Ukrainian National Information Service (UNIS) [Українська національна інформаційна служба] – an information bureau which existed in London from 1939 to 1941.
UNIS was established in the spring of 1939 by Stephen Davidovich, who had been sent to London by the leadership of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) to be its representative in Great Britain. It was formally sponsored by the Ukrainian National Federation of Canada (UNF) which was founded in 1932 at the initiative of the OUN. UNIS was based at King’s Bourne House, 229-231 High Holborn, London WC1.
The work of UNIS consisted mainly of gathering information on matters relating to Ukraine and publication of the Ukrainian Bulletin (May 1939 to April 1941). In this work Davidovich was assisted by a number of former associates of the Ukrainian Bureau, with which he himself spent some time before establishing UNIS.
In 1941 an attempt was made to transfer responsibility for UNIS to the Ukrainian Canadian Committee, which was formed in November 1940 as a coordinating body for Ukrainian organisations in Canada (now the Ukrainian Canadian Congress), but this was not achieved. It became increasingly difficult to continue operating the bureau, largely owing to the UNF’s failure to attract sufficient funds. The bureau also came under pressure from the British authorities after the Soviet Union became an ally of the United Kingdom as a consequence of the German invasion of the USSR in June 1941. In the autumn Davidovich closed UNIS.