Pylyp Orlyk Foundation Leadership Meets Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York
In New York (USA), at the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations, a meeting took place between Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Andriy Melnyk, and the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation’s Chairman of the Board Artem Mykolaichuk and Program Director Yaryna Yasynievych.
During the meeting, the participants discussed international cooperation, the development of cultural diplomacy, and support for educational initiatives. Special attention was given to the nationwide student essay competition “Is It Possible to Expel Russia from the UN?” for students at Ukrainian higher education institutions.
Andriy Melnyk congratulated the competition participants and emphasized the importance of such initiatives for preparing a new generation of Ukrainian diplomats and international affairs specialists.
“I thank Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Andriy Melnyk, for a very substantive meeting. It became an important step for our unrussiaUN initiative. We discussed a fundamental matter: the Russian Federation never went through a lawful procedure to join the UN — it simply illegally took the seat of the former USSR, which had ceased to exist. Correcting this historical and legal misunderstanding is a matter not only of justice but of the organization’s own capacity to function. Mr. Andriy and I also agreed on close cooperation in the field of cultural diplomacy,” said Artem Mykolaichuk, Chairman of the Board of the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation.
Yaryna Yasynievych, Program Director of the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation, stated:
“The significant attention to Ukraine in the world, caused by the war, gives our people the opportunity to share more about our culture, its distinctiveness and uniqueness. Right now, cultural diplomacy efforts need to be strengthened. In this regard, particular attention should also be paid to spreading information abroad about our past, since we are still witnessing pseudo-historical myths being used to discredit our state on a historical level.”
The meeting was also attended by Svitlana Melnyk, a member of the team of Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, who shared her own perspective on the role of cultural diplomacy in promoting Ukrainian culture and strengthening international support for Ukraine.
This was already the third meeting between representatives of the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation and Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Andriy Melnyk, during his tenure. As we previously reported, earlier meetings also focused on joint efforts to expel Russia from the UN. This meeting continued the established dialogue on developing international cooperation, supporting Ukrainian educational initiatives, and strengthening cultural diplomacy.
