Press Releases

  WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) will honor a Ukraine native with Maine ties as a virtual guest to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address scheduled to be delivered at 9 p.m. EST tonight. Yanina Nickless, a University of Southern Maine graduate who lives in Kennebunkport, is from the Kherson region of Ukraine, where her family is fighting for their lives and for democracy amid the unprovoked Russian invasion against her sovereign home country. Every year, each member of Congress is permitted to invite one constituent to attend the president’s address. 

“For the past week, the world has witnessed Vladimir Putin’s violent attempt to overthrow the sovereign democracy of Ukraine. But it’s the countless examples of courage by Ukrainians like Yanina’s family that has united the free world—rallying behind democracy and against autocracy—as the Ukraine people defend their homeland. Under President Biden’s leadership, the U.S. stands firmly against Russia’s war,” Congresswoman Pingree said. “It’s truly an honor to have Yanina join me virtually tonight as President Biden further unites our nation with his State of the Union address. Yanina and her family’s heartbreaking story deserves to be heard on the global stage—joining a chorus of courage in the fight for freedom.”

“My country, Ukraine, is at war right now. Every day I wake up, I hope my parents wake up too,” Yanina, 27, said. “I’m staying strong for them and for my country and I believe in the USA and in the world. Thank you, Congresswoman Pingree and President Biden, for not being silent and for supporting a democracy in Ukraine. Ukrainians will never forget!”

Yanina Nickless, of Ukraine, stands in front of a piece of the Berlin Wall on display in Portland, Maine on the eve before President Biden’s State of the Union address.

Click here to watch a video message from Yanina ahead of the address. 

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