On September 9, 2019, the leadership of the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) held its first Ukrainian Day in Berlin during which a series of meetings took place with members of the German Bundestag and government officials to discuss continued support for Ukraine in the struggle against Russian aggression.
Prior to the meetings, a briefing was held at the Embassy of Ukraine in Germany during which Ambassador of Ukraine in Germany Andriy Melnyk, UWC President Paul Grod, and Members of Parliament of Ukraine Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze and Ivan Krulko, presented Ukrainian community leaders, participants of the UWC Annual General Meeting in Berlin, with their perspective on continued support for Ukraine. They highlighted particularly that Germany is a key partner for Ukraine in the defence of its territorial integrity and aspiration to become an integral part of the European and Euro-Atlantic communities. Following the briefing, working groups discussed practical ways to present current Ukrainian issues both to governments in countries of residence and internationally.
Briefing at the Embassy of Ukraine in Germany
Throughout the day Paul Grod, Stefan Romaniw and Andriy Futey of the UWC, and Andriy Melnyk, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze and Ivan Krulko from Ukraine met with Member of the German Bundestag, Coordinator for Intersocietal Cooperation with Russia, Central Asia and the Eastern Partnership Countries Dirk Wiese, Deputy Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the German Bundestag Johannes Schraps, Member of the German Bundestag Marieluise Beck, Director for Eastern Europe, Russia, Southern Caucasus and Central Asia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany Michael Siebert, Foreign Policy Adviser to the German Chancellor Matthias Lüttenberg, Chairman of the German-Ukrainian Parliamentary Friendship Group in the Bundestag, Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Omid Nouripour, AfD Spokesman on the Petitions Committee Johannes Huber and Bertelsmann Foundation Senior Expert for Eastern Europe Miriam Kosmehl. President of the Association of Ukrainian Organizations in Germany Rostyslav Sukennyk also participated in individual meetings.
Meeting with Member of Bundestag Marieluise Beck
The meetings focused on priority issues, including the defence of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the de-occupation of Crimea and the Donbas, strengthening sanctions against Russia for its military aggression against Ukraine, stopping the Russian North Stream-2 project, release of Ukrainian political prisoners and hostages being detained by Russia, and support for Ukraine’s European integration, Euro-Atlantic course and fundamental reforms. Also discussed was the need for raising awareness of the Holodomor of 1932-33 among Bundestag members as another step toward achieving recognition of this crime as genocide of the Ukrainian people.
“During UWC’s advocacy day in Berlin, we better understood the significance of Germany’s influence within the European Union and commitment to Ukraine,” stated Paul Grod, UWC President. “UWC intends to organize similar advocacy days in most major capitals around the world with the expectation that new communities will learn and continue these efforts for months and years to come.”
