Open Society Foundation

NEW YORK/BERLIN/KYIV—The Open Society Foundations today are pledging an initial $25 million to launch the Ukraine Democracy Fund and urge other funders to join us in supporting civil society in Ukraine in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assault on democracy.

This initiative builds on Open Society’s more than three decades of work in Eastern Europe to support human rights organizations, independent journalists, and other civil society groups. The aim of this fund is to join with private foundations, philanthropists big and small, and the private sector to raise $100 million over the duration of the crisis and its inevitably protracted aftermath.

“We have one simple message: we will never abandon Ukraine,” said Alex Soros, deputy chair of the Open Society Foundations. “As Putin tries to wipe the country off the map, we will do all we can for the people of Ukraine. We urge others to step forward and join us.”

“This is a defining moment for open societies,” said Mark Malloch-Brown, president of the Foundations. “Whatever the Kremlin might say, it is clear that what Putin is really afraid of is neither NATO nor nuclear weapons, but a free and flourishing democracy on his doorstep.”

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