The Ukrainian Weekly, 2021

INSIDE: l Obituary: Prof. Bohdan Medwidsky, Ukrainian folklorist, philanthropist – page 4 l Charitable Fund of St. John’s Church helps impoverished in Ukraine – page 12 l Ukrainian Pro Hockey Update: Brady Tkachuk has arrived in Ottawa – page 14 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit association Vol. LXXXIX No. 23 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JUNE 6, 2021 $2.00 Ukraine-Belarus row deepens Bipartisan U.S. Senate delegation visits Ukraine, as both countries exchange sanctions reaffirms support for pro-democratic efforts www.president.gov.by Self-proclaimed Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Sochi on May 29. by Mark Raczkiewycz Belarus and Russia until October 1. Ukraine U.S. Embassy in Ukraine has been moving toward disconnecting From left: U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Chris KYIV – Ukrainian-Belarusian relations from the Soviet-inherited power grids with Murphy (D-Conn.) visited a memorial wall on June 2 dedicated to fallen Ukrainian further deteriorated this week as both its two neighbors and has plans to integrate soldiers in the undeclared war against Russia near Saint Michael’s Square in Kyiv. sides imposed sanctions on one another with the European ENTSO-E system by following the forced landing on May 23 of a 2023. by Mark Raczkiewycz Committee and co-chair of the Senate passenger plane in Minsk where an exiled In response, Minsk on May 28 imposed Ukraine Caucus, and Sens. Jeanne Shaheen Belarusian journalist and his Russian girl- six-month licensing restrictions on a series KYIV – A bipartisan Congressional dele- (D-N.H.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), both friend were detained. of imports from Ukraine, “ranging from toi- gation of three U.S. Senators visited Ukraine of whom sit on the same committee, Western powers and NATO called the let paper and beer to farm machinery and on June 2 to reaffirm bicameral legislative arrived for a one-day visit. incident aviation piracy and most European durable goods,” Ukrainian Deputy Economy support for Ukraine amid Russian aggres- Their main message during a cloudy day Union countries banned flights from Minister Taras Kachka said on Facebook. sion and efforts to implement pro-demo- was for Kyiv to forge ahead with strength- Belarusian-registered planes. Kyiv followed “The individual licensing regime means cratic reforms. ening democratic institutions and clamp suit on May 29 by imposing overflight bans manual control of the import of Ukrainian U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), senior from Belarus, affecting Belarusian state- products to Belarus,” he said. member of the Foreign Relations (Continued on page 12) owned airlines Belavia, the third largest air Belarus was Ukraine’s seventh largest carrier that services Ukraine. trading partner in the first quarter of this Ukraine’s energy regulator also this week banned electricity imports from (Continued on page 14) Odesa appeals court acquits Right Sector Ukrainian World Congress joins growing international activist Sternenko on robbery charge call for moratorium on Nord Stream 2 pipeline Court upholds kidnapping verdict Previously, the Primorsky District Court Ukrainian World Congress implications of Nord Stream 2 – particu- by Roman Tymotsko larly with respect to the security of of Odesa found Messrs. Sternenko and BRUSSELS – The Ukrainian World Ukraine and of the EU’s eastern member KYIV – An Odesa appeals court on May Demchuk guilty on all charges in an initial Congress (UWC) on May 28 appealed to states; undertake a detailed life cycle 31 acquitted Serhiy Sternenko and Ruslan ruling on February 23. Both men were sen- the federal government and to assessment of the project and have its cli- Demchuk on charges of robbing and tortur- tenced to seven years and three months in Democratic parties in Germany urging mate impacts examined by an indepen- ing local deputy Serhiy Shcherbych in the prison for abducting and robbing Mr. them to impose an immediate moratori- dent body; push forward with a common spring of 2015. The court, however, handed Shcherbych. um on Nord Stream 2. The Russian natu- European energy policy; resolve the Mr. Sternenko a one-year suspended sen- According to prosecutors, on April 24, ral gas pipeline, intended to bypass east- transatlantic differences relating to Nord tence for possession of an illegal weapon. It 2015, the then-members of Right Sector (a ern Europe and directly connect in Stream 2; and discuss principal issues of also upheld a lower court’s kidnapping ver- far-right Ukrainian nationalist political Germany, is scheduled to be completed controversy between the EU and the dict against Mr. Sternenko. party and paramilitary movement) wanted this summer. It has faced significant Kremlin and reassess Nord Stream 2 in In response to the ruling, Mr. Sternenko to seize Mr. Shcherbych’s bank card and European and international condemna- light of that discussion. said he was sentenced “for one bullet.” In phone. According to Mr. Shcherbych, tion for being a political weapon of the The UWC emphasized that Nord passing the sentence, the appeals court Messrs. Sternenko and Demchuk were try- Kremlin intended to use energy supplies Stream 2 undermines European cohe- judge said the presence of ammunition in ing to force him to resign from his post as a to control Ukraine and other Eastern sion and transatlantic relations, conflicts the quantity of one bullet nonetheless local deputy. Mr. Shcherbych was also the European countries. with the new European and German cli- deserved punishment. head of the district branch of the pro-Rus- The UWC said that a moratorium After the trial, Mr. Sternenko said that he sian Rodina party. should be used to clarify the strategic (Continued on page 6) would appeal the court’s decision to the Supreme Court of Ukraine. (Continued on page 9) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JUNE 6, 2021 No. 23 NEWS ANALYSIS Four setbacks to Western credibility in Ukraine Lawmakers urged to adopt ‘anti-oligarch’ law General Jens Stoltenberg, who on May31 underscored the alliance would continue to Germany, for Ukraine, for our Central and Ukrainian President Volodymyr seek dialogue with Moscow, while also by Vladimir Socor Zelenskyy urged parliament on June 2 to Eurasia Daily Monitor East European allies and partners… As exercising troops for defensive purposes. multiple U.S. administrations have made adopt a proposed law he said would curb “We are there to prevent conflict and war. Part 1 clear, this pipeline is a Russian geopolitical the influence of ‘oligarchs,’ or politically But the best way of doing that is to send a powerful business figures who have domi- Within the last three weeks, a series of project intended to divide Europe and clear message to any potential adversary weaken European energy security. The nated the country for decades. The text has that if one ally is attacked, the whole alli- decisions by leading Western powers not been released, but the authorities say seems to indicate a downgrading of Biden administration is committed to com- ance will be there,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. His plying with that legislation [U.S. Congress- the bill will include a definition of oligarchs comments were a reaction to Russia saying Ukraine on the scale of Western policy pri- that applies to a small number of wealthy orities. Taken partly in deference to Russia, mandated sanctions]. Any entity involved in it would deploy around 20 new military the Nord Stream 2 pipeline risks U.S. sanc- businessmen, and restrict their ability to formations and units close to NATO’s bor- these decisions risk demotivating shape policy. Ukraine’s allies and major Ukrainian reform efforts (hesitant though tions and should immediately abandon ders by the end of the year, which Moscow work on the pipeline” (State.gov, March 18). donors have consistently criticized Kyiv for justified by calling out increased military these are) and eroding Western credibility not reining in oligarchs, who own the lead- in Ukraine. Washington had defined this issue all along activity on its western flank. Mr. not merely as a Ukrainian but as a ing television channels and influence politi- Stoltenberg, however, said NATO had The North Atlantic Treaty Organization cal decision-making. “The bill does not vio- (NATO) has scrapped the meeting of the European and transatlantic issue, and the stepped up its exercises and ramped up its administration had acted in alignment with late the fundamental rights of people who readiness in response to Russia’s interfer- NATO-Ukraine and NATO-Georgia commis- fall under the definition of an oligarch, but sions that had been envisaged to be held a bipartisan majority in Congress. ence in Ukraine and an increased Russian On May 19, however, the Biden adminis- only defines the circle of these people and military presence in the Baltic Sea, during the alliance’s upcoming summit in establishes the rules of their transparent Brussels. United States President Joseph tration announced its decision to “waive” Kaliningrad and the Black Sea. “This is one those sanctions – i.e., exempt the Gazprom- relations with government officials,” the of the main reasons why NATO over the last Biden’s administration has decided to office said. “In particular, it will regulate exempt the Russian-owned Nord Stream 2 owned Nord Stream 2 AG project operating years has increased the readiness of our company from sanctions. Timed exactly to meetings and other relationships between forces and also why we have deployed bat- subsea pipeline from U.S. sanctions, thus government officials and those with signifi- effectively greenlighting that project as a the day of the Blinken-Lavrov meeting that tle groups to the eastern part of the alli- “set the table” for the Biden-Putin summit, cant assets.” Local media have said more ance,” Mr.

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