Thread by @jbhenchman

Ethan and I are in Poland after spending much of the week in Kyiv, where I was among 20 international experts invited by the Office of President Zelenskyy and the governing Servant of the People party to advise on a tax and anti-corruption reform package they are developing.

I'm grateful that our group - which included experts and officials from Bulgaria, Lithuania, the UK, and the World Bank - had a number of meetings with executive officials and MPs culminating in a day-long 500-person summit on the proposed legislative package.

Ethan joined me on the trip and visited (and brought gifts and some supplies for) Insight, an LGBT+ charity we support that has added essential countrywide direct relief and safe houses to their previous policy work.

Ethan spent the journey finishing a blanket with Ukraine's flag colors and LGBT motifs that he gifted to them, along with an American flag that had flown over the Capitol. We learned about how they are an essential lifeline for safe places, food, and medical supplies in wartime.

Ethan also met with the leaders of Kyiv's small Anglican congregation, a spiritual home to Ukrainians, expats, and touring personnel. He coordinated a financial donation from our Diocese, and delivered gifts from the National Cathedral and a personalized letter from our Bishop.

Our delegation toured Irpin, which along with neighboring Bucha was the closest the Russian occupation got to Kyiv. In February-March 2022 civilian militia blew a bridge and held out and then backed by the regular Ukrainian army stalled the Russians until they retreated.

The Russians took it out on the civilian population, killing hundreds both deliberately and randomly and destroying 70% of the town's buildings and infrastructure.

We met with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor who explained the urgent need to raise up to €13 million to rebuild services and rehouse 10,000 displaced families; many international donors have pledged funds but unhelpfully not until the war is over.

The war was never far from mind. War damage from missiles and bombs dots Kyiv. Getting to Kyiv requires flying to Poland and long travel across the country as the airspace is closed due to Russian air attacks.

One night at midnight the air raid sirens went off and we spent 90 minutes in a basement shelter as (we later learned) drones hit Sumy to the north. Nearly everyone we met is either on rotation with the military or knows someone who has been killed or is a refugee.

We visited a facility where they train on weaponry, and the Maidan Square is filled with memorials to those who have given their lives in the defense. The gratitude towards the United States is immense and the message was clear: help us get the stuff we need to finish the job.

As I said to the audience, "It is the greatest honor for me to be invited to be here, and when I return to America I look forward to sharing that I've seen a Ukraine still standing, still fighting, and still free."

Any time a speaker referenced the rule of law, of freedom, of disincentivizing graft and cronyism, of building a free economy not based just on who you know - all things Russia is trying to deny them forever - it got strong applause, especially from young people in the audience.

I'm very excited about the legislation they're preparing and about the good it would do to help Ukraine stand even stronger. And as Ethan said a month ago when we decided whether or not to do this trip, "We all have to do our part, and this is the thing that you can do."

I'm especially grateful to my longtime friend Tom Palmer from @AtlasNetwork who served as our unofficial guide into the country and to all those who are in the fight of their lives for all of us.