Volodymyr Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelensky

As Republicans get ready to pull the plug on Ukraine, Ukrainian support for their president and military remain near the highs of more than 600 days ago when Russia launched its invasion.

Despite a sluggish counter-offensive, heavy battlefield losses, constant bombardment of their infrastructure and serious economic challenges, 81 percent of Ukrainians back president Volodymyr Zelensky, and a whopping 95 percent are confident in the military, according to a Gallup poll released Oct. 16.

The US State Dept. on Oct. 26 announced the release of a new tranche of weapons and equipment to aid Ukraine on the battlefield. It also promised to work with Congress to help Ukraine secure its future.

But the Biden administration can’t do it alone. Ukraine supporters must step up their PR efforts to keep Congress in the fight, especially with the rise of “MAGA Mike” Johnson to the House Speaker post and calls for increasing military support for Israel.

The United Help Ukraine nonprofit organization, which was formed in Washington in 2014, is looking for a PR firm to mount a pro bono campaign to build support for Ukraine.

PR firms should rise to the occasion.

Turning up the heat on COP28. More than 130 companies with combined revenues of $1T are calling for participants at the COP28 United Nations climate conference to support the phase out of fossil fuels, the primary cause of climate change.

“Our businesses are feeling the impacts and cost of extreme weather events resulting from climate change,” says the letter organized by the We Mean Business Coalition.

The letter calls on the COP28 attendees to seek outcomes that will lay out the groundwork to transform the global energy system toward a full phase-out of unabated fossil fuels and halve emissions this decade.

That’s going to be a tough sell as COP28 will be held Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 in Dubai, a fossil fuels powerhouse.

It promises to be a lively affair.

Where do we sign? APCO Worldwide unveiled a climate and biodiversity practice on Oct. 23, just ahead of COP28.

Its mission is to guide clients to toward a zero-carbon future without sacrificing the bottom line.

Trevor Neilson, co-founder of i (x) Net Zero, a leading sustainable platform, is global chair of the practice.

He minced no words, calling the “climate crisis an existential threat to all life of Earth” and stressing the need to decarbonize via thoughtful, precise strategies.

APCO’s climate team also includes Lynn Davidson, who served two years as an advisor to British politico Alok Sharma, who was president of COP26.

Davidson’s expertise will come in handy at COP28.