Making the Case to the European Union: Our Alumnus, Ukraine’s Hero

Many heard the name Ivan Fedorov for the first time in March. The world listened, first in admiration, to the descriptions of the brave mayor of Melitopol’, Ukraine who was heading the citizens' resistance after the Russian military capture of his city. Then, the world listened in horror to the report of Ivan’s abduction on the street and transport to a prison in Luhansk.

We, however, first came to admire Ivan in 2018, when we organized the visit of his delegation to Springfield, IL through one of our community connection projects. It is our honor to call him an alumnus, due to the huge combination of his contribution before the further invasion of Ukraine, his defense of his city prior to abduction, and his continued advocacy for Ukraine on the world stage.

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After enduring almost a week of brutal interrogations—conducted at night for hours at a time—and psychological torture, Ivan was released to Ukraine via a POW exchange and began to use his experience to call for increased global aid to Ukraine.

“It was a dangerous six days because I understood that for Russians my life and the lives of civilians were worth zero,” Ivan describes.

Last week, Ivan traveled to Brussels as a part of a delegation of Ukrainian politicians to ask for more weapons for the defense against Russian invaders. Stressing the existential nature of the Russian war, Ivan shared the deep need of his country for rapid military assistance. He also cautioned that countries now refusing weapons shipments to Ukraine—like Hungary and Bulgaria—will not escape the consequences of unchecked Russian aggression, which will not halt at Ukraine’s borders with the EU.

"We need support from the European Union and the whole civilized world. First of all, military support. We need weapons, we need any military equipment, assistance, cars, trucks, all [things] possible because Ukraine can stop this aggression - this war. We can win this war. And it's important for the whole of Europe, not only Ukraine," Fedorov shared.

To add support to his call, contact your elected representatives to ask for increased military support to Ukraine today! However, the people of Ukraine require humanitarian support in addition to military aid. To provide humanitarian aid, click here to donate today.

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‍Watch Euronews video here.