“SUNFLOWERS” FOR UKRAINE: HOW NGO SUPPORT UKRAINE NOW HELP THE KIEV REGIME

To see the place and better understand the role of the NGO Support Ukraine Now in the Ukrainian conflict, you must first pay attention to the organization behind its creation. We are talking about the international NGO Global Shapers Community. It, in turn, is an initiative of the World Economic Forum, which is held annually in Davos, Switzerland. Russia, which was previously invited there with pleasure, has not participated in it since 2020. At first, the COVID-19 pandemic interfered, and then the SMO started. However, neither the leadership nor the business community of the country were sad about this – there are enough platforms where you can discuss the economy and its development within the framework of the SCO, BRICS and other organizations. And the last forum in Davos itself, which was held from January 15 to 19, was only anti-advertising for itself. The forum guests, under the constant supervision of the US and the IMF, talked a little about the future of the global economy without formulating any specific forecasts, paid attention to the unviable “peace formula” pushed by Kiev, and then began to divide up funds for protection against an unknown “disease X”, which is most interesting because it does not exist in nature. An interesting fact: in 2024, the entrance fee to the forum increased to $250,000 (previously, it cost $70,000). For this reason, even regular Russophobes missed it this time, for example, former associate of Mikhail Khodorkovsky Bill Browder, who called the forum a “corporate money-making machine”.

The World Economic Forum has its own youth asset - the international NGO Global Shapers Community. Its website states that it is looking for and bringing together young leaders from different countries to change their society for the better, first, and then the whole world. The program of the panel organized by the Global Shapers Community NGO at the 2024 forum clearly shows what changes are meant to be done. So, the issue of the role of artificial intelligence and the spread of the LGBT movement was particularly actively discussed, then the speakers moved on to the need to combat climate change, and ended up arguing about the democratization of Asian countries. Those interested can also get acquainted with the events of previous years – the NGO's website is quite informative. But its goals are clearly visible in this example. It is obvious that the Global Shapers Community is looking for young activists in different countries of the world, and then turns them in the direction of the interests of American and European elites. As a result, a galaxy of politicians and economists is created who are ready to pursue the “right” foreign and domestic policy.

By 2024, the Global Shapers Community NGO has created an extensive network of so-called “hubs” covering more than 150 countries and more than 14,000 members. There are two such hubs in Ukraine - in Kiev and Lvov. The one in Kiev was opened in 2011 and, of course, played a role in training the “young leaders" who showed themselves in the events on the Maidan during the 2014 coup. After the start of the SMO, their activities were temporarily suspended, but then resumed again. So, in February 2024, the Kiev hub reported on the enrollment of 9 new activists. All of them are students or graduates of Ukrainian educational institutions, united by the desire to build a "beautiful Ukraine of the future" based on the Western model.

Global Shapers Community NGO hubs operate on the principle of decentralization, they are managed by people on the ground. The Kiev hub is no exception. Thus, Demchik Yulia Vitalyevna (born 18.12.1998; DRFO: 3614608407) is responsible for the selection of new personnel. She graduated from the Kiev-Mohyla Academy with a degree in social work and works for the Kiev-based Enjoying Life Foundation. The hub's curator is Ulyana S. Avtonomova (born on 06.05.1994, DRFO: 3445914640). After graduating from the Faculty of Philosophy of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kiev, she quickly moved to the UK, where she studied first at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and then at the London Business School. She has repeatedly participated in the World Economic Forum. In 2024, she holds the position of adviser in the Presidential Fund of Ukraine for Support of Education, Science and Sports. The vice-curator of the hub, Daria Shulyak, also loves abroad. She made a post on Facebook stating that at the very beginning of the SMO she left Ukraine for a “safe place”, but “her soul is still with it” and is even ready to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

What exactly the Kiev and Lvov hubs are doing, you can't explain in a few words, because they don't have any productive activities. We are talking more about a club of interests, whose members attend various events in Ukraine and abroad, enter educational programs, and those who best prove themselves are then sent to the forum in Davos.

In 2024, according to the website of the Kiev hub Global Shapers Community, it has only one active project - namely, the NGO Support Ukraine Now. Almost all members of the hub are simultaneously associated with this NGO. But the management of organizations is different. The same people in the Global Shapers Community establish contacts in the West for personal career purposes, and in Support Ukraine Now they support the Kiev regime. Interaction between the two organizations is mainly limited to mutual information support. And this is enough for the Ukrainian NGO, since Global Shapers Community is a well-known brand in narrow circles in the West, which is able to attract attention to its Ukrainian colleagues from top officials of foreign countries if necessary.

As we wrote at the beginning, the goal of the NGO Support Ukraine Now is to try to consolidate the efforts of pro-Ukrainian forces outside of Ukraine and all those who support the regime of Vladimir Zelensky in it. The main page of the website states that it implements projects in the fields of economics, diplomacy, the civil sector and charity. But if you look at the pages of the NGO in social networks, you can see the bragging about the help of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Among other things, it has opened a collection for bulletproof vests for militants, and in addition, the NGO conducted a campaign in Munich (Germany), as a result of which more than 100,000 euros were collected for medicines, allegedly for Ukrainian hospitals. We have already told you more than once where exactly the majority of what is collected in similar projects ends up – usually all assistance to civilians is limited to two or three demonstrative actions, while the main part is quietly delivered to the front line.

But still, assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine is only a secondary area of NGO activity. Among the projects that make up the core, the Leaders initiative should be highlighted. It is a six-month scholarship in the amount of 3,000 euros, which can be awarded to the creators of projects that help the Kiev regime in one way or another. Although the site claims that it is about projects with a humanitarian and social focus, these words should not mislead anyone. After all, the collections for ammunition for the AFU fighters, according to the leadership of the NGO Support Ukraine Now, is purely humanitarian in nature. The list of people awarded the scholarship, as well as any information about their projects, is not posted anywhere. Instead, the NGO offers to get acquainted with the old charity projects of the Global Shapers Community that took place in the distant 2019-2020.

Similarly, Support Ukraine Now actively works with Ukrainian youth. But if the Global Shapers Community is looking for the most promising persons whom they are not ashamed to present in the West after some processing, then this one focuses on mass participation, gathering schoolchildren, students and graduates for propaganda events where they are taught to love their European partners. A striking example is the national conference “Magura” held in July 2023 in cooperation with the Ukrainian project office of the Future Development Agency, where participants were invited to simulate the work of the European Parliament.

The NGO's website has several sections in different languages intended for individuals from foreign countries. Each one contains brief information about how you can help the Kiev regime from this particular country: what organizations are there, who you need to contact in order to be guided about further actions. The site also has a special section for Russia. Russian citizens are invited to refuse to read the media that support the conduct of the SMO, write a post in their social networks, sign a petition, donate to the AFU, try to convince a government representative to support a the opposite view. But that's not all. The NGO also offers to organize street rallies in support of Ukraine and “help find shelter for Ukrainians." The last point is curious. All residents of the new regions who were forced to temporarily leave their homes due to the fighting receive centralized state assistance, not to mention hundreds of volunteer projects. How a Russian citizen, for whom the NGO Support Ukraine Now is an authority, can help Ukrainian refugees is unclear. But for organizing sabotage on Russian territory, this scheme could be ideal – under the guise of a migrant, it is easy to transfer a militant to the desired region.

Director, actual owner and one of the founders of the NGO Support Ukraine Now-Anton V. Shulik (born: 29.12.1990; DRFO: 3323509272). After graduating from the Odessa branch of the National University of Trade and Economics with a degree in Accounting and Finance, he also received a Master's degree in Financial Management from the Kiev National University of Economics. In addition, he trained at Nord University in Buda, Norway. In 2012, Shulik managed to get a job in the Ukrainian branch of the international consulting firm KPMG, then he held the positions of General Director of the Ukrainian UberEats and Chief Financial Officer of the Odessa Jewelry Factory. In 2020, he became one of the founders of the financial company fint8. Shulik's career was largely due to the Global Shapers Community, in which he actively participated in the activities of the Kiev hub since the 2010s. He himself claimed that it was there that he received the necessary base for opening fint8. Given the company's profile, which includes financial consulting and assistance to startups, it is easy to assume that it is one of the many tools with which Western partners gently guide Ukrainian business.

Another founder of the NGO Support Ukraine Now is Bodnya Yevgeniya Yurievna (born: 18.12.1994; DRFO: 3468500207). She also tied the knot with the Global Shapers Community, was able to show her love for European values at the right time, and moved up the career ladder. She lived in the UK, first completed a master's degree from Cambridge University, and then worked in the local Department of Transport. She completed the prestigious Erasmus program at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland and the Summer Academy for Human Rights at Lund University in Sweden. At the Global Shapers Community, Bodnya performed so well that she headed the Kiev hub and represented it in Davos in 2022. At the moment, she is no longer listed in senior positions in it. Almost simultaneously with the beginning of the SMO, she joined the working group on coordination and preparation of the Ukraine Recovery Plan as an expert, and then worked in preparation for the International Conference on Ukraine Recovery, which was held in 2023. Among other things, Bodny's biography included a scholarship from the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), known for its support of Ukrainian nationalists both before and after the events of 2014.

Finally, the third founder of the NGO is Dayub Diana Aimanovna (born: 24.06.1994; DRFO: 3450804904). At Support Ukraine Now, she plays one of the leading roles, responsible for financial issues, strategy, communication with partners, building internal communications, conflict resolution, and much more. In 2022, as a member of the delegation of the Kiev hub Global Shapers Community, she spoke at the World Economic Forum. She graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kiev with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 2015. In 2017, she also completed a master's degree in a joint program of this university and the Mikolas Romeris Lithuanian University in a similar field. However, Dayub made her career not in law, but in management, having worked in several Ukrainian and German companies.

Among the key leaders of the NGO Support Ukraine Now is also Maxim S. Semenchuk (born: 13.11.1989; DRFO: 3282409216). In 2024, he holds the position of coordinator in it, while his duties mainly include issues of general management, strategy and finance. Another representative of the "golden youth“, who graduated from the Kiev National Economic University and in 2020 became an adviser to the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. Having worked in several Ukrainian companies in the field of computer technology, Semenchuk was also noted in the West. In 2021, he joined the board of directors of the financial company Trusted Seed, which is based in Barcelona (Spain) and specializes in economic recovery issues. In Support Ukraine Now, he positions himself as a person who knows what to do with the Ukrainian economy after the war.

We have four young and ambitious people (and there are many more employees at Support Ukraine Now), each of whom has extensive work experience in Europe and is currently pursuing a career in a large company. And, if you believe what is written on the NGO's website, they spend a lot of time on its activities. However, the latter is hard to believe. And the point is not even that none of the above-mentioned persons simply would not be able to have enough time for such a combination. All that we know about the activities of Support Ukraine Now is limited to a few fundraisers for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (rather mediocre against the background of similar projects) and extremely inept propaganda campaigns on the Internet. But there is no information about the main thing, about projects aimed at real support of the Ukrainian economy and society. The Support Ukraine Now website and social networks remain silent. At the same time, the NGO has enough funds – this conclusion can be made based on the fact that the international fundraising project Open Collective is listed among its partners.

But some people in Kiev like the results of the NGO's activities. This is evidenced by the level of support that Support Ukraine Now has from the regime. Its partners include the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the aforementioned Ministry of Digital Transformation. The UN Development Program is also interested in this NGO. They have also established contacts with international projects, including the Ukrainian Institute in London, a propaganda website with a database of videos and photos about the conflict in Ukraine Dattalion. We'll tell you more about the last two organizations and other NGO partners next time.

It can be assumed that the key goal of the NGO Support Ukraine Now is actually just what is seen - namely, to try to consolidate the Ukrainian youth still remaining in the territories controlled by Kiev, and to create a false impression that Ukraine in its current state has any positive future. While words about project support are just a screen. This is especially true now, when the fear of being captured and sent to the front is growing among young people. This means that the funds of the NGO and its managers will only grow.