10 June 2026
(PHOTO: Pylyp Orlyk Foundation)
The winners of the first all-Ukrainian essay contest "Is it possible to expel Russia from the UN?" have been announced in Kyiv. A student from Odesa was among the finalists.
This was reported by Intent.
The event was held within the framework of the international initiative #UnRussiaUN, which promotes the issue of depriving Russia of its seat in the United Nations and the UN Security Council.
The competition aroused interest among students. The jury received dozens of entries from all over the country, and 14 participants from different Ukrainian universities made it to the final stage.
Artem Mykolaychuk, Chairman of the Board of the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation and co-founder of the #UnRussiaUN initiative, noted that the participants offered a number of new arguments and approaches to revising Russia's status in the UN, which can be useful not only in the academic environment but also in practical diplomatic work. According to him, the competition confirmed the high level of training and potential of Ukrainian youth.
During the finals, students defended their research in front of a jury consisting of well-known diplomats, scholars and experts in international relations. Director of the Department of International Organizations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Sergiy Dvornik expressed his belief that the contestants' work could be useful for Ukrainian diplomacy and find practical application.
The first place and a prize of UAH 20,000 went to Sofia Avdiuk, a student of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. In her paper, she focused on international legal mechanisms that allow us to question the legitimacy of Russia's membership in the UN as a successor state of the USSR.
Yevhen Kostohryzov, a student of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, took second place. He emphasized the need to combine legal instruments, international advocacy and consistent diplomatic work to achieve results.
The jury awarded the third place to two participants at once - Ruslana Kistechok from Lviv Polytechnic and Kateryna Opanasenko from the Institute of International Relations of the Kyiv National University. Both students emphasized the importance of combining theoretical knowledge with practical experience in international law and diplomacy.
The final stage of the competition included 11 students from leading Ukrainian higher education institutions. Among the finalists are Daniil Burdelnyi (Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University), Karina Gromyk (Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University), Nikita Kardash (State University of Trade and Economics), Oleksandr Lyashevskyi, Anastasia and Kateryna Opanasenko, Artem Tkachenko and Dmytro Fialkovskyi (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv), Myroslav Mykhalchyn (National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy), Kyrylo Kharchenko (National University of Odesa Law Academy), and Ivan Tsymbal (Vasyl' Stus Donetsk National University).
The organizers emphasized that the main goal of the competition is not only to support young researchers, but also to form a new generation of Ukrainian diplomats, internationalists and lawyers capable of defending Ukraine's national interests in the international arena and offering practical solutions to modern challenges.
At the end of May, a graduate of Odesa University, Serhii Silantiev, who now works at one of the leading universities in the UK, returned to his alma mater with a series of lectures and scientific workshops. ONU has launched an international academic exchange program that gives students access to modern neurophysiology and world science.
Анна Бальчінос