Paul Grod: UWC to protect interests of all Ukrainians wherever they may live

15.07.2019 10:50

Ukrinform

The decision by Russia’s Prosecutor General declaring the Ukrainian World Congress a threat to Russia’s national security is a further attempt to eliminate Ukrainian community life in Russia.

However, the Ukrainian World Congress will protect the interests of all Ukrainians, wherever they may live, UWC president Paul Grod stated.

“The decision by Russia’s Prosecutor General declaring the Ukrainian World Congress a threat to Russia’s national security is a further attempt to eliminate Ukrainian community life in Russia. It highlights Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fear that the democratic principles championed by the Ukrainian people will bring an end to his kleptocratic regime,” Grod said.

The UWC President stressed that neither the Ukrainian World Congress nor its member organizations pose any threat to the national security of Russia and called on the Kremlin to stop the military aggression against Ukraine. “We stand with the peace-loving people of Russia who wish to live in a state that respects the dignity of its people. UWC calls upon the Russian regime of Vladimir Putin to withdraw his troops and security forces from eastern Ukraine and Crimea and end the illegal occupation, human rights abuses and ongoing military aggression against the Ukrainian people.”

He reminded that UWC is a recognized non-government organization by both the United Nations and the Council of Europe and brings together as one powerful voice the 20 million strong Ukrainian diaspora in over 60 countries, the largest of which lives in the Russian Federation. “Prohibiting the people of Russia from cooperating or working with UWC is just another attempt to intimidate, oppress and further assimilate the Ukrainian people living in Russia,” the UWC president stated.

According to the president, the Ukrainian World Congress will continue to protect the interests of Ukrainian across the globe. “Millions of Ukrainians are living in Russia today. These are people who belong to the Ukrainian nation and the UWC will protect their interests and the interests of all Ukrainians, wherever they may live,” Paul Grod emphasized.

On July 11, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation approved a decision to recognize the activity of the international non-governmental organization Ukrainian World Congress as “undesirable” in the territory of the Russian Federation.

The Ukrainian World Congress is a non-profit, non-partisan organization which coordinates the Ukrainian non-governmental organizations of the Ukrainian diaspora. It unites 20 million Ukrainians in 133 world countries. One of the largest Ukrainian diasporas is in Russia.