NEW DATE!  This event has been rescheduled to December 13, 2022.  1 – 2 PM

About the Event – MP Goncharenko will join live via ZOOM direct from Ukraine

Since before Putin’s illegal annexation of Ukraine in 2014 and in the difficult years since, Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko has forcefully advocated for the people of Ukraine, both within Ukraine’s political bodies and also in Europe, as a Member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe PACE. In PACE, he has repeatedly raised issues of human rights violations in the annexed Crimea and the occupied part of Donbas, and actively advocated for the expulsion of the Russian delegation from PACE.

During the so-called “referendum” in Crimea in 2014, Goncharenko came to the peninsula and opposed the separation of Crimea from Ukraine. For his active pro-Ukrainian activities, he was included in the sanctioned personas lists of the Russian Federation. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he continues to fight Russian propaganda, and draw attention to the necessary support measures that Western countries can provide.

Goncharenko will discuss how Ukraine has fought so valiantly and effectively against Putin and his war to make Ukraine a dependent member of his ‘Greater Russia’. He will also address the coming difficulties of fighting the war throughout the winter, and what are the near-term objectives of the Ukrainian military. Additonally, Goncharenko will highlight the need for the U.S., NATO and all allies of democracy to maintain their vital support of Ukraine now and in the years to come.

About the Speaker

Oleksiy Goncharenko has served as the People’s Deputy of Ukraine since 2014. He is a member of the European Solidarity faction. As part of the Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe PACE, Goncharenko repeatedly: raised issues of human rights violations in the annexed Crimea and the occupied part of Donbas; achieved agreement on the creation of a special group that would monitor human rights in Belarus; and actively advocated for the expulsion of the Russian delegation from PACE. In February 2022, he was appointed Vice President of the Committee on Migration, Refugees & Displaced Persons in PACE.

After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Goncharenko continued to fight Russian propaganda on the information front, actively cooperated with dozens of international media outlets to bring the truth about the real situation in Ukraine to the world, and drew attention to the necessary support measures that Western countries can provide.

He previously served as Deputy Head of the Odesa Regional Council. In August 2014, after the Revolution of Dignity, he was the Head of the Odesa Regional Council for several months. During the so-called “referendum” in Crimea in 2014, Goncharenko came to the peninsula and opposed the separation of Crimea from Ukraine. For his active pro-Ukrainian activities, he was included in the sanctioned personas lists of the Russian Federation.

Goncharenko is also involved in educational and volunteer work. He is the founder of the Ukrainian network of educational and cultural centres — Goncharenko Centre. The main goal of them is to enable residents of small towns of Ukraine to learn foreign languages ​​for free and improve their skills in other areas of science, art, and social activities. Currently, 24 Goncharenko centres operate all over Ukraine as volunteer hubs keeping up with providing free education and psychological support for all.

Goncharenko graduated with distinction from the Medical University, where he joined the Green Party of Ukraine and led its youth department in the Odesa region. He also studied at the Academy of National Economy under the Government of the Russian Federation in Moscow, receiving a degree in Economics & Financial Management.