United Methodist Women Condemns Invasion of Ukraine

For Immediate Release

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2022 – Harriett Jane Olson, CEO and General Secretary of United Methodist Women today issued a statement following the invasion of Ukraine:

“United Methodist Women is watching this Russian aggression against the Ukraine in horror and in fervent prayer. We have worked for years with women’s peace networks in Eastern Europe and we stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian women and people against this unjustified invasion and war. The loss of life, human suffering and displacement that has already begun creates disproportionate harm to the region’s women and children.

“We call on Russia to immediately stop the war and abide by international law. In contrast to the ineffective responses to the aggression of 2008 against regions in Georgia and 2014 against the Crimean region of Ukraine, the international community must do everything in its power to stop this war, including the strongest possible sanctions. The rights and protection of women and children are already being violated and they must be defended.”

United Methodist Women is the women’s mission organization within the United Methodist Church focused on the needs of women, children, and youth for more than 150 years.

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Contact: Yvette Moore, ymoore@unitedmethodistwomen.org