is a UWC member organization.
Greetings were delivered by the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the EU and Ambassador of Ukraine in Belgium and Luxembourg Mykola Tochitskyi and President of the Association of Ukrainians in Belgium Ihor Chocholak.
The UWC President Eugene Czolij in his address highlighted the role of the UWC Mission in conveying to the international community, primarily the EU and NATO, the message of the global Ukrainian community, that the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of a reformed Ukraine is in the best interests of Ukraine and the EU. The UWC President also noted the importance of understanding that with its illegal occupation of Crimea and military actions in Eastern Ukraine the Russian Federation has created an international crisis that threatens peace and stability in the world, and that by defending its borders Ukraine is in fact stopping Russian imperialism from advancing further West.
The UWC President presented the newly appointed Director of the UWC Mission to International Organizations in Brussels Maryna Iaroshevych and Deputy Director Dmytro Panchuk who, in turn, confirmed their readiness to fulfill the UWC Mission’s mandate.
“I assure you that I fully appreciate the importance of the work of the UWC Mission in support of the European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the Ukrainian people, and I will diligently execute the duties conferred upon me by the UWC,” stated the Director of the UWC Mission to International Organizations in Brussels Maryna Iaroshevych.
“The opening of the UWC Mission coincides with a solemn date in Ukraine’s modern history – Nebesna Sotnia Heroes Day. Therefore, in honouring their memory, I wish to assure that the UWC will do everything to pursue the course that they initiated,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
Media coverage of the opening of the UWC Mission to International Organizations in Brussels is available on the following sites: Ukrinform, Ukrayinskyi Pohliad and “ZN, UA” .
In the photo from left: I. Chocholak, E. Czolij, M. Tochitskyi, М. Iaroshevych and D. Panchuk
