France was the next country the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) delegation visited, headed by UWC President Paul Grod. The key discussion topics with French political and community leaders included Ukraine’s accession to the EU and NATO, the recognition of Russia as a terrorist state, and support for Ukrainian internally displaced persons.
During a meeting with Senator Nadia Sologub, the UWC President emphasized the importance of Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic course. He expressed gratitude for the decision of both chambers of the French Parliament to recognize the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as genocide of the Ukrainian people.
Paul Grod also expressed the respect and gratitude of the global Ukrainian community to the French government and all French people for accepting, helping, and supporting Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war. The meeting led to an agreement to cooperate with the Representative Committee of Ukrainians in France, a UWC member, to support Ukrainian refugees.
The continued support for Ukraine, primarily the provision of weapons, accession to NATO and the EU, and the importance of rebuilding Ukraine were discussed during a meeting of the UWC President with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to France Vadym Omelchenko.
Paul Grod thanked the Embassy and the Representative Committee of Ukrainians in France for their excellent example of working with young people and newly arrived Ukrainians, which actively cooperate with the newly created organizations.
A significant meeting was held with a great friend of Ukraine – French intellectual, philosopher, journalist, and writer Bernard-Henri Lévy. Paul Grod thanked Mr. Bernard-Henri Lévy for his consistent support of the Ukrainian people and his films and writings on Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
“Bernard-Henri is a true and loyal friend of Ukraine. He is a well-known supporter of Ukraine’s membership in NATO and the EU, and thanks to him, Ukraine is now part of the political agenda of France and the EU. With such a powerful voice of support for Ukraine, Ukrainians can be assured that France is and will remain a strong ally,” noted UWC President Paul Grod.
The issue of rebuilding Ukraine is already on the agenda in French business circles, assured representatives of MEDEF International. Paul Grod presented during a meeting with the most prominent representative organization of the French private business sector how to rebuild the destroyed energy infrastructure and support the Ukrainian people through the UWC initiative Energize Ukraine.
“Get out of the Russian market!” “Russia is a terrorist state!” – these were the slogans of a demonstration organized by the Ukrainian community in Paris to convey the truth about the horrific events in Ukraine to companies that have not yet left the Russian market and call upon them to stop funding this bloody war.
Speakers at the demonstration included Deputy Mayor of the French capital Jean-Luc Romero, UWC President Paul Grod, representatives of local authorities, and the Ukrainian community.
Paul Grod addressed the demonstrators and called France to join the ranks of countries that have already recognized Russian war crimes in Ukraine as genocide of the Ukrainian people and Russia as a terrorist state.
A warm and productive meeting between the UWC President and the Ukrainian community took place in the Cultural Center of the Embassy of Ukraine in France. Paul Grod thanked the previous leadership of the Representative Committee of Ukrainians in France and welcomed the new President of the organization, Oleh Koval.
In the photo: from right to left, Oleksandr Rominsky, Danylo Shtul, Taras Horishnyi, Oleh Koval, Eugenia Petrova, Paul Grod
In communication with the community, they discussed what the Ukrainian diaspora could and should continue to do to defeat the Russian aggressor and how to work to rebuild Ukraine right now. The participants also discussed support for Ukrainian defenders, humanitarian initiatives, and countering the “Russkiy Mir.”
