Day 1 of the Ukraine Action Summit was an absolute success, and we thank all of the incredibly passionate individuals who joined us yesterday.
We began what is now the THIRD action summit with panel discussions and fireside chats featuring prominent speakers and experts on Ukraine and US foreign policy.
These crucial discussions served as key in preparing for the upcoming advocacy work in the next two days of the summit, and we thank our speakers for joining us to share their insight on these pressing topics.
The first panel, “Why Ukrainian Victory Matters to Us” included speakers Amb. William Taylor, Amb. Marie. Yovanovitch, Gretchen Barton, Brigadier Gen. (Ret.) Mark Arnold, and Max Boot. The discussion focused on Why Americans are impacted by Ukraine’s fight for freedom and how to best relay these points in advocating for Ukraine.
U.S. Institute of Peace, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Council on Foreign Relations
The second panel focused on how war has changed Ukrainian society, led by Daria Kaleniuk, Vladislav Rashkovan, and Dr Kateryna Shynkaruk, moderated by Melinda Haring from Razom for Ukraine.
ICUV – International Centre for Ukrainian Victory, International Monetary Fund, The Bush School of Government & Public Service
We continued our panels with with a discussion on how to address the myths about Ukraine and US aid in our advocacy work, led by Peter Pomeranzev and Jonathan Katz, moderated by Journalist Kateryna Lisunova.
The Brookings Institution, The Reckoning Project: Ukraine Testifies
We had the pleasure of listening to Nate Mook, Razom board member in a fireside chat moderated by Melinda Haring. He discussed his work in Ukraine as previous CEO of World Central Kitchen, being one of the first organizations operating on the ground directly after the full scale invasion of Ukraine.
Panelists Col. Yevgeny Vindman, Karolina Hird, Elina Beketova, and moderator Elana Broitman discussed the importance of highlighting the war crimes that Russia continues to commit against Ukraine. We must continue to tell these stories in order to urge lawmakers to hold Russia accountable and continue to support Ukraine’s fight for freedom.
Institute for the Study of War, Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA)
During our #UkraineActionSummit Panels, were deeply honored to have surprise guest, Special Unit Seargent Andriana Arekhta, share her journey with us as a soldier in the Ukrainian armed forced since 2014. Her story of courage, horrific injury, intense recovery, and resilience served as an inspiring reminder of why we are all here, fighting to bring an end to this brutal war.
We concluded the panel discussions with her Excellency, Ambassador Oksana Markarova, who emphasized key points that legislators need to prioritize in their support for Ukraine that we must relay during the summit.
Thank you to all who attended day 1 of the #UkraineActionSummit, and we hope you all had a successful day 2! Stay tuned for more recaps of the summit soon!
