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Even during the all-out war, reforms in Ukraine are continuing — Michael Druckman

hromadske.radio

Even during the all-out war, reforms in Ukraine are continuing — Michael Druckman

This is Ukraine Calling and our guest today is Michael Druckman — Director of IRI Ukraine (International Republican Institute), Andriy Kulykov: Hello everybody who joins Ukraine Calling for this time, and our guest today is Michael Druckman. He is Director of IRI Ukraine, which stands for the International Republican Institute, rather reputed organisation in many countries, and one that’s been working in Ukraine since 1994. Together with the country, the International Republican Institute Ukraine has gone through many changes, reacting to the changing circumstances in Ukraine, but probably the biggest change, supposedly, came on the 24th of February this year. So the first question, quite logically is, how did you have to adapt to what has happened on the 24th against the background of your usual operation, Michael? Michael Druckman: Well thank you very much for having me today, joining you and your guests. I think, like everyone else on February 24th, there was a day that focused entirely on keeping people safe, on finding out where out teams were, our staff were, and making sure that people were moving to places that they felt were more safe. Work was obviously of a secondary nature. So it was a matter of keeping track of our team, and getting everyone settled and relocated where they felt, again, most comfortable. Everyone of course was assisting family members, trying to keep track of their own families, find safety, move to where it was best. And then of course, moving into that initial phase of the full-scale invasion. We had staff that joined the Armed Services of Ukraine, we had staff that went into volunteering, staff that were doing whatever was necessary to protect Ukraine, and of course, ensure their own safety. So we allowed our team as much time as they needed to do that; that was obviously the priority. Now, within a few weeks of that taking place we shifted back into, what is it IRI can do right now? Obviously we’re not preparing for local elections, we’re not working with political parties or working with local governments on how best to manage public transportation or waste management. It is, what can we do in our small way, not being a humanitarian organisation, but how can we assist?
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29 of March 2024