COVENTRY University Ukrainian Society President Pavel Pimkin said he was ‘honoured’ to be invited to 10 Downing Street to celebrate Orthodox New Year.
Pavel was among those who came to the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme to be asked to attend Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s reception.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme allowed UK citizens to offer a home to people attempting to flee the war-torn country by becoming a sponsor.
During the event, Pavel was able to network with other Ukrainian refugees and sponsors and reflect on the success of the scheme.
Pavel said: “I was privileged to attend Downing Street, I felt extremely happy and honoured to get this opportunity and I couldn’t miss it. It was an extremely helpful event.
“I was honoured to express my gratitude to the Prime Minister’s wife Akshata Murty, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK Vadym Prystaiko and the sponsors who welcomed Ukrainians into their homes.
“The UK has become one of our greatest supporters since the beginning of the war and I believe we’ll continue strengthening this bond and reconstruct Ukraine after we win this war.”
Pavel was instrumental in several university societies uniting to create the Ukrainian Students Union and was able to help secure an online meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last year.
During the meeting, Pavel was selected as Coventry’s representative to ask President Zelenskyy a question.
And Pavel followed this up by organising a charity art auction at Coventry’s RISING Global Peace Forum in November, raising around £13,000 by selling around 50 paintings from Ukrainian artists of all ages depicting the invasion of the country.
Half the auction proceeds went towards funding items such as food, medical supplies, ambulance cars and electric generators with the rest given to the artists who created the pieces.
Pavel added: “The work was created by professional artists who lost their source of income due to the war so it was good that as well as raising money for Ukrainian humanitarian needs we were able to allow them to work again.”
