Liev Schreiber urged a crowd of D.C. lawmakers, ambassadors and media figures for continued support for Ukrainians as the one-year anniversary nears of Russia’s attempted invasion.
The occasion was UnSanctioned, an event at the French ambassador’s residence that brought together those who have been sanctioned by Vladimir Putin’s regime to support the humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
The list, as Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova noted, is long. The sanctioned guests at the Friday evening event included Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, State Department Spokesman Ned Price, Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA), Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA), Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA), Susan Glasser, Bianna Golodryga and Craig Kennedy.
Schreiber, the co-founder of BlueCheck Ukraine, a non-profit that fast-tracks financial support to Ukraine NGOs, said, “Our idea is simply that no one is more capable or better suited to helping Ukrainians than the Ukrainians themselves, as they have already proven time and time again. They are incredibly strong people. And our idea was just to go to Ukraine, find out who the NGOs are on the ground, the independent groups that are providing aid and relief, and get support directly to them, without any middleman as quickly as we could.”
Schreiber pointed to the work of Pavlo Schula, who pooled his resources and organized an evacuation effort with minivans. He was contracted by a group, Kidsave, that partnered by BlueCheck, and the result was the rescue of more than 10,000 women and children.
“It’s just an idea of why the Ukrainians are uniquely suited to solve their own problems,” Schreiber said. “They just need our support, they need our financial support. It doesn’t get any colder in Ukraine than it did in February. Right now is a really critical time.” The Ray Donavan star also noted of meeting Schula, “I’m sitting there thinking of having played a tough guy for eight years, and how tough this person in front of me is.”
The event was produced by Tammy Haddad of Haddad Media. Others at the fete included Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Peter Baker, Jonathan Karl, Abby Phillip, Kaitlan Collins, Josh Dawsey, Alex Marquardt and Olivia Nuzzi. Other co-hosts included Kara Swisher, Dmitri Alperovitch, Maureen Hinman, John Katko, Mike Rogers, Edward Luce, Ryan Evans, Dan Jablonsky and Adam Ghetti, along with Phillipe Etienne, the French ambassador to the United States.
