NEW YORK – Dozens of Ukrainian American community representatives gathered on February 5 at Ukraine’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York for a brief luncheon reception hosted by Ukraine’s new ambassador to the U.N., Volodymyr Yelchenko, and his wife, Iryna.
Ambassador Yelchenko, 56, thanked the Ukrainian American community for its work for Ukraine and its work for Ukraine’s democratic evolution, and he urged the community to continue to do this work.
Ukraine’s role as a U.N. Security Council member for 2016-2017 will face challenges, Mr. Yelchenko added, noting the competition for attention between the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine. The ambassador also called on the Ukrainian community to score his performance and said he is open to suggestions. He underscored that the community should continue to speak out against backsliding on reforms in Ukraine and thanked the informal gathering for its support as he assumes the role of ambassador to the U.N. Among the community organizations represented at the reception was the Ukrainan National Association.
A graduate of Kyiv State University in 1981, since that time Mr. Yelchenko has worked in the diplomatic service of Ukraine. Previously, he worked as Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.N. (1997-2000), he served as Ukraine’s ambassador to Austria (2005-2006), as ambassador to the International Organizations in Vienna (2006-2010) and, most recently, as ambassador of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (2010-2015).
The Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the U.N. is located at 220 E. 51st St. Working hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Readers may contact the Mission via e-mail, [email protected], or telephone, 212-759-7003.
Ukrainian American community leaders discuss efforts to aid Ukraine during the reception with Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko and his wife, Iryna.