Vladimir Putin - World's Number One Terrorist: Implications for U.S. Policy

(TRS) in cooperation with the (ACU) will hold a Congressional press conference the afternoon of April 9 to highlight the terror of Vladimir Putin since his rise to power, including the FSB apartment bombings of 1999, the downing of the MH17 airliner killing 287 innocent people, and the war crimes that have been committed in Ukraine including the Bucha massacre, the torture and M**der of Ukrainian POWs, the killing of thousands via the bombing of civilian targets, and the abudction of 20,000 Ukrainian children. The press conference will take place in conjunction with the Ukraine Action Summit, organized by the American Coalition for Ukraine (ACU) in Washington DC, from April 6-9.

As the United States seeks to negotiate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, the press conference will examine the implications of Putin’s acts of terrorism against his own people, and against the people of Ukraine since Russia's invasion in 2022, and of Putin's violation of prior international agreements. Speakers will also discuss the danger of trusting Putin to live up to agreements, and the conditions for a sustainable agreement to end the war. Speakers at the press conference will include the following as well leading Members of Congress on this issue:

· David Satter is a journalist, historian, the author of six books on Russia and the Soviet Union, a documentary film director, and serves as Vice Chairman of The Remembrance Society. A former Moscow correspondent of the Financial Times of London (1976-82), he has followed Russian events for almost five decades. In September 2013, he was accredited as a Radio Liberty correspondent in Moscow. Three months later, he was expelled from Russia becoming the first U.S. correspondent to be barred from Russia since the Cold War. Mr. Satter is the world’s leading expert on the 1999 apartment bombings that took place in Russia, and will describe how Putin came to power through an act of terror and has remained in power on that basis, including the case of the downing of MH17.

· The Deputy Mayor of the Bucha City Council from 2022-2023, Mychajlina Skoryk, will describe the horrific atrocities that occurred when Russia invaded the city of Bucha in 2022 and indiscriminately massacred in the streets dozens of civilians and prisoners of war. These war crimes are being investigated by the International Criminal Court, which has issued an international arrest warrant against Putin.

· Ukrainian human rights lawyer and civil society leader, Oleksandra Matviichuk, is director of the non-profit organization Centre for Civil Liberties, CCL, (Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 2022). Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, her organization has recorded more than 72,000 war crimes committed by the Putin regime. Ms. Matviichuk will outline the war crimes documented by her organization including the abduction by Russia of 20,000 Ukrainian children.

· Alex Drueke is a former American prisoner of war in Russia. After 9/11, Alex joined the US Army, where he served for 12 years. He completed two tours of duty in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. When he saw the illegal invasion of Ukraine, Alex felt a calling to assist them in defending their democracy. After several months training Ukrainian Soldiers, Alex and a fellow Alabamian were captured by Russian soldiers while serving in GUR (Military Intelligence) north of Kharkiv. For 105 days, Alex survived daily torture, beatings, electrocution, starvation, and other war crimes at the hands of his Russian captors.

· Ambassador James “Jim” S. Gilmore III is a Former U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The US Senate confirmed Mr. Gilmore as U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE on May 23, 2019. In 1997, he was elected as Virginia’s 68th Governor. Mr. Gilmore traveled to Ukraine in May 2021 and headed up a delegation. He met with numerous Ukrainian cabinet and national security officials.

· Marianna Tretiak, MFA, MBA, is a proud 1st-generation Ukrainian-American and Philadelphia Native. She worked for over 10 years in the entertainment industry as a writer & producer before completing her MBA. Since the start of the full scale invasion of Ukraine, she has turned her attention to mobilizing support for Ukraine. She founded the National Advocacy Committee within the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America (UNWLA), North America’s oldest and largest Ukrainian women’s organization, and currently serves as an Officer-At-Large on the Executive Board. Marianna is also one of the founders of the American Coalition for Ukraine chairs its board of directors.

Event Venue

The U.S. Capitol Visitor Center (Room SVC 203), First Street Southeast, Washington, United States