#unrussiaUN and the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation: A Civic Initiative Becomes an Instrument for Changing the World Order

Russia illegally occupies the USSR’s seat at the UN — this fact has transformed from a marginal theory into a universally recognized truth thanks to the #unrussiaUN initiative group. Through three years of persistent work, Ukrainian lawyers, diplomats, and volunteers have brought into public discourse what had been silenced for decades: no legal document transferring authority from the USSR to the Russian Federation exists.

The President of the UN General Assembly has publicly acknowledged this. The US Congress has considered resolutions twice. PACE adopted a historic decision — Resolution 2463. The President of Ukraine declared this from the UN podium. 450 high-level meetings, 387,000 signatures, support from experts such as Cambridge Professor Thomas Grant — these are the results of their work.

But exposing a crime does not mean punishing the criminal. Three years of fighting for Russia’s expulsion from the UN have revealed a systemic problem: it is not enough to simply prove illegitimacy — the very architecture of international relations must be changed. While diplomats hide behind procedures and state leaders behind “realpolitik,” Russia continues to use its veto power to block any attempts to stop its crimes. It has become evident: to defeat a system that protects the aggressor, alternative platforms of influence must be built.

Thus was born the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation — the logical evolution of the #unrussiaUN movement. If the initiative group exposed the truth about Russia’s illegal presence at the UN, the Foundation is creating instruments for building a new international order where Ukraine is not an object but a subject of global politics. The team that proved its effectiveness in confronting the Russian MFA, propagandists, and security services is now shaping Ukraine’s voice in the world through a network of cultural-analytical centers, support for independent media, and strategic research.
This is not a change of course but an expansion of the mission.