In Washington, D.C., the first advocacy event of the year, “Ukrainian Days,” took place, organized by the Ukrainian National Information Service (UNIS) — the Washington public policy office of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA). The event brought together representatives of the Ukrainian community, experts, and allies of Ukraine to discuss continued support for Ukraine and to strengthen advocacy efforts in Washington.
This was reported by the UNIS.
According to UNIS, community activists from more than 35 states, nearly 200 people in total, traveled to Washington to promote key issues. In particular, continued security assistance to Ukraine, strengthening the sanctions regime against Russia, and drawing attention to the fate of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia during the war.
“Thanks to community support, the ‘Ukrainian Days’ event achieved significant success: friends of Ukraine held meetings with dozens of congressional offices across the political spectrum, presenting a unique perspective on legislative priorities to support the courageous people of Ukraine,” the press release states.
The two-day event began with a morning briefing at the Hudson Institute featuring a special guest — the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United States, Olga Stefanishyna. Ambassador Stefanishyna strongly emphasized the urgent need to continue security assistance to Ukraine in order to win the war swiftly and decisively, and also advocated for strengthening sanctions against Russia, particularly to close loopholes that still allow Russia to earn revenue from petroleum product sales.
UNIS also noted that comments were provided by Luke Coffey, senior fellow and director at the Hudson Institute. “He spoke about the principles and values that Ukraine is defending for the entire democratic world. The analyst also emphasized the importance of peace negotiations and noted that Russia is not demonstrating a serious desire for peace with Ukraine,” UNIS stated.
UCCA President Michael Sawkiw Jr. thanked the special guests and stressed the importance of holding such advocacy events as often as possible in order to express the position of the Ukrainian-American community. He also briefed the participants of “Ukrainian Days” on current developments and initiatives that should be presented during meetings in Congress.
After the meeting at the Hudson Institute, nearly two hundred community activists went on to meetings with their senators and members of the House of Representatives to advocate for increased support for Ukraine. Participants of “Ukrainian Days” held meetings with more than 150 congressional offices in the House and Senate, and also visited additional congressional offices in states with large Ukrainian communities.
According to UNIS, Ukrainian-American participants were joined by community leaders from the Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) — a coalition of national ethnic organizations representing millions of Americans of Central and Eastern European descent. The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America was one of the founders of CEEC in 1994. Together, CEEC and UCCA prepared policy briefing materials summarizing issues actively promoted by the coalition and jointly organize advocacy events in Washington. The most recent one took place on January 15, 2026, on Capitol Hill.
The “Ukrainian Days” advocacy event concluded with the evening congressional reception “Friend of UNIS” at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, dedicated to the fourth anniversary of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and honoring individuals for their support of Ukraine.
“Among this year’s recipients of the ‘Friend of UNIS’ award was Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), recognized for her initiatives condemning Russia’s illegal deportation of Ukrainian children. She was among the first American officials to visit the Poland-Ukraine border just days after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022,” UNIS added.
Alongside Senator Klobuchar, the award was also presented to Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who in 2024 received the highest distinction of the Ukrainian-American community — the Shevchenko Freedom Award. The senator emphasized the importance of continued efforts by the Ukrainian community to raise public awareness of Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine.
Ambassador Olga Stefanishyna thanked elected officials for supporting Ukraine-related issues and for assisting in the defense of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
The “Friend of UNIS” award was also presented to the American Jewish Committee (AJC) for many years of cooperation and partnership with the Ukrainian-American community.
“The evening concluded with a very moving speech by a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who is currently undergoing rehabilitation in the United States. Andrii Smolenskyi is undergoing a series of examinations and therapy after losing several limbs and senses. His message to those present was to remain committed to the cause, continue advocating for Ukraine, remember that the truth is on Ukraine’s side, and that Ukraine will achieve victory over Russia,” UNIS reported.
In addition, the UCCA president emphasized that such advocacy events are important for expanding the community’s influence on U.S. policy toward Ukraine.
“Now our community has the opportunity to develop closer relationships with our friends in Congress. The United States must demonstrate increased support for Ukraine through stronger sanctions against Russia and continued support for Ukraine’s defense forces. There are still many important tasks ahead,” Sawkiw noted.
Other recipients of the “Friend of UNIS” award who were unable to attend the reception included Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX). Both officials helped secure $15 million in funding to document and investigate cases of Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children.
“The awards were presented in their offices by UCCA President Michael Sawkiw together with community representatives from their respective states,” UNIS concluded.
Photo: UNIS
Підготував: Данило Пєвчев