INSIDE: l UNA announces scholarship for Philadelphia District – page 5 l Hetman Ivan Mazepa’s coat of arms found in Baturyn – centerfold l Former Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk visits Chicago – page 12 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit association Vol. LXXXIX No. 12 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MARCH 21, 2021 $2.00 FOR THE RECORD Zelenskyy singles out oligarchs, Kyiv probes G-7 foreign affairs ministers condemn Russia’s continued actions former officials over Russia’s lease in Crimea to undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty Ukraine moves to nationalize coveted defense firm The text of the following statement was released on by Mark Raczkiewycz and accepting these documents, was aware of their conse- March 18 by the G-7 foreign affairs ministers of Canada, quences,” the SBU said in a news release. France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and KYIV – The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the coun- Russia invaded and eventually seized the Ukrainian penin- the United States of America and the High try’s domestic intelligence agency, on March 12 announced sula in March 2014, which precipitated the Donbas war in Representative of the European Union. that it is investigating former and current government offi- two easternmost provinces a month later that has so far cials for treason related to the extension of Russia’s lease of killed more than 14,000 people and internally displaced at We, the G-7 foreign affairs ministers of Canada, its Black Sea Fleet (BSF) in Crimea. least a million more in Europe’s only ongoing bloody conflict. France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and The probe was launched a day after the National Eleven years ago, after the agreement was signed in the United States of America and the High Security and Defense Council (NSDC) met to discuss eight Kharkiv – Ukraine’s second largest city – scuffles broke out Representative of the European Union, are united in agenda items, one of which was the so-called Kharkiv in parliament as the Verkhovna Rada convened to ratify the our condemnation of Russia’s continued actions to Accords of April 21, 2010, when the presidents of Ukraine lease’s extension. Lawmakers pelted parliamentary speak- undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and Russia signed an agreement for the extension of the er Volodymyr Lytvyn with eggs as he pushed through the and independence. lease until 2042. vote shielded by umbrellas. Pro-presidential lawmakers Today, seven years after Russia’s illegitimate and National security chief Oleksiy Danilov added that “the guarded the rostrum leading to pockets of brawls erupting illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of circumstances under which the agreement” was signed by in the legislative chamber. Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, we reaffirm our then-President Viktor Yanukovych and his Russian coun- Writing for London-based Chatham House think tank unwavering support for and commitment to the inde- terpart, Dmitri Medvedev, would be investigated. In addi- then, geopolitical analyst James Sherr said that Mr. pendence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of tion, the 236 lawmakers who voted on April 27, 2014, to Yanukovych’s move was “shortsighted” and had “compro- Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. ratify the agreement would be “scrutinized,” he said. mised important elements of Ukraine’s independence for The U.N. Charter, the Helsinki Final Act and the As a result, the SBU said, “the signing of this document the sake of internal consolidation and short-term econom- Paris Charter clearly state the fundamental principles led to an increase in the number of personnel of military ic and political gains.” of respect for the territorial integrity of any state and formations and special services of the Russian Federation In exchange for the BSF lease extension, Kyiv received a the prohibition of any use of force to change borders. involved in the annexation of the territory of the natural-gas discount of $100 for every 1,000 cubic meters By its use of force against the territorial integrity of Autonomous Republic of Crimea.” purchased from Russia. Ukraine, Russia has clearly violated international law Already on March 16, the SBU conducted searches in The analyst said the agreement ensured “that Ukraine’s and contravened these principles. parliament and its main scientific and expert department, relations with Russia will continue to be structured by We unequivocally denounce Russia’s temporary at the NSDC, foreign affairs ministry and Cabinet of opaque practices, economic dependency and limited diplo- occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Ministers. matic and geopolitical options.” and the City of Sevastopol. Russia’s attempts to legiti- “During the searches, documents were found that show mize it are not, and will not, be recognized. We con- that the leadership of the state at the time, before signing (Continued on page 14) demn Russia’s violations of human rights on the pen- insula, particularly of Crimean Tatars. We call on Russia to respect its international obligations, allow access to international monitors and to immediately release all those who are unjustly detained. We wel- Ukrainian World Congress expels Latvian come in principle Ukraine’s initiative to establish an International Crimean Platform to consolidate the international community’s efforts on Crimea. member group for ‘anti-Ukrainian’ stance We also firmly oppose Russia’s continued destabili- zation of Ukraine, especially Russia’s actions in certain by Mark Raczkiewycz areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, disregard- KYIV – The biggest umbrella organization representing ing the commitments it made under the Minsk agree- Ukrainians worldwide has for the first time in more than ments. The full implementation of the Minsk agree- 50 years expelled a member group. ments is the way forward for peace. Russia is a party The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) on March 13 to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, not a mediator. ejected the Association of Ukrainian Societies in Latvia We welcome the recommitment to the ceasefire (AUSL) for the group’s alleged “anti-Ukrainian position” implemented on July 27 last year, which has signifi- and promotion of the “‘Russian World’” ideology, according cantly reduced violence in the conflict area. However, to a news release from the UWC. the conflict continues to claim lives and cause serious Based in Riga, the banished organization had, since at damage to critical infrastructure. We deplore recent least 2014 when Russia invaded Ukraine, published mate- military escalations by Russian backed armed forma- rials and engaged in activities that promoted Ukraine as “a tions at the line of contact. We call on the Russian brotherly nation of Russia” and would not acknowledge the Federation to stop fueling the conflict by providing bloody Donbas war as “an act of aggression by Moscow financial and military support to the armed forma- and instead described it as a civil war,” UWC regional vice tions it backs in eastern Ukraine, as well as by grant- president for Central and Eastern Europe Vira Konyk told ing Russian citizenship to hundreds of thousands of The Ukrainian Weekly over the phone from Estonia. Ukrainian citizens, and to instead ensure that steps Echoing the UWC statement, Ms. Konyk said the recently taken by Ukraine aimed at helping improve Ukrainian-Latvian group was closely monitored on social people’s lives on both sides of the line of contact are media, websites and in materials it published over the last www.kremlin.ru seven years. (Continued on page 15) A Statue of Kyiv-Rus Prince Volodymyr the Great is (Continued on page 11) unveiled on Moscow’s Red Square on November 4, 2016. 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MARCH 21, 2021 No. 12 ANALYSIS While Zelenskyy promises peace, Ukraine sees record number of COVID deaths behind the hackers who it said had carried out the attack. Kyiv has previously accused Ukraine registered a record daily high of Moscow of orchestrating large cyberattacks Ukraine’s army faces serious challenges 289 coronavirus-related deaths over a as part of a “hybrid war” against Ukraine, 24-hour-period on March 17, leading the within the military: “If I was quieter and but Russia denies this. The FSB did not by Mykola Vorobiov prime minister to urge local authorities to did not raise any problems [in the army] to immediately comment on the latest accusa- Eurasia Daily Monitor impose stronger restrictions to contain its the command, military service would have tion. The SBU did not say whether any spread. Ukraine last month prolonged a On March 3, the Russian proxy repre- been more comfortable for me” (YouTube, damage had been caused in the latest inci- lockdown until the end of April but allowed sentatives of the so-called Donetsk March 2, 2021). dent, which it blamed on an FSB-controlled regions with fewer COVID-19 cases to ease People’s Republic (DPR) reportedly gave During a trip to the frontline last month, hacker group it identified as Armageddon. some curbs. Health Minister Maksym permission to their military to launch pre- In February, Ukrainian cyber authorities President Zelenskyy affirmed that Stepanov said a record number of emptive attacks against Ukrainian forces accused unnamed Russian Internet net- Ukrainian units are allowed to proportion- Ukrainians were taken to hospitals with along the frontline (Armiyadnr.su, RBC, ally respond to instances of enemy fire works of attacks on Ukrainian security and COVID-19 on March 16: 4,887 people, defense websites, and of trying to dissemi- March 3). Despite both sides announcing a (Ukrinform, February 11). But despite such almost 15 percent more than the previous comprehensive truce last July, 14 assurances, many on-the-ground com- nate malicious documents through a Web- highest figure of 4,250 people registered on based system.