The voice of Ukrainian communities in the heart of Europe: Viktoria Fedotova at SOM in Brussels

It is a great honor for our team that the head of the NGO “MARTIN-club” Victoria Fedotova represented the Ukrainian local sector at the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) in Brussels. SOM is a strategic platform of the highest level, where top officials of the European Commission, the UN and the Government of Ukraine determine the future of humanitarian aid. Victoria’s participation in such an event is a recognition of the expertise of our organization and an opportunity to directly influence the international agenda.

An important stage of the meeting was the review of the humanitarian situation by Matthias Schmale (UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine). His report was alarming:

The conflict continues to destabilize the lives of millions, and attacks on energy infrastructure in freezing conditions pose critical challenges to survival.

Mathias stressed that despite the "fatigue" of war, needs are only growing, and the humanitarian response must be inextricably linked to recovery ("Nexus").

We fully share the position of Deputy Head of the President's Office Iryna Vereshchuk, who called on partners not to cut budgets. Ms. Iryna emphasized:

Ukraine will stand firm no matter what, but Russia will not stop unless it sees the same ironclad determination from European leaders. That is why we are demanding a 30% increase in funding for life-saving programs — every day of delay is measured in the lives of our citizens.

The speech by Carsten Schmitz-Hoffmann (GIZ), who presented the “Empower / Team Europe” model, was extremely practical. His theses became a professional confirmation of our localization strategy:

• Trust in the local: Investing in Ukrainian organizations is the best way to ensure accountability. The GIZ model proves that through institutional development of small NGOs, tens of thousands of people can be effectively helped.

• Fair Risks: International partners should not shift all security and operational risks onto local teams without providing them with adequate support.

• Flexibility and savings: Localization allows us to significantly reduce overhead costs and respond instantly, because we are already on the ground.

These messages were also supported by Marten Bille Hermann (EEAS), assuring the EU's full solidarity, especially in the issues of protecting the rights of people in the occupied territories and the return of deported children.

We return from Brussels with a clear signal: the voice of the MARTIN Club and Ukrainian civil society sounds confident. Together with partners, we are building a system where aid becomes an investment in our shared resilience. 🇺🇦🇪🇺