President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with UNITED24 ambassadors who came to Kyiv to participate in the fundraising platform’s summit ahead of Independence Day.
The meeting was attended by actor, director, and producer Liev Schreiber; actress Katheryn Winnick; footballer Oleksandr Zinchenko; chef and founder of World Central Kitchen José Andrés; and director, journalist, photographer, and war correspondent Mstyslav Chernov.
The Head of State thanked everyone who helps Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that our country is proud of such strong personal support from the ambassadors and their teams.
“We are very grateful to you that we have your voices. These voices help us raise such large donations. Total donations are already close to $4 billion. And it’s not only about the money. Four billion is not about ten wealthy people who give money. It’s about millions of people who have helped. It’s a signal that many people stand with Ukraine. That is important,” the President said.
The Head of State highlighted the importance of the UNITED24 ambassadors’ contribution to the assistance Ukraine receives in various areas, including defense, humanitarian demining, medicine, reconstruction, education and science, and the overall resilience of Ukrainians, both during the challenges of winter and following Russian strikes on our cities and communities. The President informed them about preparations for the challenges of this winter and called for particular attention to be paid to this.
“Winter is approaching, yes, we understand that and are counting on your support. It is also a great source of support for our people that you are here during a very difficult period, when we are facing massive attacks. And these attacks, again, are on a completely different scale from the attacks we faced two years ago or even a year ago. Now they are more massive; there are more risks, more challenges. But we have to be stronger. So we are grateful to you for your great work,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
Katheryn Winnick said that this was her third visit to Kyiv and highlighted the courage and resilience of Ukrainians throughout these years of their fight against Russian aggression.
“We need to tell more stories, change the narrative, and amplify people’s voices so that news about the war does not lead to fatigue or indifference. It is extremely important not to remain silent; on the contrary, we must act more decisively,” she noted.
Liev Schreiber said that his main job is to tell stories and use them to persuade people to support Ukraine.
“I saw the strike last night, and the targets of that strike were a school in the middle of a civilian residential neighborhood. What is the logic behind that? A pediatric hospital that was hit. What is the logic behind that? There can only be one answer: it is ideological, to demoralize and break people. So it is important that we spend as much energy as possible reminding people of what they have achieved. Ukraine has proven its ability to stand its ground and become a winner,” he emphasized.
José Andrés said he was impressed that Ukraine, despite its own challenges and difficulties, is ready to help others. He noted that this was the case with support for Türkiye after the earthquake and the effective work of members of the search-and-rescue team. José Andrés emphasized that he is joining First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska’s initiatives in various regions of the country. He also shared that the volunteer aid he and his team have provided to Ukrainians affected by the war has reached 300 million hot meals. José Andrés separately emphasized the problem of Russian strikes on Ukrainian food exports.
“We all have to say that Europe and the world must support the reopening of Odesa and other ports. I tell everyone: Ukraine has enough food to meet its own needs. We are not here to feed Ukraine; we are here to create the infrastructure for that. Ukraine has food. And it is important for Ukraine to export this food, because otherwise, next year, there could be 300–400 million hungry people in the world,” he said.
Oleksandr Zinchenko thanked all UNITED24 ambassadors for their continued and persistent support for Ukraine. He said that his professional activities often take him around the world, where he sees many people who are ready to help our country, and that he would do everything to make sure this was more than just words.
“I mean people from different categories, for example, footballers, as well as non-footballers, but super-wealthy people who want to invest in Ukraine and in many different projects. And I want to make this happen and organize it, because I really feel that it is my duty,” he said.
Mstyslav Chernov, who will officially become a UNITED24 ambassador in the near future, said that he has been covering the war since 2014 and has seen the world’s interest in it rise and fall. That is why the UNITED24 initiative is particularly important, as it reminds the world about Ukraine through news, social media, and ambassadors’ personal communication. He also emphasized that this work has changed many people’s perceptions of Ukraine.
“Ukraine is not a victim. It has changed its role in the world from a victim of aggression to someone who can help not only in the humanitarian sphere, but also in the defense sphere. And that is a big surprise. It is a major shift in the narrative. And I think it helps. It should be a big story,” the director added.
