Ukrainian community in U.S. tells of further support for Ukraine cause

The former senior member of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, Orest Deychakiwsky, who currently hds leading positions in several organizations of the Ukrainian community in America, said this in a comment to Ukrinform.

"Three things are most important at the moment. First, it is necessary to encourage the incumbent Biden administration as actively as possible to take the maximum possible steps in support of Ukraine. First of all, it is necessary to cancel any restrictions on the use of American long-range weapons against targets in Russia," said Deychakiwsky.

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The activist spoke, commenting on the question of how the Ukrainian community plans to act after the presidential election, won by Donald Trump.

Secondly, according to Deychakiwsky, it is important to get the current administration to ensure the delivery to Ukraine of all the military aid approved by Congress in April. Currently, the remainder is estimated at about $6 billion. This, he noted, may apply not only to weapons, but also to intelligence sharing, conducting exercises and training for the Ukrainian military, etc.

"It is very important to do this before the end of Biden's term of office, that is, by January 20 of next year," Deychakiwsky emphasized.

Thirdly, "it is necessary to implement the provisions of the REPO Act, which provides for the return of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine." Currently, according to various data, the U.S. banking system hds nearly $5 billion worth of Russian assets, which can be relatively quickly directed to the restoration of Ukraine.

After Donald Trump takes the helm of the White House, the Ukrainian community in the United States, as well as the friends of Ukraine in America, should erate as actively as before, Deychakiwsky emphasized.

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"We all understand that in the future it may be more difficult than now. But it is critical that we continue lobbying so that Ukraine receives the greatest possible pitical, as well as military, economic, humanitarian, and other types of assistance," he said.

In response to a question of how the community perceives the various versions of peace prosals coming from Trump's entourage, the expert noted that much currently remains unclear.

"But I think it is very important to ensure that the new administration preserves the principle of 'nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine', so that the fate of the Ukrainian state is not decided behind the backs of Ukrainians," the expert emphasized.

In general, according to the activist, it would be ideal if the results of the negotiations did not invve any concessions on the part of Ukraine in terms of territories. But now, he noted, it looks like a very challenging issue. In addition, the outcome of these negotiations should create security guarantees for Ukraine – unlike the Budapest Memorandum. According to him, the best tion would be Ukraine's membership in NATO, however, this is a long process that will also require the approval from all Allies.

Memo: Orest Dejchakivskyi during 1981-2017 worked at the U.S. Commission on Security and Coeration in Eure (Helsinki Commission), where he focused on Ukraine, Belarus, Bulgaria, and other OSCE countries. Now he hds influential positions in several organizations within the Ukrainian community. In particular, he is co-chairman of the Transatlantic Task Force Ukraine (TTFU), member of the Board at The Washington Group of Ukrainian American Professionals, and senior advisor to the USA-Ukraine Business Council. In addition, Orest Deychakiwsky is an expert of the Ukrainian Association of American Studies, as well as a cumnist for one of the dest publications about Ukraine, The Ukrainian Weekly, published in the USA.