Progress report 9-15 June
“Stop fuelling russia’s war” Campaign – the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) launched its biggest advocacy campaign of the year – we are calling on the Australian Government to close a sanctions loophole which allows refined Russian crude oil to be imported via third countries, making Australia one of the biggest importers of laundered russian crude globally! This sanctions loophole has funnelled at least $1.85bn in tax dollars to the Kremlin; this compares to $1.5bn of aid Australia has provided Ukraine. Please take 1 minute to use our letter-writing platform to contact your local MP to urge the Australian Government to close the sanctions loophole: https://standwithukraine.good.do/aus…/message-local-mps/
Visa advocacy – this week, we met with the Office of the Minister for Immigration and the Department of Home Affairs to discuss the progress of the Humanitarian visa holders transition to permanent residency and to raise community concerns about other visa holders, including those displaced Ukrainians on bridging visas, parent visas, and other temporary visa categories. The discussions were positive, more information will be disclosed in due course. The next step is to conduct a survey and submit the results to the Department for their consideration. Thank you Andrew Mencinsky and Nadia Mencinsky for their tireless efforts in advocating for our displaced Ukrainians.
Defend Ukraine Appeal (DUA) – as the russian federation escalates their drone attacks across the frontline, electronic warfare (EW) systems are often the only thing that stands between life and death. This week, we were able to deliver three EW systems to a unit which is performing some of the most difficult missions in North-East Ukraine right now. Grateful to all the supporters of DUA for making the purchase and delivery of this life-saving equipment possible!
Commemoration of the Mass Deportations from the Baltic States by the Soviet Union – on Sunday, we gathered with our Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian brothers and sisters to commemorate one of the darkest periods in the history of the three Baltic States. We reflected on the events of June 1941 and March 1949 and honoured the victims of the systematic genocide that was carried out by eradicating a large part of the Baltic population by the Soviet regime. Thank you to Olya Olkhovyk for delivering the keynote address, to Nazar “Kapa” for sharing his personal story, and to The Joint Baltic Committee of NSW for hosting this important event.
Coordination calls – continue to prepare for Ukraine’s Independence Day event; weekly coordination calls with our communications team and DUA team
