THEH Published U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXXVII No. 1 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2019 $2.00 Moscow rejects appeal Ukraine, Russia impose more mutual sanctions of France and Germany for Ukrainian sailors’ release as Crimea border fence is completed by Russia by Mark Raczkiewycz RFE/RL KYIV – Ukraine and Russia exchanged a The Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry new round of tit-for-tat sanctions late in has rejected what it says are unaccept- December as martial law in 10 Ukrainian able demands by Germany and France regions expired the same month. Russia to release Ukrainian soldiers held by also completed a 37-mile border fence on Russia. The statement by the Russian the Ukrainian territory of Crimea on Foreign Affairs Ministry on December December 27 that separates the annexed 29, 2018, followed an appeal by peninsula from mainland Ukraine. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and As martial law expired on December 26, French President Emmanuel Macron 2018, the National Security and Defense in a statement on December 28. Council (NSDC) said it imposed additional Russia continues to hold the 24 sanctions on an unspecified number of Ukrainian sailors after capturing them “Russian companies, businessmen, politi- along with their Ukrainian naval ves- cians and deputies, [and] employees of secu- sels in late November near the Kerch rity forces who actively supported or pro- Federal Security Service of Russia Strait, which links the Black Sea and Russia completed a 37-mile fence two meters in height on December 27, 2018, on the moted aggressive actions against Ukraine.” Sea of Azov. Ukrainian territory of Crimea that it annexed. It separates the peninsula from main- Restrictive measures were also imposed Moscow alleged that the vessels land Ukraine. on the people who held phony elections in had illegally entered Russian territori- the occupied parts of the Donetsk and seizure of Ukrainian sailors during Russia’s More than 1,600 Russians were denied al waters near Crimea, which Russia Luhansk regions in November 2018. aggression against Ukraine in the Kerch entry to Ukraine during the one-month occupied and annexed from Ukraine Measures were additionally taken against Strait on November 25, 2018, and their ille- period of martial law, according to the in 2014. the “military servicemen, judges and law gal detainment in Russian prisons,” the Ukraine and most United Nations enforcement officers involved in the illegal NSDC said. member states do not recognize the (Continued on page 22) annexation. Ms. Macron and Ms. Merkel said in their joint statement on December 28 that these “excessive inspections” were a source of “deep concern.” Transatlantic Task Force assesses Ukraine electorate’s mood, cyberthreats “We call for all ships using the Kerch by Adrian Karmazyn Strait to be given safe, free and unhin- dered passage, and for the immediate WASHINGTON – The Transatlantic Task and unconditional release of the Force on Elections and Civil Society in Ukrainian sailors. They too must be Ukraine held its third international video- allowed to spend the holidays with conference during which experts in their families,” the two leaders stated. Washington, Kyiv and Brussels character- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov ized the upcoming March 31 presidential said Russian President Vladimir Putin election in Ukraine as “unpredictable” and had discussed demands to free the “wide open.” sailors with Chancellor Merkel. The Transatlantic Task Force was estab- However, Mr. Peskov said Russia lished by the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation’s would “act in accordance with Russian Friends of Ukraine Network (FOUN) and the law,” Russian news agencies quoted Reanimation Package of Reforms (RPR) him as saying on December 29. Ukrainian NGO coalition to support demo- The European Union and the cratic, free and fair elections in Ukraine. At United States say Russia’s actions the conference on December 19, 2018, the were illegal and have called on Washington moderator and FOUN Moscow to immediately return the Democracy and Civil Society Task Force co- German Marshall Fund vessels and their crews to Ukraine. chair Jonathan Katz (senior fellow, German Orest Deychakiwsky, Jonathan Katz and Stephen Nix during the conference at the Ms. Merkel and Mr. Macron also Marshall Fund) reminded the audience that German Marshall Fund. welcomed a ceasefire that took effect the broader goal of the trans-Atlantic initia- and Civil Society Task Force Co-chair Orest was Stephen Nix of the International at 12:01 a.m. on December 29 in the tive is “to better institutionalize the engage- Deychakiwsky set the tone for the discussion Republican Institute (IRI). In that poll, Ms. conflict area of eastern Ukraine. ment of civil society in Ukraine with U.S. and with questions about the electoral prospects Tymoshenko had the support of 17 percent “The approach of the New Year’s European policy makers, opinion makers, of pro-Russian candidates, the impact of the of likely voters with Mr. Poroshenko, and Orthodox Christmas holidays think tanks and civil society organizations creation of an independent Orthodox Volodymyr Zelensky, Anatoliy Hrytsenko must serve as an opportunity for the that are focused on Ukraine and focus on Church of Ukraine, and the possibility of a and Yuriy Boyko Mr. Nix characterized the stakeholders in the conflict in eastern Ukraine’s transatlantic integration” and serious challenge to incumbent President presidential election as “a wide-open race.” Ukraine to focus on the needs of civil- democracy. And he expressed hope that Petro Poroshenko and former Prime He mentioned that IRI will conduct more ians, who have suffered all too long as whatever the outcome of the election the Minister Yulia Tymoshenko from a “reform- polling early in 2019 that should provide a result of this conflict and its conse- next government “will be committed to the ist bloc” presidential candidate. additional insights as the election date quences,” the leaders said. reform path that’s… necessary for Ukraine’s Offering a snapshot of voter sympathies draws closer. democracy” and “economic growth.” in Ukraine based on polling conducted in (Continued on page 27) In his opening remarks, FOUN Democracy late September and early October 2018 (Continued on page 15) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2019 No. 1 WINDOW ON EURASIA Most Ukrainians oppose special status for Donbas, Presidential campaign kicks off Zelenskiy made his announcement on New Year’s Eve. If he were to win the election, Mr. but some are ready to offer some autonomy Three months before votes are due to be Zelenskiy might find it easy to slip into the cast, the Ukrainian presidential campaign role of president. He currently stars in the officially kicked off on December 31, 2018. by Paul Goble region once it is back under Ukrainian con- popular television comedy series “Servant trol rose from 3.9 percent to 6.6 percent. President Petro Poroshenko has not official- of the People,” where he portrays a regular The majority of Ukrainians remain In 2017, the Berlin center found, only 16 ly announced he will seek a second five-year schoolteacher who becomes president. The against giving special status to the Donbas, percent were ready to offer autonomy of term but is widely expected to. Billboards of nomination of candidates with the Central as Moscow demands, but over the last year any kind to the Donbas. In 2018 that figure Mr. Poroshenko dot cities across Ukraine, Election Commission will last until February an ever larger share are prepared to con- rose to 25 percent. highlighting his position as commander of sider expanding autonomy for the region 3, and the commission should announce a Four other results of the poll are note- the country’s armed forces and his role in final list of presidential candidates by along with others. That’s something from worthy: securing Ukraine an Orthodox Church inde- which the Donbas, once brought back February 8. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, pendent of Moscow. After taking 54 percent with reporting by the Kyiv Post and TASS) under Ukrainian control, would presum- including the United States in talks about of the vote in the 2014 election, Mr. ably benefit as well. the• DonbasThe share crisis of roseUkrainians from 15 opposed percent toin Poroshenko’s public approval ratings have Jailed activists’ messages published That is the finding of a new poll by 2017 to 25 percent in 2018, while 72 per- plummeted, namely amid ongoing econom- Berlin’s Center for East European and Imprisoned Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh cent said that they supported the introduc- ic woes and a lack of progress on reforms International Studies (zois-berlin.de/filead- Sentsov, a Crimean native who opposed tion of United Nations peacekeepers as a and cracking down on corruption. More min/media/Dateien/ZOiS_Reports/ZOiS_ than 10,300 people have died in the war in Russia’s 2014 takeover of the Ukrainian Report_4_2018.pdf) and reported by means of resolving the dispute with Russia. peninsula, has written in a letter to the (That question was not asked in 2017.) eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed sepa- ratists who hold parts of two provinces have Moscow-based Novaya Gazeta newspaper that he is not “going to give in.” He wrote in members of a civic nation rather than an been fighting against government forces Deutsche Welle (dw.com/ru/исследова since April 2014. As of now, Mr. a letter published on December 28, 2018: “I ние-большинство-украинцев-отвер ethnic• Ukrainians one. In 2017, increasingly 37 percent identify said they as a-466 21373). Poroshenko’s main rival appears to be Yulia do not expect good news [in 2019].... But it гают-идею-особого-статуса-донбасса/According to the poll, the share of were part of a civic nation; in 2018, 49 per- Tymoshenko, a former prime minister who does not mean that I am going to give in, be Ukrainians favoring a return to the status cent do.