American Coalition for Ukraine

On August 26, 2024, Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine, deploying over 200 missiles and drones. This assault targeted critical infrastructure across multiple regions, including Kyiv, causing significant damage and resulting in civilian casualties.

We urge everyone to call or email your elected officials and contact the executive branch to demand that Ukraine be allowed to strike legitimate military targets inside Russia. This is crucial to protect the lives of peaceful Ukrainian citizens.



Make sure your voice is heard - join Ukraine Action Summit in Washington, D.C.
https://bit.ly/UAS2024Fall

As we celebrate Ukrainian Independence, we honor the brave defenders and remember the innocent victims of Russia's aggression. Their sacrifice underscores the importance of Ukraine's struggle and the values of freedom and sovereignty that we all cherish.

Слава Україні!

📢 Join us at the Ukraine Action Summit, Fall 2024! https://bit.ly/UAS2024Fall

The Summit is your chance to engage with Congressional offices and advocate for Ukraine. It’s an opportunity to set the stage for our priorities during the lame-duck session—a short but often productive time after the election.

Join us and make your voice heard in Washington, D.C. 🇺🇦💬

🔍 Not sure if your district needs a delegate? Check our online map on the website to see where delegates are needed most!

👉 Register today and make an impact! https://bit.ly/UAS2024Fall

The Ukraine Action Summit, Fall 2024, will be an excellent opportunity to lay the groundwork for our continued successful advocacy work in 2025. And what better way to energize before three very active and busy days on the Hill than by attending an event with Antytila?!

➡ The first 200 delegates will receive free admission to their "Culture VS War" event, which includes a short documentary, a Q&A session with the band, and an acoustic concert. It will offer an immersive glimpse into the harsh realities of Russia’s unjust war on Ukraine.

‼️178 delegates have already registered. Hurry to secure your ticket!!

🎯Registration is here
➡ https://bit.ly/UAS2024Fall ⬅

Great news! On September 22, at the Ronald Reagan Convention Center, the Ukrainian rock band Antytila will present their project "Culture vs. War." It will be an evening featuring a short documentary, a Q&A session with the band, and an acoustic concert, providing an ambient glimpse into the realities of the unjust Russian war on Ukraine and advocating for continuous military and financial support for Ukraine.

Thanks to United Help Ukraine, a founding member of the American Coalition for Ukraine, the first 200 delegates registered to attend the Ukraine Action Summit, Fall 2024, will receive a free pass to the event. Be on the lookout for an email from the Summit organizing committee, and follow our social media for more updates and information.

You can register to attend the Summit here: https://bit.ly/UAS2024Fall

* Already registered delegates will be contacted via the email submitted with their registration.

We look forward to welcoming all of you to the Ukraine Action Summit, Fall 2024!

This summer, our community has focused on advocating for the removal of restrictions on Ukraine's use of U.S.-made weapons. Alongside contacting the U.S. Administration and discussing the urgency with elected officials, we need to maintain public awareness of current events in Ukraine. Documented facts of Russian war crimes and continuous attacks on civilians speak for themselves. We have prepared graphics with the latest data that you can share with your community to keep the campaign going.
Please use to increase the visibility of your posts.
And .for.ukraine Advocacy team prepared talking points and guidance on how to advocate to the executive branch and your elected officials about this issue. http://www.bit.ly/KeyUkraineMessages

We are thrilled to see many advocates registering to attend the upcoming Ukraine Action Summit. We are confident that our community will come together in strength and large numbers to consolidate support for Ukraine once again. If you have not registered yet, do so today to take advantage of the discounted Early Bird ticket price: https://bit.ly/UASFall2024. Special pricing is valid through August 11th.

We are also looking for constituents from important districts that have not been represented at previous summits. If you know anyone from these states or districts, please share this invitation with them!

The wait is over! Ukraine Action Summit, Fall 2024 registration is open!

➡️ https://bit.ly/UAS2024Fall ⬅️

5th Ukraine Action Summit in Washington, D.C. will be held from September 23 - 25, 2024, with an optional community event the afternoon of Sunday, September 22nd.
Come together with policymakers, advocates, and community leaders to discuss and strategize on the most pressing issues facing Ukraine today.

Yesterday, the world watched the absolutely spectacular opening of the # # Summer Olympic Games in Paris. The Ukrainian team is represented by 140 athletes. Despite the devastation caused by the ongoing Russian war, they demonstrate incredible perseverance and will to win!

We wish them all victory in every event and want to assure them that, for us, they are already heroes!

We have collected some images from the opening ceremony for you to see the warm welcome they received in Paris. These images are from the page of НОК України та олімпійська команда/NOC of Ukraine and the Olympic Team Follow them for the latest updates on the performance of the Ukrainian team.

Russia tortures Christians in Ukraine. Steven Moore, founder of the Ukraine Freedom Project, Dr. Catherine Wanner, Professor at Pennsylvania State University, and Mark Sergeev, witness to Russian crimes in Melitopol and a Ukrainian pastor, have testified about numerous accounts of systematic oppression of religious freedoms by the Russian authorities in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.

Thank you U.S. Helsinki Commission for holding hearing today and opening truth to the public.

Watch hearing recording here: https://www.csce.gov/hearings/russias-persecution-of-ukrainian-christians/

Tomorrow, on July 24th, U.S. Helsinki Commission will hold hearings on "Russia's persecutions of Ukrainian Christians". If you are in D.C. we encourage you to attend this important discussion.
Also, feel free to share it with offices of your elected officials and encourage them to attend as well.

"Independent Ukraine has enjoyed a robust tradition of religious freedom. As such, Ukrainians today represent a variety of faiths, including many Christian denominations. Unfortunately, Russia—which has little tolerance for independent belief systems within its own borders—has exported its worst practices to the territories it occupies in Ukraine.

The following witnesses are scheduled to testify:

Steven E. Moore – Founder, Ukraine Freedom Project
Mark Sergeev – Ukrainian pastor, witness to Russian crimes in Melitopol
Dr. Catherine Wanner – Professor, Pennsylvania State University'

More is here: https://www.csce.gov/press-releases/hearing-russias-persecution-of-ukrainian-christians/

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, TX-18, a huge supporter of Ukraine and one of the strongest advocates for the Ukrainian children passed last night. This is a huge loss for Houston, Texas and the United States, as well as for our community. We extend our condolences to her family and close ones.

This August Ukrainian band ТНМК will be touring North America for the very first time. We are excited, and here's why:

Since the early years of Ukraine's independence, ТНМК has been delivering a vibrant blend of hip-hop and rock with traditional Ukrainian sounds. They are indisputable legends of Ukrainian music.

We are thrilled to partner with MoLoKo as a media and community partner to promote Ukrainian culture and support this tour.

Since February 2022, ТНМК has organized numerous international and local music tours, raising money for Ukraine. The upcoming tour is no exception.

Join us for an evening of modern Ukrainian music in:
-> Phyladelphia, PA - Aug 7, 2024
-> New York, NY - Aug 8, 2024
-> Chicago, IL - Aug 17 & 18, 2024
-> Seattle, WA - Aug 28, 2024
-> San Francisco, CA - Aug 29, 2024
-> Austin, TX - Aug 31, 2024

Tickets at https://moloko.ticketleap.com

We are proud to share this invitation on behalf of our founding member organization United Help Ukraine

Join the U.S. Helsinki Commission and distinguished panelists for a briefing on the environmental devastation Russia has wrought in Ukraine during its war of aggression. Panelists include President and Executive Director of United Help Ukraine Maryna Baydyuk, Eugene Z. Stakhiv, and Kristina Hook.
🗓 Tuesday, July 16
⏰ 2 PM
📍 Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2322
Or livestream here: https://www.youtube.com/live/OQIKBMRDRyg

Join the U.S. Helsinki Commission and distinguished panelists for a briefing on the environmental devastation Russia has wrought in Ukraine during its war of aggression. Panelists include President and Executive Director of United Help Ukraine Maryna Baydyuk, Eugene Z. Stakhiv, and Kristina Hook.

🗓 Tuesday, July 16
⏰ 2 PM
📍 Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2322
Or livestream here: https://www.youtube.com/live/OQIKBMRDRyg

We are excited to announce the dates for the next Ukraine Action Summit. Please save the date and start making plans to join hundreds of Ukraine advocates from across the U.S. on September 22-25, 2024, in Washington, D.C. A schedule of events and more information will be shared soon.

Stay connected and never miss a news update - sign up for our advocacy updates https://americancoalitionforukraine.org/join/

Great words. We the people!

Read the message below 👇

Dear friends, Happy Independence Day!
I'd like to share with you all the letter that the Executive Director of the Vandenburg Coalition, Carrie Filipetti, wrote to the organization's subscriber list today:

“Happy Independence Day!

As it is for many of you, July 4th is a deeply personal holiday to me. In my view, the events of July 4th and the words of the Declaration of Independence are among the most significant in world history - and if I’m considered stereotypically “American” for saying so, all the better. There is little that merits celebration as much as the creation of the nation to which I owe so many of my blessings.

And yet, as I enthusiastically shared my holiday plans this year, I was met with almost universal scorn. There was the family member who lamented the state of our Union, arguing that the trial against former President Trump was such vicious judicial retaliation that our nation can no longer be considered free. Across the aisle, there was the friend who suggested there could be no cause for celebration when a convicted felon is on the ballot, threatening to undermine the very foundation of our nation.

Whether you are on the right or the left, it is easy to deride the state of our Union. It certainly can feel like the experiment that was started nearly 250 years ago seems to be faltering. Americans are increasingly falling into a partisan divide: fewer Americans than ever have personal connections with those of a different political perspective, and majorities of both parties believe that the other party is intentionally undermining the country. There are many in this country today who only love our nation when they love our leader.

But what July 4th celebrates is not our leader but our values, and the keepers of those values. What it celebrates is the People.

Two hundred and forty-eight years ago, 56 delegates in the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence. Their words, which represented many of the nearly 2.5 million Americans living in the colonies on the eve of the American Revolution, set in motion a remarkable era that transformed the lives not only of those citizens and their descendants, but of millions of people around the world. It was those words that would ultimately make the United States what President Reagan called “the shining city on a hill” – a beacon for freedom, justice, and equality that would inspire a world in its march toward freedom and democracy.

It took eleven years after the Declaration before the Constitution was written. But when it was, its framers enshrined the same principles of the Declaration in its opening words:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

We the People.

America is not defined by her leader. She is defined by her values, penned nearly 250 years ago and secured for posterity by our founding documents. She is defined by we, the People.

Today I’ll be celebrating not just the birth of a nation, but the ever-evolving experiment it continues to represent. We the People: a kaleidoscope of cultures, languages, and geographies, from our big sky towns to mountain villages, seaside main streets to bustling cities. A people who may not always agree on politics, but who are all products of the same quest for a more perfect Union.

There is much at stake in this upcoming election. But notwithstanding your love or hatred for either candidate, I hope you’ll grant yourself a few moments, at least today, to focus not solely on our leaders but on our nation, to remind yourself of the beautiful experiment our Founders established for us and the remarkable resilience of that experiment. Like the fireworks that will be bursting across the sky in celebration this evening, our nation is imperfect, noisy, and sometimes destructive. But it is also beautiful, unique, and never fails to light up the world around us.

Who leads us matters. But how we lead ourselves is what truly defines America.”

Carrie Filipetti

Members of our New Jersey delegation recently met with Congressman Tom Kean (NJ-07). They thanked him for his support in lifting restrictions on Ukraine's ability to strike legitimate military targets in Russia, discussed the importance of REPO implementation, and emphasized the importance of limiting Russia's ability to obtain certain components used in their military equipment.

On June 28, Ukraine celebrates Constitution Day. On that day back in 1996, after working on it for almost six years, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Ukrainian Congress) adopted the Constitution.

The American Coalition for Ukraine (ACU) was honored to attend the celebration event held by Embassy of Ukraine in the USA / Посольство України в США in Ukraine House, in Washington, D.C.

Photos are from the Embassy of Ukraine page, and kindly submitted by our board members Maryna Baydyuk , Kate Tremont and Sarah Beth who attended the event.

Read more here:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/MGcedA2UqJuDVxCT/

Our DC activists invite everyone to join them to meet and greet Ukrainian cyclists. They have come all the way from LA to raise money for Ukrainian soldiers.

We are excited to announce that after two years of ad-hoc work, The American Coalition for Ukraine (ACU) incorporates as a non-profit organization, pending 501(c)(3) status, and elects a governing board composed of representatives from its founding organizations and professionals in the non-profit sector.

The governing board comprises representatives of the ACU’s founding member organizations: UNWLA - Ukrainian National Women's League of America, Inc. Ukrainian American Coordinating Council Nova Ukraine Razom For Ukraine and Help Ukraine

Other board members are key members from organizations such as Georgian Association in the USA KLYCH/Клич Shield Of Freedom MedGlobal

With this formalization, the American Coalition for Ukraine has become an official alliance of US-based organizations. These groups have united their efforts and resources to support Ukraine in its defense of universal values such as freedom and human dignity. While coalition partners call the United States home, many share historical experiences of oppression, violence, and war in their countries of origin and ancestral homelands—often at the hands of Russian imperialism.

Visit https://americancoalitionforukraine.org for more information.

On June 13th, during the G7 Summit in Italy, the U.S. Administration signed the bilateral security agreement with Ukraine. The agreement aims to commit future U.S. administrations to support Ukraine.

The U.S. President Biden said during the joint press conference with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy:
- Our goal is to strengthen Ukraine's credible defense and deterrence capabilities for the long term.

The American Coalition for Ukraine applauds the Biden Administration for entering into the U.S.-Ukraine Bilateral Security Agreement. This agreement signals the Administration’s intent to support Ukraine to victory and to a just peace.
We also call for further removal of all restrictions on Ukraine's ability to defend its people by striking back directly against Russia.

More on the agreement read here: https://bit.ly/US_UA_agreement

In the last few weeks, Russia has significantly intensified deadly attacks on Kharkiv and the surrounding villages and towns. Many U.S.-based non-profits that provide assistance to Ukraine have redirected more resources to support Kharkiv and its people in need. Here, we have prepared a small snapshot of what our board member organizations UNWLA - Ukrainian National Women's League of America, Inc. Nova Ukraine Razom for Ukraine United Help Ukraine are doing to support Kharkiv.

We believe many of our active organizations are working hard to support the victims of recent attacks. If you have an ongoing fundraiser or are working with Kharkiv-based NGOs, feel free to feature that in the comments. We are happy to provide a platform for all our organizations to promote their efforts.

It’s been almost a month since we concluded the Ukraine Action Summit, Spring 2024. We are grateful to everyone who joined us in advocating for Ukraine, either in person in Washington, D.C., or in local communities. Your time and efforts paid off, and shortly after the Summit, aid for Ukraine was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.
After a short pause, we’d like to invite you to a post-Summit check-in and next steps coordination call led by Marianna Tretiak, the American Coalition for Ukraine Board President.

Date: May 15, 2024
Time: 8:30 PM EST / 7:30 PM CST / 5:30 PM PST
Registration Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUvceuorTwsHdL0k3YS8Cr_qAt61hk_HCv_ #/registration

Happy Easter to all celebrating today!