June 19, 2015

Pennsylvanians lobby for Ukraine

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Meeting in Washington (from left) are: Alexander Prociuk, Borys Pawluk, Lida Dygdala, Ulana Prociuk, Ulana Mazurkevich, Sen. Patrick Leahy, Andri Skalchuk, Nila Pawluk and Chrystia Senyk.

WASHINGTON – A large group from the greater Philadelphia area attended the 75th anniversary celebration of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America on May 20 in Washington. After participating in the commemorative program at the U.S. Capitol, part of the Pennsylvania delegation proceeded to a meeting with Christina Brown, foreign affairs assistant at the office of Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.).

At the meeting, Ms. Brown informed the Pennsylvanian Ukrainians that Sen. Casey had joined the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus and that the senator is concerned about the situation in Ukraine. The delegation underscored the urgency of arming Ukraine.

The Pennsylvania delegation also had a chance meeting with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who sits on the Appropriations Committee and on the powerful Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee. The Pennsylvania delegation thanked the senator for his support of Ukraine and urged him to provide military aid to Ukraine.

In 2014 Sen. Leahy had stated: “It is imperative that we support [Ukraine] at this critical time and that we send a strong message to President [Vladimir] Putin that there are real consequences to the use of brute force to violate the territorial integrity of Russia’s neighbor.” He said his subcommittee, “will not only provide the budget authority to pay the subsidy cost of loan guarantees. We will also look for other ways in fiscal 2015 to protect Ukraine from further Russian aggression.”

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