Lesia Vasylenko

Lesia Vasylenko
Леся Василенко
Ukrainian parliamentarian Lesia Vasylenko
People's Deputy of Ukraine
Incumbent
Assumed office
29 August 2019
Personal details
Born
Lesia Volodymyrivna Vasylenko

(1987-03-31) 31 March 1987 (age 37)[1]
Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Political partyHolos (2019–present)
Children3
Parent
Alma materTaras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv;
University College London
OccupationLawyer, politician

Lesia Volodymyrivna Vasylenko (Ukrainian: Леся Володимирівна Василенко; born March 31, 1987) is a Ukrainian lawyer and politician serving as a People's Deputy of Ukraine in the 9th Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada. Vasylenko is a member of the Ukrainian permanent delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union's Bureau of Women Parliamentarians. She is the founder of Legal Hundred [uk], a human rights non-governmental organization that provides assistance to servicemen and veterans.

Early life and education

Vasylenko was born in Kyiv to Volodymyr Vasylenko, a human rights activist.[2] She completed a master's degree in international law at the Institute of International Relations [uk] of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and an LL.M. at University College London.[2]

Career

Vasylenko worked as a corporate lawyer.[2] At the beginning of the Euromaidan revolution in 2013, she protested frequently at the Maidan Nezalezhnosti.[2] After visiting a hospital during the war in Donbas in June 2014, Vasylenko learned that wounded soldiers were unaware of their rights to compensation.[2] Many of the soldiers she spoke with struggled to pay for their medical treatments. In January 2015, she founded Legal Hundred [uk], a human rights non-governmental organization that provides assistance to servicemen and veterans.[3][2] In 2016, Vasylenko was named by the Kyiv Post as one of the top 30 young under-30 leaders.[4]

In June 2019, it was announced that Vasylenko and Oleksandra Ustinova would be joining the Holos party.[5] In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Vasylenko was elected a People's Deputy of Ukraine of the 9th Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada.[6][7][8] She is a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management.[9] Vasylenko is a member of the permanent delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.[10] Vasylenko is a member of the Ukrainian parliamentary delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union[11] where she serves as president of its Bureau of Women Parliamentarians.[12] She is co-chair of the interparliamentary relations group to the United Kingdom.[13] On 12 December 2019, Vasylenko joined Humane country [uk], an inter-factional association to promote humanistic values and prevent cruelty to animals.[14]

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Vasylenko armed herself with several guns to protect her family.[15] She said on 26 February 2022 that the Russian military was targeting Ukrainian civilians to make the country surrender.[16] On 1 March, Vasylenko evacuated her three children from her home in Kyiv.[15] On 4 March, she said the invasion was the start of World War III.[17]

Vasylenko became one of the initiators of the international #unrussiaUN[18] campaign aimed at excluding Russia from the UN.

References

  1. ^ "Василенко Леся Володимирівна" [Vasylenko Lesia Volodymyrivna]. lb.ua (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Romanenko, Maria (1 December 2016). "Lesia Vasylenko: NGO gives free legal aid to soldiers, and it all started with a trip to a military hospital - Dec. 01, 2016". KyivPost. Archived from the original on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  3. ^ Sokolenko, Natalia; Tuzov, Dmytro. "The number of appeals of anti-terrorist operation soldiers and their families concerning protection of the rights grows, - Lesya Vasylenko". Hromadske (in Ukrainian).[dead link‍]
  4. ^ Yakutenko, Anna (2 December 2016). "Kyiv Post awards Top 30 Under 30 young leaders - Dec. 02, 2016". KyivPost. Archived from the original on 5 February 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  5. ^ "До партії Вакарчука приєднались правозахисниця та громадська активістка". 1NEWS.COM.UA (in Ukrainian). 7 June 2019. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Lesia Vasylenko". Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Central Election Commission". Ukrainian Central Election Commission. Archived from the original on 11 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Парламентські вибори 2019: хто пройшов у Верховну Раду України" [New Verkhovna Rada: who went to parliament]. 24 Канал (in Ukrainian). 28 August 2019. Archived from the original on 11 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Verkhovna Rada Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management". Verkhovna Rada. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Став відомий склад нової делегації України в ПАРЄ". European Pravda (in Ukrainian). 17 September 2019. Archived from the original on 18 September 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Ukrainian parliamentary delegation took part in the 141st Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Belgrade". Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Bureau of Women Parliamentarians". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  13. ^ "У Верховній Раді створено депутатську групу з міжпарламентських зв'язків зі Сполученим Королівством Великої Британії та Північної Ірландії" [A parliamentary group on interparliamentary relations with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has been established in the Verkhovna Rada]. Verkhovna Rada (in Ukrainian). 29 October 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019.
  14. ^ "Гуманна країна. У Раді створили міжфракційне об'єднання з метою захисту прав тварин". nv.ua (in Ukrainian). 12 December 2019. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  15. ^ a b Ali, Taz (2 March 2022). "MP says she has her gun ready as being armed is 'matter of survival' for women in Ukraine". inews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  16. ^ Lovett, Samuel (26 February 2022). "Russian forces have changed strategy to target civilians, says Ukrainian MP". The Independent. Archived from the original on 10 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  17. ^ Frei, Matt (4 March 2022). "'The world is already in World War Three', Ukrainian MP says". Channel 4 News. Archived from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  18. ^ "Russia Doesn't Belong in the United Nations". Time. 24 February 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
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