After months of peaceful, pro-democracy protests, Ukraine’s popular revolution now faces dramatic, perhaps existential, challenges.  The new government must undertake significant reforms at a time of financial crisis and political uncertainty.  The Russian invasion of Crimea has added a fundamental security challenge, one that affects Ukraine’s basic territorial integrity.  In the meantime, the US and Europe must together find effective ways to support the people of Ukraine – and others in Europe’s east – who have dedicated themselves to a democratic future.     
   
One of Ukraine’s most globally recognizable citizens, singer Ruslana Lyzhychko has been at the epicenter of the pro-democracy movement in Ukraine since the outbreak of protests on Kyiv’s Maidan Square in November of last year. Ruslana, known as the “People’s Artist of Ukraine” for her marathon morale-building singing performances on the Maidan, will provide her outlook on the current situation in her home country, and will evaluate the options for Ukraine’s new government as they attempt to rebuild vital institutions, implement difficult reforms, and reevaluate the way forward in the face of the new, turbulent developments in Crimea.

Ruslana has long been active in supporting democracy in Ukraine. She was a prominent activist during the Orange Revolution in 2004, is a former deputy in the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada), and has also served as UNICEF’s goodwill ambassador for Ukraine. She is recognized internationally as the most successful Ukrainian female artist after winning the Eurovision song contest in 2004. In 2013, she was honored as one of the top ten most influential women by Forbes magazine.

This event is organized in cooperation with the US-Ukraine Foundation