How Ukraine advocates are hoping to win the aid messaging battle

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Nov 08, 2023 View in browser   By Caitlin Oprysko Presented by With Daniel Lippman UKRAINE ADVOCATES RETOOL FOR LATEST AID PUSH: Advocates for sending Ukraine a fresh round of U.S. aid for its war against Russia have begun making adjustments to their advocacy strategy as the issue runs up against growing apathy for the cause among Republicans and their base. — A pair of pro-Ukrainian nonprofit groups last week fanned out across the country with a delegation of Ukrainian religious leaders to try and bolster public opinion on the war, and the groups are going up on the airwaves beginning tomorrow with an ad campaign that will soon expand to Republican House districts. — Meanwhile one of the Ukrainian government’s top paid lobbyists has in recent months been painting parallels between Ukraine’s national security needs and Israel’s, a case that looks more prescient — and that he says has resonated much more — in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israeli citizens. — “This is something that we've been pointing out since before Oct. 7, is that this is a collective battle here,” said Yorktown Solutions’ Dan Vajdich. Vajdich said he’s been warning that Iran’s support of Russia in Ukraine could be a harbinger for Israel and the broader Middle East, and is leaning into aid for Israel and Ukraine being linked. “There is now, I think, a much greater understanding that this is not just about … a theoretical emboldening of Iran,” he said. “Like that these are really direct consequences for Israel itself.” — The two nonprofits, Razom for Ukraine and Spirit of America, have been working to rally grassroots support for Kyiv since Russia's invasion. They're rolling out a six-figure ad buy, the details of which were shared exclusively with PI, that features a volunteer at a Polish refugee camp and a veteran who’s been working to provide Ukrainian soldiers with non-lethal supplies. — “If we let Putin win, he won’t stop with Ukraine. He’ll drag us into an even costlier war requiring more U.S. troops to fight overseas,” Ret. Col. Matt Dimmick says in one of the ads, which will run on TV and digital. “This is not the time to let up. Ukraine needs our support now more than ever.” — The ads come on top of a bid by Razom to appeal to religious communities in the U.S. that brought members of the Kyiv NGO group the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations to D.C. and Texas last week. — “They’ve come here essentially to say thank you to America,” Scott Cullinane, Razom’s director of government affairs, told PI last week just after the delegation had touched down in Houston, which was chosen in part because of Texas' political importance and its huge evangelical population. — “Ukraine is a place of religious freedom,” Cullinane said of the Ukrainian delegation’s message. “If you are worried about the state of Christians or other people of religion,” he argued, Russia is the chief transgressor. It’s one of the first such delegations Razom has brought over from Ukraine, Cullinane said, and puts a new face to the conflict. — “Oftentimes … in the Ukraine advocacy space, we hear a lot from foreign policy types or military types and they speak to one community,” Cullinane said, “but of course … this is a war that's being fought against all of Ukrainian society.” — Cullinane and Vajdich acknowledged that there’s a not insignificant faction of conservatives whose protectionist worldview makes them all but out of reach for Ukraine lobbying efforts, both now and for future aid packages. — But in Vajdich’s view, the war in Israel has been clarifying for at least one powerful political community that had been frustrated by House Republicans’ moves to politicize a joint aid bill. “I think that there are far, far more people now in the pro-Israel community who see this and who are also thinking, ‘Hey, the same people who are abandoning Ukraine now, could abandon Israel tomorrow.’” Happy Wednesday and welcome to PI. Send tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.   GET READY FOR POLITICO’S DEFENSE SUMMIT ON 11/14: Russia’s war on Ukraine … China’s threats to Taiwan … a war in Gaza. The U.S. is under increasing pressure to deter, defend and fight in more ways — but not everyone agrees how. Join POLITICO's 3rd Annual Defense Summit on November 14 for exclusive interviews and expert discussions on global security and the U.S.'s race to bolster alliances and stay ahead of adversaries. Explore critical topics, including international conflicts, advanced technology, spending priorities and political dynamics shaping global defense strategies. Don’t miss these timely and important discussions. REGISTER HERE.     A message from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center: The Hopkins Bloomberg Center is Washington’s newest source for research-driven insights that inform policy and shape the future of our world. Here, top policymakers and global leaders convene with experts from Johns Hopkins University to tackle some of the world’s most pressing issues, from international relations to artificial intelligence and beyond. Learn more about where Washington comes to think.   BANKS RALLY SMALL BIZ TO CREDIT CARD FIGHT: The Electronic Payments Coalition, whose members include financial institutions and credit card networks, has rallied a new coalition of small businesses to support their bid to tank Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Marshall’s (R-Kan.) swipe fees bill. — The newly formed Small Business Payments Alliance are on the Hill this week to argue that Durbin and Marshall’s bill, which is aimed at diluting Visa and Mastercard’s dominance of the credit card market, would primarily benefit the big box retailers that support it, while leaving smaller businesses with new compliance burdens and potentially less business if credit card rewards programs take a hit. — As part of the new coalition’s launch, a Harlem fitness studio owner and Brooklyn boutique owner were set to meet today with the offices of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) and the owner of an apartment management company from Greenville, S.C. was slated to meet with the offices of Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Rep. William Timmons (R-S.C.). An Atlanta business owner was also scheduled to meet with the offices of Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), while other small business owners had meetings on the books with members from Texas and Michigan, according to the coalition. HOW EMIRATI OIL GIANT SOUGHT TO BUFFER CLIMATE CRITICS: “The actions and plans of the United Arab Emirates petroleum company that [Sultan Ahmed] al-Jaber heads are raising questions about his agenda as he prepares to lead a global debate about turning away from fossil fuels,” our Corbin Hiar reports. — “Over the next five years, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. has committed to spending $150 billion as part of an effort to expand its oil and gas operations, which last year dumped more planet-warming gases into the atmosphere than over 130 countries.” — “Meanwhile, a ‘high’ probability exists that the company will fail to deliver on its promises to eliminate effectively those emissions within a couple of decades, according to an internal communications strategy document from December 2022 obtained by POLITICO's E&E News.” — “Al-Jaber’s competing priorities offer just one example of the challenge facing the climate talks that begin this month in Dubai, the commercial capital of the UAE,” and “the internal strategy document sheds new light on the company’s efforts to brace for” anticipated backlash to his role leading the climate talks. — “The previously undisclosed document, each page of which is labeled ‘strictly confidential,’ outlines efforts to downplay the company’s plans to expedite drilling while promoting its forays into capturing carbon and planting mangroves. That’s on top of the UAE government’s own extensive public relations and lobbying effort to build its — and al-Jaber’s — image as environmental leaders, a campaign that E&E News chronicled earlier this year.” ANNALS OF FUNDRAISING: “Employees of the little-known Brooklyn construction firm hadn’t donated to local political races going back more than a decade. Then all of a sudden they became heavy donors to Eric Adams’ campaign for mayor,” our Janaki Chadha reports. — “Now the firm, KSK Construction Group, is tied up in a federal probe into Adams’ 2021 campaign fundraising after 11 people who listed KSK as their employer wrote sizable checks to his campaign, a review of records shows.” — “About $14,000 in donations by executives and staff at the firm are part of a public corruption investigation into whether Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign was involved in a straw donor scheme to funnel money from the Turkish government through the company, according to The New York Times.” — “Almost a dozen people affiliated with the firm, which reportedly has ties to Turkey, each gave between $1,200 and $1,500 to the campaign on a single day in May 2021, a review of campaign finance reports showed. The contributions allowed Adams’ campaign to qualify for $18,000 in public matching funds. For nearly all of the individuals, the donations appear to be their first-ever political contributions.” SAM ALTMAN’S MONEY MOVES: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is weighing throwing his support behind Rep. Dean Phillips’ (D-Minn.) insurgent primary campaign against President Joe Biden in a major way, Puck’s Teddy Schleifer reports. Though Altman wrote a $200,000 check this year to support Biden, the powerful AI exec has reportedly been bearish on Biden’s reelection prospects since last year and met Friday with Phillips. — “Phillips’s people seem to have gotten the impression over the last few weeks that Altman is fully on board — one Phillips campaign adviser told me that Altman would be ‘integral,’ even ‘embedded’ in the operation,” though Altman “hasn’t yet committed to anything beyond spending more time with Phillips over the coming weeks and giving his candidacy serious consideration.” — “‘Sam is intrigued,’ said a person familiar with his thinking. ‘I don’t know what it will actually pan out into. Sam is very worried that Trump is going to get elected. That’s where he’s coming from.’”   PLAYBOOK IS GOING GLOBAL! We’re excited to introduce Global Playbook, POLITICO’s premier newsletter that brings you inside the most important conversations at the most influential events in the world. From the buzzy echoes emanating from the snowy peaks at the WEF in Davos to the discussions and personalities at Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to the heart of diplomacy at UNGA in New York City – author Suzanne Lynch brings it all to your fingertips. Experience the elite. Witness the influential. And never miss a global beat. BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION. SUBSCRIBE NOW.     Jobs Report — WilmerHale has named Alyssa DaCunha co-chair of the firm’s crisis management and strategic response group. She’s also co-chair of the firm’s congressional investigations practice. — Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, former Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), consultant Frances Townsend and BGR Group’s David Urban have joined Coinbase’s global advisory council. — Matt Grinney is now managing director of federal advocacy at SIFMA. He was previously vice president of strategic advocacy and policy communications. — Justin Hakes has joined the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies as vice president of public affairs. He was most recently vice president of communications and public affairs at the Consumer Data Industry Association and is a U.S. Chamber of Commerce alum. — Abigail Israel has joined Bullpen Strategy Group as a senior associate. She previously was an associate at Penta. — Ray Cole will join the University of Alabama System as vice chancellor for federal affairs. Cole previously spent the past 24 years with Van Scoyoc Associates. — SBS Comms has added Sourav Das as a vice president and Ariella Davner as a senior account manager. Das was previously a vice president at ICR and Danver was previously an account supervisor at BCW Global. — Erik Rasmussen has joined the Senate Aging Committee minority staff. He most recently ran Meridian Government Relations and is an American Hospital Association and House alum. — Kathryn Simpson is now Northrop Grumman’s corporate vice president and general counsel. She was a vice president and associate general counsel. — Mark Cruz has joined Gallatin Public Affairs as senior public affairs strategist. He was most recently chief of staff for the Oregon House of Representatives and is an Interior Department and House GOP alum. — Don Schaefer is joining Frontwood Strategies as a vice president focusing on paid and owned digital campaigns. He previously was a director at Curley Company. — Vuk Velebit has started the Pupin Initiative, a think tank dedicated to bolstering ties between Serbia and the U.S. He most recently was an international strategy fellow at Schmidt Futures and previously worked in startups and consulted on security issues in the Western Balkans. — DLA Piper has named Sam Knowles and Dawn Stern co-chairs of the firm’s government contracts practice. — Natalie Wyeth Earnest has formed strategic comms and public affairs consulting firm Village Green Advisors. She has been a top adviser to three of the last four Treasury secretaries. — Rachel Wolbers is joining Glen Echo Group as a vice president. She previously was head of global engagement at Meta’s Oversight Board and completed a Fulbright in New Zealand. — Jackson Puckey is now an associate at Bondi Partners. He previously was oversight legislative assistant for Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.). — Alex Bradley is now communications director at Katz Banks Kumin. He previously was strategic comms manager at Crosscut Strategies. — Jenny Zimmer is now senior director of campaigns and organizing at Mothers Out Front. She previously was national organizing director at RepresentUS. — Trent Edwards has returned to TechNet as senior vice president for membership and growth. He most recently was vice president of technology member development at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.   A message from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center:   New Joint Fundraisers None. 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