Nicolas Zharov, President of LUkraine Asbl;
LUkraine, a Luxembourg-based non-profit organisation that supports Ukrainians both in Luxembourg and Ukraine, has been actively operating for ten years.
In 2024, LUkraine facilitated the evacuation of 6,000 people from the conflict-affected eastern regions of Ukraine. Additionally, the Saturday school “Mriya” in Luxembourg now educates over 100 children. As stated on the organisation’s official website, its primary mission is “to support the people of Ukraine in their pursuit of peace, stability and prosperity.”
Chronicle.lu spoke with LUkraine President Nicolas Zharov about the challenges faced in 2024 and the organisation’s plans for the year ahead.
Chronicle.lu: What are the key plans and priorities for LUkraine in 2025? Are there any specific initiatives or projects about which you are particularly excited?
Nicolas Zharov: LUkraine continues to bring vital support to Ukrainians both in Luxembourg and Ukraine with a slightly different focus. The focus in Ukraine is to save lives and bring vital humanitarian aid to hospitals. The focus in Luxembourg is to support Ukrainian refugees to become more integrated and autonomous. The particular focus of the association is on the children and youth.
We still have 25 rescue vehicles to deliver to Ukraine to achieve the total number of 112 rescue vehicles delivered to Ukraine within the "Ukraine is calling" project. This year we started a UAnited project with Erasmus+ framework in cooperation with organisations from Ukraine, Italy and Greece.
Particular accent will be put on transparency. Our goal is to become a beacon for transparency for the non-profit sector in Luxembourg and beyond. We have already started with the Transparency dashboard and we will keep developing the tool throughout the year. Transparency and good governance are not only needed for the non-profit sector but for the rebuilding of Ukraine and fostering cooperation between the EU and Ukraine. Thats why we will open a new direction for our organisation that we will allow to build more bridges between Luxembourg, the EU and Ukraine.
Culture is another important pillar for LUkraine. We were happy that the UA Days festival gathered the attention of thousands of citizens of Luxembourg.
Chronicle.lu: Reflecting on 2024, what do you consider to be the association's most significant achievements? How will you build upon these successes in 2025?
Nicolas Zharov: It’s all about the people we help. Even one saved life is worth everything we are doing. Our greatest achievement is and will always be saving and transforming lives. We have evacuated more than 6,000 people (3,000 were medical evacuation with various levels of injuries). Among them we have evacuated 609 children and 1,859 elderly people. More than 1,500 received dental care service with our mobile dentist cabinet.
We could deliver 32 ambulances and roughly 80 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Moreover, we have started the "Water to every home" project and already finished seven water distribution points in southern Ukraine. It included water well drilling, installation of filtration systems and buvettes. Dozens of thousands of people now have non-stop access to the filtered artesian water.
Our Saturday school had 125 students and we will try to increase this number to 150 in the next school year. The demand is very high and we are thinking about opening a branch in another city of Luxembourg in the near future.
Chronicle.lu: Are there any ongoing programmes from 2024 that will continue into 2025? If so, how do you plan to expand or improve them?
Nicolas Zharov: The "Ukraine is calling" project is to be continued as we have to deliver at least 25 more rescue vehicles. Saturday school "Mriya" is our investment in the future. We are now starting the process of building the LUkraine Youth branch, which will allow the organisation not only to be closer to the younger population but also create a strong foundation for the sustainable evolution and growth of LUkraine. UA Days 2025 is expected to be even better and [more] interesting. We have prepared some surprises for the public this year.
Chronicle.lu: How does LUkraine plan to address the most pressing needs of Ukrainians in Luxembourg and in Ukraine in the coming year?
Nicolas Zharov: Our goal is to "Rebuild People to Rebuild Ukraine". We will be investing in human capital. We want to see Ukraine and Ukrainians as strong, educated, creative and equal members of the European family. In Luxembourg, it means bringing autonomy and empowering Ukrainians who have fled the war. In Ukraine, it means saving lives, transforming them. We will focus on physical and mental rehabilitation of those who have fought to protect peace in Europe. Mental counselling and focus on younger people will be key goals for 2025.
Chronicle.lu: What strategies does LUkraine have in place to strengthen collaboration with the Luxembourg government, local organisations and the wider community in 2025?
Nicolas Zharov: As we have four pillars (humanitarian, education, culture and advocacy), we will focus on bringing peace and justice on the continent at our advocacy pillar. This means not only raising public awareness but actively engaging in social dialogue. Europe plays an important role for those processes and Luxembourg is a country that stands firmly on the Ukrainian side. We need peace, fair peace and this time long lasting peace. Ukraine should be a strong country with strong allies. We are planning to continue discussing those topics by organisіng various conferences, round tables, screenings, lectures and [demonstrations]. Moreover, we are looking for like-minded people to join the advocacy team at LUkraine. We are planning to organise a hackathon with the support of the Representation of the European Commission in Luxembourg in the next months where we will try to find the answers and ideas to counter Russian propaganda and defend democracy in Europe.
LUkraine plans to obtain an NGO status on top of the existing public interest status which will foster our cooperation with Luxembourg Aid and Development Agency.
Chronicle.lu: Are there new partnerships or collaborations being considered for 2025? How do you see these enhancing LUkraine's impact?
Nicolas Zharov: We have many active partnerships that have a lot of potential to develop. We will focus on existing partnerships. There are already some planned events for this year with the EU Parliament, EU Commission in Luxembourg. Polish and Danish presidencies at the Council of Europe are very important for Ukraine and respectively to LUkraine.
We continue our partnership with the CinEast festival. On 30 January 2025, the screening of the movie Intercepted is planned in collaboration with CinEast and EPLO. We will then have a panel discussion together with me and [Luxembourg MEP] Isabel Wiseler.
We can definitely say we will see another town twinning in 2025 and more work on the EU level regarding transparency and good governance. We have already had fruitful discussions with the Ukrainian Agency on Corruption Prevention and we hope that in autumn we will see the first panel discussion on this matter in Luxembourg.
Chronicle.lu: What challenges did LUkraine face in 2024, and how have these may influenced your planning for 2025?
Nicolas Zharov: In the non-profit sector there are three major challenges: financial capital, human capital and work on the ground. We have had tough times due to the [embezzlement] scandal with Caritas and overall fatigue of war. This has influenced our financial health. Moreover, the organisation cannot always rely on exclusively voluntary work. In 2024, our committee was reduced by two times to eight people. We had to say goodbye to many of our volunteers who had to go back to work and feed their families. Some of us just burned out. The times of war are different and our strategy is also different. We are thankful for those who keep supporting us but one thing is clear: in order to function, an organisation needs more human capital, more organisational support, bigger premises, etc. We are now launching a new sustainable solution for our organisation called "social-profit businesses". We believe in sustainable philanthropy. The first social-profit business will open its doors in 2025 if everything goes as planned.
Chronicle.lu: Are there any specific events or campaigns planned for 2025 to raise awareness or funds for LUkraine's mission?
Nicolas Zharov: We have various [demonstrations], screenings, round tables, hackathons, galas planned for 2025. We will be announcing them soon. However, I can confirm several dates: on Thursday 30 January - screening of the movie Intercepted, nominated for LUX Audience Award, with a panel after the film; on Saturday 22 February - rally for the third anniversary of the Russian invasion; on Wednesday 26 February - screening of the movie Porcelain War, in partnership with the European Commission and CinEast Film Festival; from Thursday 20 February - a photo exhibition in the European Parliament; on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 March - participation at Festival of Migrations and Cultures; in March - a panel discussion at the Banque de Luxembourg on the process of medical evacuation and the provision of aid during military operations; in April - hackathon with EU Commission in Luxembourg; on Tuesday 6 May - Charity Gala Dinner at Cercle Cité; in June - UA Days in Luxembourg.
Chronicle.lu: How does LUkraine plan to involve the Luxembourg public in its efforts this year? Are there any new ways for individuals to contribute or participate?
Nicolas Zharov: Yes, more events are planned for 2025 and we ask people to visit our new website and subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed about ongoing initiatives and future events. We believe that 2025 is pivotable moment not only for Ukraine but for the whole European Union with the new US politics. We are all waiting for the first decision of [Donald] Trump's administration to reflect on our future discussions.
Chronicle.lu: Looking ahead, what long-term goals does LUkraine aim to achieve by the end of 2025, and how do you measure success in your initiatives?
Nicolas Zharov: At LUkraine, we try to build a stronghold based on the ideas and values we share. Internally we focus on building a professional dedicated team both in Luxembourg and Ukraine. Public trust is essential for us. Transparency, accountability, integrity, respect and empowerment are the values we will take with us in all the LUkaine's initiatives.
Depending on the area of activity, we have different KPIs [key performance indicators]: donations, followers, event attendees, response times, new partnerships, number of projects but most important is of course the number of beneficiaries of our programmes.
Chronicle.lu: To your knowledge, approximately how many Ukrainians are currently under temporary protection in Luxembourg? How does this number compare to previous years, and what trends have you observed?
Nicolas Zharov: The numbers are changing as some of the refugees return back to Ukraine, some of them move to other countries. On average, there are 50 temporary protection requests filed by Ukrainians monthly. As of 31 November 2024, the registered beneficiaries of temporary protection amounted to 3,890 (UNHCR). We see that there are about 20% of returnees.
