Ukrainian-American non-profits in 2014–2022: constructing diasporic Ukrainian identity through personal and collective narratives

Diasporas have continuously been significant players in the international political arena. As the bearer and guardian of the language, culture, mentality, and national worldview, any diaspora inevitably becomes increasingly important in driving political and economic ties between the country of origin and the country of residence (Carment and Sadjed 2017). Connected by the diasporic consciousness as ‘a set of cultural values that are present and may be dominant in a community, implicitly governing people's lives in such a way as to make them feel bound to the so-called other Ukrainians occupying the so-called diasporic otherlands’ (Khanenko-Friesen 2015, 9), the Ukrainian diaspora has been an active community abroad. Consequently, they have been keenly responding to internal and external issues in Ukraine, contributing to its international image (Nedoshytko 2020).

Ukrainians in the USA are conventionally taken to include persons who report only Ukrainian ancestry and people who report on-Ukrainian origins as well. By 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Ukrainian population in the United States had topped one million, including the U.S. population with Ukrainian ancestry and the foreign-born population from Ukraine who are not, or not yet, American citizens (Jenkins et al.2022). The Ukrainian diaspora in the Western world, particularly in North America, historically ‘has been the most active in relation to the home country’ (Isajiw 2010, 290). Compared to the Eastern diaspora living in the countries historically under the influence of Russia, the Western diaspora has by-and-large done much more to assimilate organically the liberal values of world civilization, thanks to their unique experiences distant from the ‘homeland.’ Indeed, Ukrainians abroad play a prominent role in the dynamic processes taking place in independent Ukraine (Satzewich 2002). The four waves of Ukrainian immigration to North America (1885–1914, 1915–1939, 1945–1956, and late 1991 – present day), as suggested by Isajiw (2010), and even the recently cited fifth wave that began in 2014 (Klokiw 2020) had different historical and economic backgrounds but has come to share a common objective – building a Ukrainian community to maintain a distinct Ukrainian identity and preserving strong ties with Ukraine. Wolowyna (2018) emphasizes that Ukrainian identity was slow to crystallize in the USA due to historic problems and precarity of the political existence of Ukraine as a country. Lemekh (2010) highlights that for the first three waves of immigrants, the Ukrainian identity was ethnic and only the fourth wave had a legitimate Ukrainian national identity backed up by Ukraine as an independent state.

The idea of Ukraine's independence and freedom inspired immigrants to create a complex network of non-profit organizations to foster the democratic development of their homeland and sustain the institutional support of the Ukraine's initiatives. Though the first four waves of Ukrainian immigration were differently engaged in institutional work with the fourth wave being the most different from the mid-twentieth-century post-war Ukrainian diaspora (Rovenchak and Volodko 2018), ever since Ukraine declared independence on August 24, 1991, it has been viewed by the Ukrainian diaspora as the habitat of democracy, liberty, and a true homeland. During the Orange Revolution and Euromaidan, Ukrainian Americans were always there to back up the Ukrainian people, and since 2014 the Ukrainian diaspora has extended assistance and provided not only humanitarian aid but also medical, and military assistance (Nikolko 2019).

The Ukrainian-American non-profits (UANPs) have traditionally focused on informing the public about Ukrainian customs, culture, architecture, history. They have been sustaining and communicating their Ukrainian identity by holding events commemorating Holodomor, Independence Day, New Year and Christmas, Andrew's Eve, Malanka, bonfire Vatra, etc. They have been promoting Ukraine – the nation, the culture, the values – in all of its diversity, and sharing its accomplishments in the IT sphere, aerospace, sports, and crafts – all of the activities that contribute to and define the country. The agenda has also included information about significant current events in Ukraine: visits of American political and cultural leaders to Ukraine, progress toward European integration, and domestic issues in Ukraine such as the fight against corruption and advancing the common good in a time of turmoil.

When Russia launched its invasion against Ukraine in February 2014 and seized Ukrainian territory, the Crimean peninsula included, the Ukrainian diaspora in the U.S. promptly reacted and appealed to the world public for support. The UANPs have been using diverse communication tools, including institutional social media pages and websites, to speak up about, and draw the attention of Americans to, the situation in Ukraine. After Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, they greatly amplified their efforts. In September 2022, the UANPs launched a campaign ‘American Coalition for Ukraine’ (2022), bringing together 42 organizations from 35 states to advocate for the support Ukraine needs to hold on to its territorial integrity, save lives, and preserve the distinct Ukrainian identity that is threatened by Russia's state-orchestrated incitement to national and cultural genocide.

It is identity that is the target at the war, and it will be the subject of our discussion here. Recognizing the variety of approaches to the study of identity, we have chosen to focus on understanding national identity as ‘a mental construct, an imaginary complex of ideas containing at least the defining elements of collective unity and equality, of boundaries and autonomy’ (Wodak 2009, 22), which derives from an understanding of the nation as a symbolic community (Hall 1996). That is to say, ‘nation is a narration’ (Berger et al. 2002; cited in Berger et al.2008, 1) – an approach that emphasizes the power of the national paradigm in sense production. In brief, we view Ukrainian identity as a coherent complex of concepts, performances, and actions collectively constructed, narrated, and performed by Ukrainians in diverse spatiotemporal contexts, abroad (the diaspora) as well as domestic.

Ukrainian identity has been traditionally represented as navigating between various factors and paradigms and combining cosmopolitan, pro-Western, old/new Ukrainian, Soviet Ukrainian (Dyczok 2014), dual, pro-Soviet, Ukrainian, multicultural-civic (Korostelina 2013), non/anti-Soviet, and post/neo-Soviet, European (Riabchuk 2015) features.

Hansen and Hesli (2009) highlight not only the ethnic and civic components of the nation's identity but also the structures of socialization. These components are also the building blocks of diasporic identity. In keeping with Naujoks's (2010) and Kozachenko's (2018) views of diasporic identity, we concentrate here on the ethnic (active engagement and passive membership in a diasporic community) and civic (vertical and horizontal connections) to and responsibilities towards the country of origin, including its state and civil society dimensions. Thus, diasporic identity is shaped by complex and dialectical relationships that interweave the policies of the homeland and the country of current residence, political and institutional practices of both polities, and, at a more personal level, the stories and attitudes of, and the social environments to which diasporic individuals are exposed.

This paper traces the diasporic identity of Ukrainian-Americans and the salient features of Ukrainian-Americans’ identity as constructed and construed through extensive diasporic mobilization and work pursued by the UANPs Nova Ukraine, Razom for Ukraine, United Help Ukraine, Ukrainian American Coordinating Council, Revived Soldiers, Ukrainian-American House, Hromada, Unite with Ukraine, Ukrainian National Women's League of America. These organizations are members of the ‘American Coalition for Ukraine’ and are working effectively and successfully in their local communities.

The UANPs are volunteer-based institutions working with thousands of volunteers under the guidance of a board of directors. Most of these volunteers have Ukrainian roots, and their robust identification with Ukraine informs and motivates the assistance they give and constructs their collective identity. The nonprofit organizations create and convey meaning and value, encourage ongoing social practices, share resources, and support grassroots democracy: their ‘discourse is multivocal, and the boundaries of fields and genres are dynamic, the meanings that activists and organizations seek to establish through persuasion always have the potential for being transformed by supporters and sympathizers’ (Steinberg 2002, 213). Consequently, although they share a mission, the UANPs pursue an agenda that is fluid and responsive to constantly emerging challenges.

We may view identity here within a social constructivism approach: social realities are constructed, not given (Berger and Luckmann 1967). In this process discourse practices (Fairclough 1992), understood broadly as language use, have a central role. Since ‘nothing is given or natural about being part of a social category or group’ (De Fina et al.2006, 3), identity becomes both the process and the result of ongoing collective and individual self- and world- representation. This doubly formative dynamic is based upon beliefs, ideas, values, and categories – which are themselves always in the process of formation – that are shared within and between the groups that make up the solidarity movement, in a dialectic of constant elaboration, interaction, and self-reflection.

The relationship between the individual and group identities is well-defined within this dialogic framework, which broadly perceives culture as dialogue-based and emphasizes that people create and distribute meanings as well as material resources (Robnett 2002). People choose to engage in organizational activities because doing so speaks to who they are: the forms of actions they choose come under the influence of, at the same time that they shape, collective identities (Polletta and Jasper 2001). The correlations between individual and collective identity draw upon the roles of differently placed actors and on ‘culture as a set of practices that occurs between power holders and challengers, sympathizers, authorities, and other groups … dialogism offering a specific framework for a more dynamic analysis of collective action discourse’ (Steinberg 2002, 224).

Through this complex mediation, institutions connect problems, find solutions, identifying the kinds of actions that seem required or relevant at a certain period under certain circumstances (Snow and Benford 1988). Consequently, organizations frame and design collective actions that appeal to their supporters and followers, displaying the performativity of identity that amounts not to ‘a singular act, but a repetition and ritual, which achieves its effects through its naturalization in the context of a body, understood, in part, as a culturally sustained temporal duration’ (Butler 2006: xv). Lemekh (2010) believes that collective identity serves as a project for presenting the individual identity, thus we claims are that a collective Ukrainian identity lays the foundation for the representation of the personal identities of Ukrainians. The upshot is that a shared performative toolkit of actions affords a process of the amalgamation of individual and collective identities through actionable and multivocal dialogue, in which no identity prevails over another; identity formation is an evolving process of reciprocal self- and other-construction.

Viewing identities as discursively produced, reproduced, transformed, and destructed (Wodak 2009) via language and other semiotic systems suggests that identity is not a rigid and stable entity but rather a dynamic phenomenon, ‘coherently incoherent one might say’. Narratives are schematic representations of the built story worlds in which ‘narrators introduce themselves and others as figures and use categories to define their identity (or the identity of others) that are often presented (implicitly or explicitly) as playing crucial roles in the explanation of the actions themselves’ (De Fina 2006, 356). Identities and narratives, as they are represented in discourse, become the representations of an interlocking set of practices, ideologies, and social structures. Thus, discourse is hegemonic, changing, and changeable, and represents group identities (Kiesling 2006, 261), with a group practice component (Barasko 2010) and discursive features produced within the group. Narratives express meanings attached to the group (Rohde-Liebenau 2022), are dynamic, and may respond to crisis (Smoor 2017). Narratives are also coherent and tangible ways of marking and tracing identities in their dynamics and multiple voices.

De Fina (2006) claims that narratives can become a locus of enactment and reflection of identities that identifies groups and permits members to distinguish themselves and one another through adherence to norms, values, and patterns of behavior. Diaspora members, like any other individuals, ‘can attach different meanings to their perceived belonging to a given collectivity, but they also can identify with different collectivities’ (Kulyk 2011, 288). Individual and collective narratives of Ukrainian-American diaspora are a unique source of the amalgamated vision that refracts Ukrainian identity through an American lens.

This paper uses a critical discourse analysis approach (CDA), bearing in mind that discourse is not viewed as a neutral description of reality but as ‘signifying the world, constituting and constructing the world in meaning’ (Fairclough 1992, 64). This approach views discursive acts and social structures in which they are embedded in a dialogical unity, as social actors constitute knowledge, social roles, interpersonal relations as well as identities through discourse (Wodak 2009). CDA is problem-oriented and not focused on specific linguistic items with linguistic expertise obligatory for the selection of the items relevant to specific research objectives (Wodak and Meyer 2009).

These theoretical underpinnings informed our work at all four stages of the research. The first stage focused on collecting data from the web pages, social media pages, videos, and video recordings of the rallies of the selected non-profits Nova Ukraine, Razom for Ukraine, United Help Ukraine, Ukrainian American Coordinating Council, Revived Soldiers, Ukrainian-American House, Hromada, Unite with Ukraine, Ukrainian National Women's League of America. We tracked these Ukrainian initiatives on the Eastern and Western coasts of the USA. The selection of the organizations was based on these criteria: functioning since 2014, maintaining and regularly (at least once a week) updating a website and social media pages on at least one social media platform, and generating original content, not solely sharing and reposting. At this stage, we collected, sorted, translated if needed from Ukrainian into English, and coded the material. The social media pages and websites of these nonprofits form the database for discerning the narratives and representations conveyed by and defining these organizations. These nonprofits are active mostly on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. They generally duplicate their content on such platforms. 865 video clips, 163 h total, represent the video segment of the corpus. These video fragments represent the recordings of demonstrations, fundraising events, TV appearances, and individual appeals made by the members belonging to these organizations. We distinguished the types of material used (social media text, social media video, website text, website video, and rally video) and three relevant timeframes: Period 1 (2014–October 2021), Period 2 (November 2021–2022), and Period 3 (February 24, 2022–September 2022).

The second stage of this research involved inductive analysis of the data to identify the significant clusters/patterns built on a content-oriented approach, i.e. clusters were identified by respective language units that discourse fragments contained. It resulted in forming four narrative clusters.

At the third stage, on the theoretical assumption that the manifestation of specific identities is tied ‘to the use of linguistic elements and communicative and rhetorical strategies both in the representation of characters within worlds of experience and in its negotiation with interlocutors’ (De Fina 2003, 29), we focused on the lexical (the use of words and expressions with a particular focus on pronominal choice) and interactional (the ways the UANPs index their attitudes and viewpoints) levels of analysis that serve to construct a specific diasporic identity upon individual, institutional, community and national levels of representation.

At the fourth stage, we traced the dynamics of the diasporic narratives throughout three periods, clarifying ethnic and civic strands within the overall story.

This overview of the UANPs’ major narratives falls into three periods, starting with the Russian annexation of Crimea (2014–October 2021) and covering the data on the pre- (November 2021–2022) and post-full-scale (February 24, 2022–September 2022) invasion of Ukraine. These narratives are represented by four key clusters, focusing on the positioning of the Ukrainian diaspora members, domestic and international challenges of Ukraine, Russia's role, global issues involving Ukraine, and war.

The Ukrainian diaspora in the USA is very diverse, and comprises people born in the USA or other countries with Ukrainian ancestry. Though some representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora have never visited Ukraine, they are active as Ukrainians in their communities and are able and eager to preserve connections with Ukrainians in the USA and in Ukraine. Typical structures of the analyzed discourse fragments demonstrate this association, as in: ‘We are addressing to all the Ukrainians, the citizens of Ukraine and Ukrainian diaspora, to speak up … ’ Diaspora members aver that, although they have American citizenship and are ‘ordinary Americans,’ they belong to Ukraine in terms of temperament, concern, and cultural identification. Such broad identification is exemplified in social media videos and printed newspapers, as in: ‘We are Ukraine. Today we celebrate 25 years of Ukrainian Independence. We asked our volunteers to send us their photos to show the faces of Ukrainians abroad.’; ‘Faces of Ukraine around the world. We are all celebrating today! Together we are building a better future for our country. Happy Independence day!’. This type of narrative is represented in various modalities to highlight their ethnic bonding.

The legal status of other Ukrainian Americans is as variable as that of other immigrant groups and falls into the following categories: family-sponsored, employment-based, family relatives of U.S. citizens, refugee and asylees, and diversity program beneficiaries (lottery) (Wolowyna 2018). Some members of the Ukrainian-American diaspora continue to hold Ukrainian citizenship and are legally as well as morally entitled to call Ukraine ‘their country.’ Some of them have protested proposed legislation that would strip them of their citizenship. That happened in 2015 with the Ukrainian government's Draft Law 6175, aiming to change the legal citizenship status of Ukrainians abroad.

The UANPs’ inclusive positioning is evident in their linguistic practices, including usage of first-person plural nominative pronouns, ‘We will win together! Together we are Ukraine!’ Such language has been and continues to be deployed by many Ukrainian solidarity organizations.

Throughout 2014–2022 the UANPs have been informing and encouraging their addressees to continue support. Ukrainian diaspora members have been:

• - making emotional appeals with emotive language: ‘If you love Ukraine, please help it in times of need.’

• - proposing and supporting the work being done by nonprofits: ‘50 tons of rice had already been delivered to Ukraine and are in the process of being distributed amongst multiple Ukrainian hospitals. The other 75 tons had already been shipped and are on the way there. Thank you, everyone, for your support and participation. Together we can do more.’; ‘Our goal is to increase the number of children that the diaspora takes under its wing every year.’ The rational appeals use figures and reporting language;

• - highlighting the urgency of supportive actions, significantly since February 24, 2022. ‘Now’ is a commonly used word, as in ‘Help Ukraine in war zones now!’ and ‘Ukraine needs you all NOW!!!’ and in interrogative forms, ‘How can you help Ukraine now???’;

• - articulating future needs and plans: ‘We have been able to deliver desperately needed aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion, and we hope to continue until after the war ends when reconstruction of infrastructure and psychological care for the people of Ukraine will be the main focus.’;

• - presenting the long-term impact of support: ‘Efforts like this make Ukraine stronger’.

Since February 2022, reporting about what is happening in Ukraine and about support of the country from abroad have become more salient. These messages detail the provided aid and encourage people to continue donations. For example, financial figures and the impact on people on the ground, including the refugees in the USA, are provided: ‘Two months into the war in Ukraine, our team has: Evacuated more than 400 people from hot spots in Ukraine; Shipped 218 tons of aid, including more than $11.28M in medical supplies; Hosted 300 + events and donated over $1.59M in grants to partner organizations + more!’. The UANPs also make available multimedia information about the volunteers in American communities and on the ground in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian diaspora has distinguished between actions taken to help individual Ukrainians and actions needed to save Ukraine as an independent, potentially flourishing nation. While helping Ukrainians has been emphasized by the Ukrainian-American community, saving Ukraine is viewed as the geopolitical challenge. Hence appeals to the American government have always been agenda high priority. Ukrainian Americans have openly expressed criticism and indignation over the actions of the American government that, in their opinion, undermine Ukraine's sovereignty. For example, they have opposed the current administration's permission for construction of the pipeline NordStream-2 to proceed. Sometimes these appeals assume a partisan character: ‘Ukrainian-American Diaspora, we call upon you to call or write to your Senator and Congressmen to express your indignation and grave concern. Ukraine's sovereignty is under threat yet again! Vote Republican in the upcoming 2022 election to the US Congress and 2024 Presidential election!’ Since the full-scale invasion, calls upon the American government have focused primarily on the urgency of delivering military aid, ‘Every hour counts. Deliver air defense systems to Ukraine now!’ Also advocated is protecting the skies over Ukraine from aerial attack.

Since Euromaidan in 2013–2014, Ukrainians and the Ukrainian diaspora have again consolidated their efforts to protect Ukrainian sovereignty. A few new nonprofit organizations emerged in 2013–2014 with the mission to build democracy and strengthen civil society in Ukraine. ‘Old’ and ‘new’ organizations have been framing their efforts to provide assistance as an effort to build ‘a new Ukrainian Ukraine,’ a ‘successful Ukraine’ with ‘a better, European future.’ The UANPs highlight the need for ‘a polyethnical, polycultural, European, law-governed state’. Ukraine is viewed as a country with ‘a robust civil society, both showcased by civic organizations and independent activists … with enormous untapped potential in increasing communication and combining the efforts of governing bodies, both local and central, and civil society’. They confidently invite people to visit Ukraine: ‘Experience Ukraine! We are open for Tourism.’ Use of the first-person pronoun indicates the on-going identification with Ukraine on the part of the diaspora.

The calls to build a new Ukraine have been amplified during 2014–2021. Following the full-scale invasion, however, the primary aim has been response to the immediate humanitarian and military crisis; rebuilding Ukraine, at this time, focuses on reconstruction of bombed cities. For the UANPs, looking ahead amounts to ‘delivering new types of life-saving supplies that ready first responders, defenders, hospitals, and internally displaced people for the winter, or developing and supporting projects that center upon the renewal of Ukraine’. On the cultural front, many Ukrainian diaspora members welcome the initiative of the President of Ukraine to recognize and register civil partnerships, including same-sex relationships, and to encourage conversations with Ukrainians concerning civil rights and support for LGBTQI+.

Overall, the UANPs emphasize that Ukrainians are capable of building ‘a model of a new statehood where volunteer initiatives may surpass the professionalism and efficiency of official foreign organizations and government agencies’ and highlight their cooperation with the various types of non-governmental organizations in Ukraine.

The Being Ukrainian narrative, that the diaspora favors, shows the performative character of identity: Ukrainians are born to be free, proud, strong – people with a past of amazing cultural accomplishment and a future that holds incredible potential. UANP members believe that ‘Ukraine has its own identity. Beautiful, original, and indestructible. Ukrainian identity has never been destroyed by any empire that has tried to colonize Ukraine. For its identity exists at the genetic level because it is a cultural code. It helps Ukraine to revive each time and not lose itself. Remember itself for the present, for the future.’

Being Ukrainian in 2014 and especially 2022 means not to stand aside, to act, to perform the actions, like coming to rallies ‘I would like to thank everyone for not standing aside from this event today, on a Sunday afternoon, because it is a manifestation of our position on the deteriorating situation in Ukraine. Thank you so much for coming!’ or articulating ‘I am Ukrainian! I am Ukraine!’.

An important part of the ethnic identification is the language issue. While the Ukrainian-American diaspora is using different languages in the U.S., they have been encouraging use of the Ukrainian language in the U.S. and in Ukraine but not overtly discouraging the usage of any other languages, Russian included. This attitude has become more prevalent since 2014: ‘Be Ukrainian – Speak Ukrainian!’, emphasizing that young people are more prone to establishing new language habits, though some communities are tolerant of Russian speakers ‘Many western Ukrainian students are bringing their Ukrainian to the universities in Kyiv and big eastern cities. Young IT and service professionals who move from Kharkiv or Dnipropetrovsk to Lviv tend to bring Ukrainian into their everyday lives, despite Lviv's tolerance for Russian speakers.’ In terms of maintaining the connection with the Russian-speaking Crimea and Donbas, essential parts of Ukraine, the Ukrainian diaspora has urged the US government to help provide Russian-dubbed radio and TV broadcasting to these regions. In late 2022, there were UANPs’ appeals to boost speaking Ukrainian and English via different means, including commenting in Ukrainian, even for non-Ukrainian videos, and switching to Ukrainian or English within all the platforms’ interfaces.

The UANPs’ narratives emphasizing strong resistance of Ukrainians to domination encompass the entire history of the Ukrainian fight for independence and freedom. The messages ‘Kyivan Rus – the real one who was fighting with the Moscowian Horde!’ mention the 13th, 17th, 20th^, and 21st centuries struggles. The narratives of 2014–October 2021 and November 2021–2022 speak about the heroes of Maidan and the contemporary war veterans, appreciating their sacrifice and courage: ‘Day of Heroes of Heavenly Hundred … That day Ukraine lost its best sons but gained real independence, changed the course of history.’

Since February 2022, messaging has been more inclusive, presuming that all Ukrainians are involved in the war: ‘Ukraine will be protecting itself and will win.’ The metonymic usage of the country's name to designate – with some degree of over-generalization, since of course not all Ukrainians are of one mind – all of its people indicate the level of engagement of Ukrainians at home and abroad. Such inclusive messaging conveys far-reaching objectives of the fight: ‘We are not going to surrender! We’ll never give Russians any piece of our Land! We’ll restore our territorial integrity! And we’ll become a prosperous European country!’

Diaspora members express the view that this fight for democracy matters profoundly to Ukrainian Americans and to everyone who shares the values of freedom, dignity, and democracy.

With their individual backgrounds and reasons to flee Ukraine, the Ukrainian diaspora, and in particular, its leading representatives who highlight their personal stories of resistance to Russian domination, speaks of what they take to be the real reasons for the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine: Russia has always wanted to destroy Ukraine and erase Ukrainian identity: ‘Ukraine is the most ‘cherished’ neighboring country where, as they say, their ‘brothers’ live. So, they have always ‘treated us very well’, killing our ancestors during common history. And they continue killing us now for our desire to be independent and make our own choices’; ‘I do believe that there was no chance to avoid this war. But we must do everything to win it. Otherwise, there will be no Ukraine!’ Recollection of Ukraine's history is common among the diaspora members, who ask that the nation and the world learn from the lessons of the past.

The Ukrainian diaspora rhetoric treats the events in Ukraine as evidence of Russia's genocidal aim. Yekelchyk (2022) points out that the new concept rashyzm (ruscism), which migrated from public to official and academic domains, defines Russia's ideology and policies during the post-Soviet era. Diaspora representatives use the term to speak about the crimes committed in Ukraine, making an emotional comparison: ‘Ruscism, that is Russian fascism, has proved to be even uglier than its German counterpart! Ukraine is a slaughterhouse in the very center of Europe!’

UANP members refer to Irpin, Bucha, and Gostomel – towns that have suffered heavy destruction from Russian shelling:

The UANPs, in agreement with the messages of the Ukrainian society, claim that the Kremlin's imperial ambitions have made Russia a terrorist state, resulting in invasion not only of Ukraine but also of other countries: Russia ‘constantly claims to be a “peacemaker” who strives for peace. But here is the list of the countries to which it has brought death and pain: Transnistria, Abkhazia, Chechnya, Georgia, Syria, and others’; ‘Most of the Russian invaders will be killed because they are terrorists representing a terrorist state threatening the whole civilized world with its nuclear weapons!’ In this view, the true face of the terrorist state is revealed not only on the battlefields but also in Ukrainian cities shelled by Russian missiles:

The Ukrainian diaspora urges the world to realize the scope of the tragedy that is not only Ukrainian but also global. They draw attention to the magnitude of the damage and loss of life that Ukraine suffers from the Kremlin's invasion. This information is essential because it speaks to the magnitude of the post-war restoration of Ukraine, which will require an enormous commitment of resources. There is the fearful prospect that Ukraine, long known as the ‘Breadbasket of Europe’ because of its fertile black soil, will no longer be able to supply the world with grain or anything else.

Ukrainian Americans don't have illusions about the Russian establishment ‘I don't believe in the morality and courage of Russian politicians’ and claim that ‘Russia will pay a very high price for its crimes in Ukraine and other countries! The war criminals will be punished!’; ‘Most Russians will pay their own price! They have no right to claim innocence because they don't have the slightest idea of what they are blamed for! They don't even accept their guilt!’ This UANPs’ narrative indicates the Ukrainian aim to hold the Russian state and its citizens accountable.

Diaspora representatives speak about holding an international tribunal, modeled on the Nuremberg trials, to try the Russian president and his closest allies: ‘Putin is the maddest dictator of the time! He and his puppets should be put on trial in the Hague!’ The UANPs hold that Russia should be demilitarized, denuclearized, and excluded from all international organizations.

An important argument made by the UANPs on behalf of support for Ukraine is that the country is not only its right to choose democratically how to live but is also defending freedom worldwide. While recognizing that freedom and democracy are imperfectly realized, and also currently contested, within most or all of the world's nations, Ukraine is defending these values at a very high cost: ‘Ukraine protects Europe and the whole world!’; ‘Ukraine protects Europe and democracy, and NATO and EU should protect Ukraine!’. American national security, too, is endangered: ‘And don't forget to contact your Congress members to tell them you’d like to see more support for Ukraine, as that's in the national security interests of the United States.’

The members of the Ukrainian diaspora constantly express gratitude to the civilized world, which is demonstrating unprecedented solidarity in providing military equipment and humanitarian aid, and in imposing sanctions to undermine Russia's ability to continue its war against the people of Ukraine. at Ukraine's allies around the globe are the diaspora's heroes, inspiring Ukrainians worldwide to fight and eventually win: ‘The world's support is unprecedented! We are grateful to all our supporters for helping us win!’; ‘The United States played a leading role in forging an international coalition to sanction Russia for its actions in Ukraine.’

The Ukrainian diaspora representatives claim that Russia has incorporated multiple modes of warfare, including conventional strategies, irregular tactics, and formations, terrorist acts with indiscriminate violence and coercion, criminal disorder, and propaganda. The diaspora gives special attention to the last of these – Russian propaganda – and is finding effective ways of countering it: ‘Ruzzian propaganda has become a powerful weapon that has no borders or rules. The influence of #terrorussia propaganda is very strong worldwide and is used to manipulate the public opinion’. Ukrainian Americans refer to their responsibility for countering and winning the information war. And they acknowledge their own shortcomings:

The Ukrainian diaspora points out that Russian soldiers target every Ukrainian town: ‘Putin's horde does not care about ‘patriotism’! The only incentive for them to fight is profit! They aim to steal as many jewels, household appliances, and alcohol as possible through robbery and terrorizing the civilian population!’ The diaspora draws attention to many aspects of Ukraine's beleaguered situation today, ranging from the theft of several hundred thousand tons of grain and looting of the ancient Ukrainian gold in Melitopol to war crimes committed against civilians who have been killed trying to flee hostilities in the vehicles with the signs ‘Children’ on them. The diaspora recognizes and condemns as well Russia's closing of Ukrainian humanitarian corridors and deportation of thousands of people to Russia:

This article has focused on the central narratives of the Ukrainian-American non-profit organizations, which has evolved and currently represent a diasporic identity of Ukrainian-Americans that combines ethnic and civic identifications and commitments.

In 2014–2022, the UANPs consolidated (with one another or in some other way?) their launchings of fundraising campaigns to collect money (to avoid repetition of ‘fund’) and raise awareness about the war. Their narratives continued to talk broadly about Ukrainian culture and history but focused increasingly on the threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and the detailed consequences of the full-scale invasion. In this way US-based Ukrainian non-profits are dealing with Ukraine's geopolitical role in the twenty-first century, its humanitarian and military needs, its peacetime human potential. The parts played by non-Ukrainian actors are examined also: Russia's undermining of the world's security architecture; the role of the US in the Russian-Ukrainian war; Ukraine's global partnership with democratic allies, and Ukrainian-Americans’ on-going contributions to Ukrainian society. These narratives have evolved over the past decade, changing with internal and external circumstances and becoming more action-oriented (See Table 1). This signifies the reinforcement of the civic identification throughout three periods of 2014–2022 and corresponds with the activity priorities of the Ukrainian civil society after the full-scale invasion (ISAR Ednannia Report 2023), which spotlighted assistance to the Ukrainian army and victims of Russian aggression.

Since the full-scale invasion in February 2022, UANPs, in keeping with discourse trends in Ukraine, modified their representations of the Russian state, qualifying it as ‘terrorist,’ ‘criminal’ and even ‘genocidal.’ Ukrainian Americans also introduced geopolitical narratives that foreground the agency of Ukraine as it protects the world and receives support from the democratic countries. Ukrainian-Americans have also kept up with and communicated to the public in detail what is happening in war zones in the country. The performative embodiment of the civic identification of Ukrainian-Americans encourages interested Americans to call, email, petition, and send letters to the White House, Congressional representatives, and the United Nations, urging support for Ukraine. That outreach extends to communication also with NATO and the European Union. UANP social media pages, websites, and videos express appeals for solidarity with Ukraine as a sovereign country that has every right to join Europe and reject Russia's economic coercion and military blackmail. Thus, the threats of late 2021 and the full-scale invasion of Russia enunciated new fields for consolidation with Ukrainians related to war and its consequences. Being Ukrainian in 2022 means uniting against a common enemy and raising awareness about global security threats.

The UANPs have a double mission: to represent and strengthen Ukrainian identity, and to present that identity, and the urgency of this moment to Ukrainians, to American society and the global audience. UANP members express themselves at four (overlapping) levels of representation. On the individual level, their ‘I-narratives’ speak about their personal backgrounds and experiences. The institutional level articulates the needs and achievements of the solidarity organizations they belong to. Here the messages report accomplishments and encourage future undertakings: ‘we-narratives’ convey institutional representations or amalgamate personal and collective messages. The community level advocates on behalf of the Ukrainian-American diaspora, considered locally or regionally. The national level enunciates the consensus of Ukrainians in the US, in Ukraine, and globally. This level sets a geopolitical agenda and reinforces Ukraine's international effectiveness.

Since 2014, the UANPs have responded with solidarity to assist Ukrainians in their liberation struggle, advocating for Ukraine as a country of free, strong, peace-loving, and proud people that have resisted Moscow's imperial ambitions for centuries. Ukrainian Americans foreground a contemporary, cosmopolitan, pro-Western Ukrainian identity. They are proving that Ukraine is on the same page with the civilized world in terms of aims and values. The very language of the UANPs shares and contributes to the new linguistic formulations for talking about war and peace that originate in Ukraine.

In 2014, the UANPs started establishing contacts with a Ukrainian civil society as open as ever before to communication with the world beyond Ukraine, and these collaborations have amplified throughout 2014–2022. Since February 24, 2022, the UANPs have been articulating the active role of the Ukrainian civil society in rapid aid delivery on the ground, thus illustrating the credibility of Ukrainians to the world. Their resilient character demonstrates bottom-up processes in Ukraine that have arisen to compensate for the lack of prompt-responding state mechanisms (which so often in the past have been commandeered by the Russian state) and that embody a democratic, participatory Ukrainian identity. The UANPs continue to articulate Ukrainian identity through their social media pages, websites, YouTube channels 24/7, etc., making their voices heard in the USA, Ukraine, and around the globe. UANP advocacy campaigns, rallies, pickets, fundraisers, and other events that showcase a vibrant Ukrainian identity with its cultural heritage, historical legacy, technological potential, civil leadership, and most importantly the human capital that has the capacity to build a free and independent Ukraine.

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).