INSIDE: l UCU awards Ukrainian doctors Light of Justice Award – page 4 l UOL chapters host Souper Bowl fundraiser – page 9 l Plast makes a comeback in Minneapolis – page 13 The Ukrainian Weekly Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit association

Vol. LXXXIX No. 9 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 $2.00 Ukrainian national security council sanctions Protests ensue after Odesa anti-graft and pro- top Russian ‘proxy’ Medvedchuk activist Sternenko gets 7 years in prison by Mark Raczkiewycz chuk that transports Russian oil products – mostly diesel – to Ukraine and Europe, and Case is labelled ‘politically motivated’ – Russian President Vladimir five aircraft controlled by companies con- Putin’s loyal and chief point man in nected with the political heavyweight, Mr. Ukraine, lawmaker , Danilov said. and his spouse – Oksana Marchenko – were Mr. Medvedchuk and other politicians in hit with three-year sanctions on February his cohort have enjoyed privileged direct 19 by Ukraine’s National Security and flights to from Kyiv in circumven- Defense Council (NSDC). tion of existing travel bans to , which Ukrainian President Volodymyr has waged an undeclared war against Zelenskyy signed off on the restrictive mea- Ukraine since early 2014, killing more than sures the following day. 14,000 people in the east of the country. The imposed measures include the Ms. Marchenko holds a minority stake in freezing of assets, restriction of trade oper- the popular, nationwide 1+1 channel, ations, and a ban on the withdrawal of capi- which is majority-owned by oligarch Ihor tal from the country. Kolomoisky, who had backed the current They follow similar measures two weeks president’s election campaign. Ms. earlier that took three pro-Russian televi- Marchenko’s stake in 1+1 was also frozen. sion stations off the air. Those TV stations The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine tweeted in were responsible for more than 50 percent support of the measures, while reminding of the disinformation and Russian propa- the public that Mr. Medvedchuk has been ganda seen on Ukrainian television. Those under U.S. sanctions since 2014 for his role stations are also linked to Mr. Medvedchuk “in undermining Ukraine’s security, territo- and are nominally owned by his fellow rial integrity, and democratic institutions” party member in parliament, Taras Kozak. when Russia forcibly seized Ukraine’s RFE/RL Mr. Kozak’s common-law wife, Nataliya Crimean Peninsula. Serhiy Sternenko in an Odesa courtroom on February 23. Lavrenyuk, was also targeted in the latest The law stipulates that can round of sanctions. only be sanctioned for alleged terrorism, no by Mark Raczkiewycz abducting an openly pro-Russian local poli- “Sanctions are imposed on assets which other exceptions apply and none of the tician, beat and robbed him of 330 hrv (the belong to Mr. Medvedchuk,” NSDC chief imposed restrictive measures have been KYIV – Perhaps Odesa’s most visible pro- equivalent of $15 then) and his cell phone’s Oleksiy Danilov said. Property controlled proven in court. Ukrainian, anti-graft activist from the Euro- SIM card, though not his actual phone. by him and the other associates, who In September, an investigation by Maidan era was sentenced to seven years Mr. Sternenko pled not guilty while call- include five Russian citizens, would be Schemes, a joint program of Radio Free and three months in prison on February 23 ing the allegations politically motivated, seized, Mr. Danilov added. Europe/Radio Liberty and the Ukrainian by a court in the Black Sea port city. and was sentenced on only the battery and Nineteen entities were also sanctioned, First TV channel, found that a Russian oil Judge Viktor Poprevych of the Seaside robbery charges because the five-year stat- the most notable of which were an oil pipe- District Court ruled that Serhiy Sternenko, line in western Ukraine tied to Mr. Medved­ (Continued on page 11) 25, almost six years ago took part in (Continued on page 12)

First COVID-19 vaccine administered in Ukraine

After the injection, Mr. Horenko was monitored 500,000 doses arrive in Kyiv by a doctor for 30 minutes in order to ensure that from India he did not experience any severe side effects from the vaccination. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine by Roman Tymotsko has been approved by the World Health KYIV – Yevhen Horenko, an intensive care doctor Organization, and it has been approved for use in who works in a COVID-19 ward in the Cherkasy the United Kingdom, the and India. Regional Hospital, became the first person in The first vaccines were sent to the Cherkasy Ukraine to receive a vaccine against the coronavi- region, which got 16,200 vials of the vaccine – rus on February 24. The previous day, Ukraine enough to vaccinate 8,100 people. received 500,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Like most other COVID-19 vaccines, the Oxford- vaccine from India, a day after it was officially regis- AstraZeneca vaccination is given in two doses. tered for use in the country on February 22. Recent research published in the international Just before getting his vaccine, Mr. Horenko had medical journal The Lancet indicates that this par- his temperature taken and was given instruction by ticular vaccine is most effective when the interval the person who administered the vaccination. He between the first and second vaccination is three said that he felt fine, but was a little nervous about months or more. the historic moment. Ukraine’s Minister of Health, Maksym Stepanov, “Vaccination is a marker of a civilized society,” Mr. said the vaccine was safe and urged Ukrainians to Horenko said. “It is better to be warned [about the Courtesy of Oleksandr Skichko get vaccinated. side effects] than to be treated for complications of Doctors at Cherkasy Regional Hospital prepare to administer the the disease.” first COVID-19 vaccination in Ukraine. (Continued on page 11) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 No. 9

ANALYSIS

More contentious issues surface between U.S. awards Ukrainian anti-corruption figure on February 23 that “Iran committed multi- ple human rights violations in shooting Kyiv and Moscow in the Minsk Contact Group The editor-in-chief of a Kyrgyz investi- down Ukraine International Airlines flight gative website and a former Ukrainian PS752 and in the aftermath of the deadly prosecutor general are among 12 people those breaches. Three issues are the most attack. The inconsistencies in the official by Vladimir Socor who have been recognized by the U.S. salient: territory, border and international explanations seem designed to create a Eurasia Daily Monitor State Department as anti-corruption presence. maximum of confusion and a minimum of champions. The winners of the new The latest session of the Minsk Contact The Minsk One document clearly delin- clarity,” Ms. Callamard said in the text, International Anti-Corruption Champions Group (see EDM, February 18) lifted a cur- eated the Russian-controlled territory of which was reportedly delivered to Iranian Award were announced on February 23 tain’s corner on several disputed issues “certain areas of the and officials two months ago. “They seem con- by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who that had not been publicly aired thus far. regions” (Russian acronym: ORDLO), trived to mislead and bewilder.” After days said in a statement that the award recog- The Ukrainian delegation had raised these where “elections” would be staged and to of official denials following the crash, Iran nizes people who have worked tirelessly, issues in a position paper within the Minsk which a special status would apply. From admitted that its forces had inadvertently often in the face of adversity, to combat Group in November 2020 (see below) but September 2014 to February 2015, howev- shot down the Kyiv-bound plane, killing all corruption in their own countries. Bolot refrained from unveiling them outside this er, Russian and proxy forces pushed that 176 people on board, after firing two mis- Temirov, editor-in-chief of the Kyrgyz forum until now. The issues stem, largely, demarcation line deeper into Ukraine, cul- siles amid heightened tensions with the investigative website FactCheck, and from the Minsk One “agreements” (Septem­ minating with the seizure of the Debaltseve United States. But Iran’s civilian aviation ber 5, 2014, Protocol and Septem­ber 19, area. Six years later, Kyiv’s position paper in Ruslan Ryaboshapka, who was forced out authority in its final report from July 2020 2014, Memorandum) and Russia’s multiple the Minsk Contact Group (see above) seeks of his job as Ukraine’s prosecutor general cited “human error,” saying a broken radar violations thereof, which were carried over a return to the September 2014 demarca- last year in a parliamentary no-confidence system created communication problems into the Minsk Two “agreement” (Package tion lines. It argues that the territory poten- vote, were among the recipients. Mr. with a military unit. “The Iranian govern- of Measures, February 12, 2015) and were tially eligible for a special status must be Ryaboshapka was well-regarded by anti- ment claims it has nothing to hide, yet it promptly compounded by Russia’s viola- clearly defined on the map before any fur- corruption activists for his efforts to has failed to carry out a full and transpar- tions of Minsk Two (conquest of Debal­ ther discussion. Moreover, it is up to streamline and professionalize the scan- ent investigation in line with its interna- tseve, February 14, 2015). Ukraine’s parliament to delineate that terri- dal-ridden Prosecutor General’s Office in tional obligations. As a result, many ques- The just-held Minsk Group’s session tory, namely along the September 2014 Ukraine. He served as prosecutor general tions are left unresolved,” the U.N. rappor- coincided with the sixth anniversary of the demarcation lines, according to Deputy from August 29, 2019, until he left the teur said. The majority of the victims were United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) Prime Minister and Reintegration Minister post on March 5, 2020. Mr. Blinken said in Iranians and Canadians, but Afghans, resolution (February 17, 2015) that had Oleksiy Reznikov, commenting on the the statement announcing the awards that Britons, Swedes, and Ukrainians were also unanimously blessed the Minsk Two Minsk Contact Group’s session (Ukrinform, corruption threatens security, hinders among the dead. Ukraine said last month in “agreement,” thereby also accepting February 18). economic growth, undermines democracy connection with the first anniversary of the Russia’s massive violations of both the Minsk One also instituted a security and human rights, destroys trust in public tragedy that all five of those governments Minsk One and Minsk Two documents. zone on either side of the Russia-Ukraine institutions, facilitates transnational would “hold Iran to account to deliver jus- Farcically, Minsk Two is titled “Package of border in the conflict theater. That border, crime, and siphons away public and pri- tice and make sure Iran makes full repara- Measures to Implement the Minsk 410 kilometers in length, is internationally vate resources. “The Biden administration tions to the families of the victims and Agreements [Minsk One],” notwithstanding recognized as a section of the Ukraine- recognizes that we will only be successful affected countries.” Iran announced in the fact that Minsk Two ratified Russia’s Russia border, but Russia treats it de facto in combating these issues by working in December 2020 that the government had violations of Minsk One, rather than imple- as an ORDLO-Russia border. Russia was not concert with committed partners, includ- allocated $150,000 for the families of each menting it. Moscow takes the position that supposed to use that security zone for mili- ing courageous individuals who champion of the victims – an offer rejected by the the UNSC’s resolution conferred on the tary purposes such as staging military anti-corruption efforts and countries Ukrainian and Canadian governments, as Minsk Two “agreement” the standing of an operations or funneling war materiel. Yet working to fulfill their commitments to well as some of the families of the victims, international law. On these grounds, the the Russian military have done just that international anti-corruption standards,” who see it as an attempt to close the case Russian delegation asked the Minsk from day one to the present. The Mr. Blinken said. (RFE/RL) and escape accountability. Human Rights Contact Group to profess allegiance to the Organization for Security and Cooperation Iran tried to ‘mislead’ after downing jet Watch (HRW) marked the anniversary of Minsk Two “agreement” in connection with in Europe (OSCE) was supposed to have a the crash by accusing Iranian authorities of the UNSC resolution’s sixth anniversary monitoring presence in that putative secu- A U.N. special rapporteur has accused harassing and intimidating the victims’ (TASS, February 17, 2021). rity zone on a regular basis, but Russia has Iran of misleading denials and inadequate families instead of conducting a “transpar- This prompted the Ukrainian delegation thwarted this also. investigations after the accidental downing ent and credible” investigation. Flight 752 to respond that the Minsk One and Minsk The OSCE’s moderator of the Minsk of a Ukrainian passenger jet after takeoff was downed the same night that Iran Two “agreements” form together an indis- Contact Group, Ambassador Heidi Grau of from Tehran’s international airport in launched a ballistic-missile attack that tar- soluble whole. Kyiv had recently asserted Switzerland, has publicly endorsed January 2020. Agnes Callamard, a special geted U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Tehran’s air this view in its November 2020 position Ukraine’s position regarding the unity of rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or defenses were on high alert in case of retal- paper, titled “Plan of Reciprocal Steps,” to the Minsk One (memorandum and proto- arbitrary executions, said in a 45-page let- implement the Minsk “agreements,” which col) and Minsk Two (complex of mea- ter on the findings of a six-month inquiry (Continued on page 10) remains unpublicized. Bringing Minsk One sures) documents. Following the Contact back to the Contact Group’s agenda clearly Group’s session, Ms. Grau declared that all implies amending Minsk Two so as to three Minsk documents “constitute a uni- reverse Russia’s violations of Minsk One. fied political basis for a peaceful settle- The Ukrainian Weekly FOUNDED 1933 The political clauses of both Minsk ment of the conflict in Ukraine’s east” “agreements” (negotiations with Donetsk- (Ukrinform, February 18). This, however, An English-language newspaper published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., Luhansk toward their special status and is only a theoretical proposition, given the a non-profit association, at 2200 Route 10, P.O. Box 280, Parsippany, NJ 07054. “elections” there) are unacceptable to discrepancies between Minsk One and Yearly subscription rate: $90; for UNA members — $80. Ukraine. Hence, Kyiv is refocusing the dis- Minsk Two. A unified basis would require Periodicals postage paid at Caldwell, NJ 07006 and additional mailing offices. cussion on certain non-political clauses of harmonizing its components, presumably (ISSN — 0273-9348) Minsk One, demanding the reversal of through negotiation involving Kyiv and Russia’s breaches, and thus implicitly the Moscow as parties to the Minsk “agree- The Weekly: UNA: Tel: (973) 292-9800; Fax: (973) 644-9510 Tel: (973) 292-9800; Fax: (973) 292-0900 revision of Minsk Two, which incorporates ments,” and bypassing Donetsk-Luhansk as they were not parties. Postmaster, send address changes to: Donetsk and Luhansk’s envoys proposed The Ukrainian Weekly Editor-in-chief: Andrew Nynka Corrections that the Minsk Contact Group convene a 2200 Route 10 Editor: Matthew Dubas large-scale international conference, to be P.O. Box 280 The article “Metropolitan Epifaniy cele- hosted in the Belarusian capital, in order to Parsippany, NJ 07054 e-mail: [email protected] brates second anniversary of enthrone- form a generally agreed interpretation of ment” (February 21) incorrectly stated the Minsk documents. Promptly endorsed The Ukrainian Weekly Archive: www.ukrweekly.com that the divine liturgy was celebrated in St. by Moscow (the likely author), the confer- Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. In fact, the divine ence proposal would bring together gov- The Ukrainian Weekly, February 28, 2021, No. 9, Vol. LXXXIX liturgy was celebrated in St. Michael the ernment officials and independent experts Copyright © 2021 The Ukrainian Weekly Golden Domed Cathedral in Kyiv. The cor- from the Contact Group’s participating rection has been made online. sides, the Normandy forum’s countries (Russia, Ukraine, France, Germany), the The article “Ukrainians now legally enti- ADMINISTRATION OF THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY AND SVOBODA tled to service in Ukrainian” (January 24) U.N. Security Council’s member countries, incorrectly spelled the name of an activist and relevant international and European Walter Honcharyk, administrator (973) 292-9800, ext. 3040 and advertising manager fax: (973) 644-9510 quoted in the story. The correct spelling of organizations. The proposal was clearly e-mail: [email protected] that individual’s name is Sviatoslav designed to seek international acceptance Subscription Department (973) 292-9800, ext. 3040 Litynskyi. The correction has been made e-mail: [email protected] online. (Continued on page 10) No. 9 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 3

NEWS ANALYSIS Reforming territorial defense in Ukraine: danger in delay

by Yuri Lapaiev natural or anthropogenic catastrophes; and communications structures. sees risks of separatism (Ukrinform, Eurasia Daily Monitor engaging in counter-disinformation; orga- The second point of contention is relat- December 22, 2020). But according to nizing resistance cells in case of occupa- ed to the source of financing. According to Edvard Reshevskiy, the commander of a TD Late last year, on December 16, the tion; training civil personnel; and running the proposed bill, military equipment, battalion in the Donetsk region, only the Ukrainian parliament took up a new draft patriotic education. The TD will also ammunition, weapons and medical supple- most patriotic and reliable of all volunteers bill (No. 4504) on territorial defense engage in cyber defense, like in Poland or ments to TD units should be provided by are allowed to join the TD forces (Tyzhden, (Rada.gov.ua, December 16, 2020). The Estonia (Ukrinform, July 8, 2020). Most the MoD. But due to the decentralization July 20, 2020). proposed legislation, written by a group of focus would be on security and defense of reforms in Ukraine, other costs and A few days after its release, the draft bill lawmakers headed by Andrii Sharaskin, is territorial communities. Some of the TD resources (including fuel, training bases, was sent for revision to the Presidential based on recommendations from domestic functions are quite similar to the National communication systems and automobiles) Office, MoD and NSDC, with a replacement experts as well as foreign advisors on how Guard of Ukraine, but the latter is a regular for the TD would come from regional bud- expected no later than December 29, 2020 to reform Ukraine’s outdated system of force and law enforcement body within the gets (Ukrainian Military Pages, December (Ukrainian Military Pages, December 23, territorial defense (TD). The bill draws on structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 18, 2020). Most oblasts lack such resourc- 2020). But as of February 23, there is still the experience of foreign countries like without strong connection to the regions. es. Moreover, financing an additional no news regarding the new draft. Gen. Estonia, Poland and Lithuania. Currently, According to the draft, in the first stage, 80,000 troops could prove challenging Kryvonos, who was dismissed from his Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces oper- the TD will be 80,000-strong, including even for the national budget. Gen. position at the NSDC via presidential ate according to Chapter 3 of the Law on 10,000 regular military commanders and Bargilevich argued that the UAF should decree just days after the original presenta- National Defense, based mainly on Soviet- instructors as well as full-time civilian per- provide the necessary funding for the TD, tion of the TD bill (President.gov.ua, era doctrines. The last time it came under sonnel, mostly chosen from among current while some obligations of local and region- December 29, 2020), believes that the suc- review was back in December 2008 (Rada. TD service members. The bill demands that al government (including financial) should cessful modernization of the country’s ter- gov.ua, October 24, 2020). In 2014, all rap- the forces be ready within a few hours (the be restored (Defense Express, January 20). ritorial defense forces is “disturbing to the idly established TD units were transferred existing brigades use mobilization to fill all The third topic regards gun ownership. external and internal enemies of Ukraine” directly to the Ukrainian Armed Forces positions within 30 days) (ArmiaInform, According to one of the most prominent (ArmiaInform, May 26, 2020). In an inter- (UAF). Further changes came as a result of January 21). This change is crucial since advocates of the new law, Gen. Serhiy view with this author, on February 3, Gen. a 2016 order of the . Russian operations can ramp up in several Kryvonos – former deputy commander of Kryvonos asserted that most of the criti- And by 2018, the first TD brigades were hours, like the first wave of the occupation the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces cism of the draft law represented only created by merging preexisting smaller of and Donbas in 2014. and a former deputy secretary of the manipulation and conscious efforts to delay formations. At present, Ukraine fields one Additionally, the draft law turns volunteer National Security and Defense Council the process in order to prevent real TD brigade for each region (oblast) of the TD service into a new legal form of military (NSDC) – this could help citizens to defend reforms to the TD. As he contended, the country, except for temporarily occupied service; and it proposes special gun owner- their own land more effectively from an subordination to the defense ministry Crimea. These brigades are structurally ship rights for TD service members, in par- invading force (ArmiaInform, September reflects the wider range of proposed duties part of the UAF Ground Forces and subor- ticular, permitting them to store their per- 29, 2020). But other Ukrainian politicians accorded for the TD. And gun ownership dinated to the General Staff. TD brigades sonal weapons at home. and experts have strongly opposed this rights will be vital for a rapid response, have a cadre structure, with the command- The TD draft law almost immediately point as too risky. Denys Podanchuk, a especially in the border regions. er and chief of staff as regular (full-time) came under criticism from politicians and member of the MoD Volunteer Council, has military officers. All other service mem- some high-ranking military commanders. insisted that TD personnel should carry The article above is reprinted from bers are in reserve and train several times Most detractors concentrated on three top- their weapons only on military bases. Eurasia Daily Monitor with permission from per month or participate in military exer- ics. First, they critiqued the status of the Oleksiy Orestovich, an advisor at the its publisher, the Jamestown Foundation, cises. new TD as a separate formation subordi- Presidential Office, shares this view and www.jamestown.org. The key features of the newly intro- nated to the MoD. The newest edition of duced bill include the creation of a separate Ukraine’s Law on National Defense divided civil-military formation that would not the responsibilities of the minister of structurally be part of the UAF, and would defense and commander-in-chief: MoD Ukraine arrests ex-PrivatBank official as be subordinated directly to the Ministry of duties are concentrated in the field of polit- Defense (MoD). In addition to its current ical and administrative activities, while the U.S. prioritizes criminal probe of former owners responsibilities (guarding state borders; commander-in-chief commands the mili- RFE/RL two American associates based in Miami. securing local state administrations, mili- tary (Rada.gov.ua, October 24, 2020). Gen. The Justice Department last year filed tary command, control and communica- Anatoliy Bargilevich, the current com- The National Anticorruption Bureau of three civil forfeiture lawsuits in a Florida tions structures, as well as critical infra- mander of TD forces, wants the service to Ukraine (NABU) has arrested the former court against a U.S. real estate holding structure; carrying out anti-sabotage and stay inside the structure of the UAF deputy chairman of a Ukrainian bank at controlled by the two tycoons and run by counter-terrorism operations), the pro- (ArmiaInform, January 21). He insists that the heart of an FBI criminal investigation the associates. posed reformulated TD force will also be a separation could lead to the duplication as he attempted to fly abroad in the lat- However, a judge agreed last week responsible for assistance in responding to of existing functions and command, control est sign Kyiv is taking steps to tackle cor- with a Justice Department request to ruption and lawlessness. temporarily suspend the civil forfeiture Volodymyr Yatsenko was detained at proceedings amid concerns it could Boryspil Airport in Kyiv on February 22 harm the criminal investigation against Ukraine Caucus co-chairs: Nord Stream 2 after investigators forced the pilot of the the Ukrainian businessmen and their private jet he was traveling on to land, two American partners. the bureau announced in a tweet. “Allowing [the tycoons] to conduct pipeline must never see completion Mr. Yatsenko, who was on his way to discovery would expose the identities of Vienna after reportedly being tipped off witnesses who have provided and will WASHINGTON – On February 24, the co- undermine Ukraine’s security as it faces about his arrest, was charged with the provide information and testimony in chairs of the bipartisan Congressional down the seventh year of brutal Russian embezzlement of funds at PrivatBank, both the civil forfeiture actions and the Ukraine Caucus – Reps. Marcy Kaptur aggression and invasion, which has led to once the nation’s largest lender. criminal investigation,” the Justice (D-Ohio), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Mike the death of over 14,000 Ukrainians. It More arrests of management could Department said in its February 19 filing. Quigley (D-Ill.), Andy Harris (R-Md.) – would also deepen Europe’s energy depen- follow, the Kyiv Post reported. “If that occurs, the confidential infor- released the following statement after the dence on Russia, making our transatlantic The FBI is investigating the two own- mants may cease providing information, U.S. Department of State released its report allies and partners more vulnerable to the ers of PrivatBank – Ihor Kolomoisky and and, to the extent they are not reachable on Nord Stream 2 as mandated by the Kremlin’s political coercion. This is why the Gennadiy Boholiubov – in connection through process in the United States, Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act majority of our European friends oppose with accusations that more than $5 bil- they may make themselves unavailable (PEESA). The following statement released the pipeline’s completion.” lion was stolen from the lender through for future testimony. Potential sources of by the Ukraine Caucus reaffirms the “The U.S. Congress has voted twice on an fraudulent loans and that the money was information who have not yet been inter- Congressional intent that mandatory sanc- overwhelmingly bipartisan basis to place then laundered. viewed by the government would likely tions must be placed on the pipeline and all mandatory sanctions on the pipeline. While In a move that made international be deterred from coming forward” the those engaged in sanctionable activity. the administration has taken its first steps headlines, Ukraine was forced to nation- Justice Department said in its filing. Congress continues to stand with Ukraine to fulfill its obligations under PEESA, as alize PrivatBank in 2016 and pump more The tycoons deny the accusations and as that nation continues to protect Europe’s modified by PEESCA [Protecting Europe’s than $5 billion into the lender in order to neither Ukraine nor the United States eastern flank from Russian aggression and Energy Security Clarification Act], we fully stave off its bankruptcy. has filed criminal charges against them. malign influence. expect that the mandatory sanctions be The U.S. accuses Messrs. Kolomoisky Mr. Kolomoisky is one of the most “We remain deeply concerned with the swiftly placed on all entities engaged in and Boholiubov of using some of the influential tycoons in Ukraine and the threat a completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline sanctionable activity. Congressional intent laundered proceeds to buy assets in the U.S. government’s investigation into his would pose to transatlantic security,” the is clear – NS2 must never see completion.” U. S., ranging from metals companies to co-chairs said in a joint statement. “This commercial properties, with the help of (Continued on page 5) Russian malign influence project would Source: Office of Rep. Marcy Kaptur 4 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 No. 9

NEWS ANALYSIS UCU awards Ukrainian doctors The political struggle the Light of Justice Award in Kyiv heats up by Bohdan Nahaylo cent declared their support, while 23 per- cent opposed it. The battles at the heart of Ukraine’s The same group of sociologists reported political and interconnected economic sys- that 52 percent of Ukrainians believe the tems are intensifying. The stakes are being decision to impose sanctions against Mr. raised and clearly the knives are out. Medvedchuk was brought about by his pro- In this situation where, as is usual in the Russian position; 30 percent thought it was Ukrainian context, so much happens merely part of a showdown between oli- behind the scenes and transparency is not garchs. Also, 13 percent said it was done at a given, it is important to try and make the behest of the United States, and 10 per- sense of what is seen and what can be cent believed the move was meant to pres- gauged. sure the pro-Russian faction in parliament. During the second half of February Having struck a serious blow against Mr. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stepped Medvedchuk and his Russian patrons, Mr. up his counter-offensive on a broad front Zelenskyy has since also moved in dramat- against political adversaries ranging from ic fashion against Mr. Kolomoisky. On those viewed as Russia’s “fifth columnists” February 22, the National Anticorruption to corrupt oligarchs and energy barons, as Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) arrested the for- well as those claiming to be the only true mer deputy chairman of Privatbank, a patriots and defenders of Ukraine’s nation- Ukrainian bank at the center of an FBI al interests. He also called for the Kyiv criminal investigation, as he attempted to Ukrainian Catholic University Administrative Court, notorious for its cor- fly abroad. Light of Justice award winner Olha Martynenko (left) and Iryna Venzhynovych, who rupt practices, to be dissolved. The suspect, Volodymyr Yatsenko, was accepted the award on behalf of her late husband Ivan Venzhynovych. Those on the receiving end include not detained after the private jet he was travel- only Victor Medvedchuk, Russian President ing in was forced to return to Kyiv. He and by Roman Tymotsko ship in an effort to popularize examples of Vladimir Putin’s crony, but also rogue oli- two others have been charged with embez- such leadership in Ukrainian society. garch Ihor Kolomoisky, who is accused of zlement while at PrivatBank, once the – Olha Martynenko and Ivan “For me, the award is a great respect and embezzling billions from Ukraine’s largest nation’s largest lender. Venzhynovych received the Light of Justice gratitude not only to my work but also to bank – Privatbank – when he effectively Mr. Kolomoisky is a billionaire tycoon Award from the Ukrainian Catholic my colleagues,” Ms. Martynenko said after owned it, as well as Ukraine’s previous who owns major energy, metals and media University (UCU) at a ceremony here on receiving her award. president, another oligarch, Petro assets. He commands a sizable following February 17. The award recognized their “This year was difficult. It took away our Poroshenko, who continues to claim that among deputies in Ukraine’s parliament, moral, spiritual and ethical leadership. peace, sleep, and rest,” Ms. Martynenko said, he is Ukraine’s only real defender. including among Mr. Zelenskyy’s own For the first time since the award was referring to the global pandemic. “Unfortu­ At the beginning of February, acting on Servant of the People faction. The presi- established in 2010, it was presented post- nately, it took our colleagues away from us. the recommendations of the National dent’s supporters are now publicly calling humously to Mr. Venzhynovych, a family Instead, it taught us to value life, made us Security and Defense Council (NSDC), Mr. to task those who once depicted him as Mr. physician from Pochayiv, Ternopil Oblast, pay attention to doctors’ work and respect Zelenskyy approved sanctions against Kolomoisky’s “puppet,” or even “clown.” who died from COVID-19 in September it. In difficult times, many caring people three TV channels, owned in reality by Mr. So now the question of the quality of Mr. Medvedchuk. Those channels have been Zelenskyy’s team has come to the forefront. 2020. The award was accepted by his wife, extended a helping hand to us – without accused of threatening Ukraine’s state It is clear that the capable and usually polit- Iryna Venzhynovych, head of Pochayiv City them, we would not have survived. These security by being purveyors, during a time ically adroit Dmytro Razumkov, Mr. Hospital’s laboratory. Mrs. Martynenko is were philanthropists, international organi- of war, of Russian disinformation and pro- Zelenskyy’s former close associate during the head of the infectious diseases depart- zations, deputies, and ordinary people who paganda. the presidential election in early 2019 and ment at the Central City Hospital in bought us protective suits. That’s why we On February 19, the NSDC also imposed a former ally, is now but a barely disguised Rubizhne, . started calling them guardian angels. I am sanctions against 19 entities and eight indi- opponent. Additionally, Andriy Yermak, The event was held in UCU’s Sheptytsky glad that there are more and more such viduals, including Mr. Medvedchuk and his the president’s chief of staff, has been con- Centre in Lviv, with only laureates, organiz- angels, and they are now in Lviv as well wife, Oksana Marchenko. The sanctions spicuously silent and out of the picture in ers, and a handful of speakers joining the because you also support and give confi- were imposed on their property and recent weeks. event in person, while most of the audience dence that we are not alone in this struggle.” assets. Furthermore, just before that, the On the other hand, a new figure has sud- joined the ceremony online in order to Borys Gudziak, a co-founder of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) charged denly found the spotlight. Secretary of the keep socially distant during the ongoing award, president of the Ukrainian Catholic pro-Kremlin blogger Anatoliy Shariy with NSDC Oleksiy Danilov, who until the last COVID-19 pandemic. University, the archbishop of Philadelphia high treason and hate speech. month or so had remained in the back- “My husband would be extremely proud for Ukrainians and the Metropolitan of Predictably, these sudden moves against ground, is now front and center. The for- of this award if he was alive. And now it Ukrainian Catholics in the United States, the flagbearers of Russia’s fifth column pre- mer veteran and later senior official from remains a great honor for our children and stressed the importance of the awardees’ cipitated outrage in their ranks, as well as Luhansk, who stayed loyal to Ukraine, has me. I wish each of you good health and hap- work and their constant testimony of mod- in the Kremlin; charges of censorship and been Mr. Zelenskyy’s chief spokesman in piness, which will not be affected by any esty, selflessness and fidelity to moral prin- dictatorship were levelled against Mr. explaining why he has moved against Mr. virus,” said the laureate’s wife, Mrs. ciples. Zelenskyy and his team. Medvedchuk, his TV channels and the fifth Venzhynovych, during the award ceremony. “Once again, we have the opportunity to Public opinion polls provide a revealing columnists generally. And on TV Mr. This is the eighth Light of Justice award enjoy the light of justice,” Bishop Gudziak picture of the current state of affairs. Danilov has come across as calm, collected ceremony, organized by UCU’s Institute of said. “In this difficult time, we see so many According to the latest poll conducted by and a patriot. He has let it be known that Leadership and Management. This year, the good examples of heroic, selfless acts.” the Rating Sociological Group published on more “shocks” are to be expected shortly. award committee selected honorees from The Archbishop-Metropolitan also noted February 24, 58 percent of the respondents How has all this been reflected in the among individuals who have demonstrated that this year’s award ceremony was held supported the NSDC decision, while 28 most recent public opinion polls? moral leadership in the medical field. The without a member of the award committee, percent did not. Among those who were award is designed to draw attention to the well informed about this decision, 73 per- (Continued on page 5) importance of ethical principles in leader- (Continued on page 11)

The Ukrainian Weekly Press Fund: January 2021 Amount Name City State $40.00 Blahy Genya Beechhurst NY Kowalchuk Roman & Anisia Vero Beach FL $110.00 Kuzmowych C Great Falls VA $30.00 Wawryshyn Olena ON Shust Nestor Fairlawn OH $100.00 Danyliw Roman Pittsburgh PA $25.00 Hrycak Olga Morristown NJ $5.00 Masnyj Lydia North Royalton OH Horbachevsky Andrew Yonkers NY Karmazyn Olga Aliquippa PA Hrycelak Maria Park Ridge IL Omelczenko Victor West Hollywood CA TOTAL: $1,350.00 Paschuk Larisa Verona NJ Stec Andrew & Lydia Budd Lake NJ Pawlenko Natalie Brick NJ $20.00 Hanchuk Walter G & Renata Westfield NJ Sincere thanks to all contributors Serbyn Marika Rockville MD Ripecky R & A Chicago IL to The Ukrainian Weekly Press Fund. Zajtchuk Russ Chicago IL Sos John Y & Ulana Providence RI $65.00 Melnyczuk Askold Medford MA Sybydlo Bohdan Mississauga ON $60.00 Hron Ihor & Olya Osprey FL Szanc-Smarsh Larysa Brooklyn NY The Ukrainian Weekly Press Fund is the only $50.00 Kucewicz Ihor Wheaton IL $10.00 Cybyk Andrij Morris Plains NJ fund dedicated exclusively to supporting Stasiuk Demetrius Englewood FL Kish Steven North Arlington NJ the work of this publication. No. 9 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 5

led Ukraine’s seemingly impossible case in force again. If this continues, it means that Mr. Sternenko was sentenced on The political... international arbitration against Russia’s with the support of independent lawmak- February 23 to seven years in jail for kid- (Continued from page 4) giant Gazprom. Ukraine won the case, ers it has enough votes to pass bills unre- napping and illegal possession of weapons. which came with sizable economic bene- lated to constitutional changes. On February 24, investigative journalist According to a survey conducted by the fits. Meanwhile, other developments are Serhiy Leshchenko reminded Mr. Poro­ Rating Sociological Group published on Despite his notable contribution and turning attention from the key issues at shenko that it was he who approved the February 24, Mr. Zelenskyy and the Servant untainted reputation, or perhaps precisely hand. Opponents of the president, espe- transfer to Odesa of the scandalous judge of the People party continue to maintain a because of it, Mr. Vitrenko was unceremoni- cially Mr. Poroshenko, have been quick to who passed down Mr. Sternenko’s sen- lead in approval ratings. ously laid off from Naftogaz last May. Yet, a blame Mr. Zelenskyy for the unfolding, ugly tence. It is hoped that the appeals court, If presidential elections were held now, few months ago, Mr. Zelenskyy suddenly case concerning the trial of Odesa activist especially if an appeal takes place outside 23.1 percent of respondents who have remembered him and has sought to have Serhiy Sternenko. At this stage, however, of Odesa, will see that justice is done. made up their mind would support the him appointed as the energy minster – the Mr. Zelenskyy has no control over the cor- And so, the political infighting and incumbent president. On the other hand, energy sphere having traditionally been cru- rupt and criminal elements in Odesa’s recriminations continue. Fortunately, there 14.4 percent of respondents would vote for cial for the nation, but it has also been a feed- administration and court system. are signs that all of this is not just political ex-President ; 11.3 per- ing trough for oligarchs and their auxiliaries. Demonstrators have appeared on the mudslinging, but rather something far cent would vote for co-chair of the pro-Rus- Mr. Zelenskyy evidently sees Mr. Vitrenko streets of several cities and before the pres- more serious – a critical, and possibly sian Opposition Platform – For Life party as a potential valuable asset if he can get idential office building in Kyiv. defining, moment in the making. , and 10.9 percent for the lead- him on board at this delicate moment. er of the Batkivshchyna Party, Yulia Because he is not linked to any of the Tymoshenko. energy barons, Mr. Vitrenko’s candidacy for President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Medvedchuk Meanwhile, the Servant of the People energy minister, despite the president’s Ukraine arrests... was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2014 for party has recovered slightly and again tops backing, has been rejected twice in (Continued from page 3) undermining democracy in Ukraine. the parliamentary ranking with 19.7 per- December and January by a parliament in On February 2, Mr. Zelenskyy sanctioned cent approval, followed by European which the president’s own faction let him activities is being closely followed. three television stations believed to be Solidarity Party at 16.2 percent, the down badly because of its susceptibility to The billionaire owns key media, energy, owned by Mr. Medvedchuk. In late January Opposition Platform – For Life Party at 14.2 external influences from vested interests. and metals assets and is believed to have he announced an investigation into percent and the Batkivshchyna Party 12 He was left to operate in this acting role outsized influence over the administration Ukrainian individuals accused of interfer- percent. with substantially limited powers. of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. ing in the 2020 U.S. presidential elections. From this it is clear that if Messrs. On February 23, however, Mr. Zelenskyy Mr. Kolomoisky’s TV stations backed Mr. The moves come after President Joe Zelenskyy and Poroshenko remain irrecon- struck back utilizing a formula circumvent- Zelenskyy’s successful presidential bid. Biden was inaugurated on January 20. Mr. cilable – which in the present circumstanc- ing this blockade, as 267 of parliament’s The U.S., one of Ukraine’s biggest back- Biden knows Ukraine well, having served es appears to be the case – then Ms. 350 members voted to approve amend- ers financially and militarily, has repeatedly as the point man to Kyiv while serving as Tymoshenko’s stock rises as a potential ments to legislation that removed restric- expressed concern about oligarchic influ- vice president from 2009 to 2017. coalition partner for either of the first two tions on an acting minister’s duties and ence over the nation’s government and Political analysts say Mr. Zelenskyy is to keep the pro-Russian forces out, or as powers if the post remains unfilled. In economy. seeking to win over the Biden administra- the potential situational ally of the other words, Mr. Vitrenko is now able to act Washington has also complained about tion after a difficult relationship with the Opposition Block – For Life. Popular slo- as the de-facto energy minister, to the con- the lack of investigations into corrupt Trump administration caused by the 2019 gans about the need to defend the popula- sternation of all those who do not want to tycoons and officials and has tied some aid impeachment investigation. tion during the hardships caused by the see an independent, strong and experi- to improvements in judicial reform. COVID-19 pandemic and rising prices of enced specialist in that position. The arrest of Mr. Yatsenko, who was fly- Copyright 2020, RFE/RL Inc. Reprinted domestic fuel prices serve Ms. Tymoshen­ The vote was also significant in that it ing on a private plane owned by Mr. with the permission of Radio Free Europe/ ko’s cause. Small wonder she has begun signified that the Servant of the People fac- Kolomoisky, is the latest in a series of Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, calling for early parliamentary elections. tion – it provided 226 of the votes in favor moves by Kyiv to tackle cases that resonate Washington DC 20036; www.rferl.org (see One of the significant battles being (Mr. Razumkov being one of those who with the U.S. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-oligarchs- waged in recent week has revolved around abstained) – had regrouped after months of Mr. Zelenskyy last week approved sanc- kolomoyskiy-boholyubov-us-case-suspended- the figure of Yuriy Vitrenko, a maverick and being unruly and unpredictable in its tions on Viktor Medvedchuk, a tycoon and forfeiture-criminal-investagion/31115946. capable technocrat who masterminded and behavior and has begun acting as a unified lawmaker with close ties to Russian html). 6 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 No. 9

COMMENTARY The Ukrainian Weekly An effective dialogue Will anyone answer and a single phone call for the killings on Maidan? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on February 25 that he by Halya Coynash tives, are in Russia and have probably appointed former finance minister Oksana Markarova to be the country’s new Kharkiv Human Rights Protection received Russian citizenship. ambassador to the United States. Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba Group Mr. Zelenskyy later admitted that this proposed Ms. Markarova for the position in late November 2020, despite her having had been a political decision, but asserted no experience in the foreign service. At the time, Mr. Kuleba defended his decision, It has been seven years since the worst that the trials would go ahead. For a very saying that Ms. Markarova is “well known” in the United States, including at the State day of bloodshed on Maidan (known as long time this seemed a very empty assur- Department, Treasury Department, and at the Washington-based International Independence Square) left 49 activists ance. However, the Svyatoshynsky District Monetary Fund (IMF). dead and over 150 injured. Of the only five Court in Kyiv declared Messrs. Abroskin, Ms. Markarova’s nomination to the post is largely seen as an effort by Mr. men who face trial over the killings on Yanishevsky and Zinchenko to be in hiding. Zelenskyy’s administration to build closer ties with the U.S. In a statement announc- February 20, 2014, three are now in hiding, The move was aimed at getting them ing the nomination, Mr. Zelenskyy’s office said he had appointed Ms. Markarova to with the trial of the remaining two men placed on the international wanted list, focus on establishing “an effective dialogue” with the new presidential administra- only just beginning again. On February 17, which is a prerequisite to them being tried tion in the U.S., and to work with Congress to strengthen bipartisan support for Ukraine’s parliament finally voted in its in absentia. Ukraine. “The president emphasized that the ambassador should focus primarily on first reading on a bill which could make it On November 25, 2020, the court sepa- establishing an effective dialogue with the administration of the new President of possible to try the three fugitives in absen- rated the case against Messrs. Abroskin, the United States of America Joe Biden,” Mr. Zelenskyy’s office said. tia. According to lawyer Yevhenia Zakrev­ Yanishevsky and Zinchenko, and suspend- While Ms. Markarova does not have foreign service experience, reaction to the ska, important amendments must still be ed it until the accused men had been news of her appointment to the post has been positive. Morgan Williams, the presi- made and soon to this bill if there is to be caught, with the trial of Messrs. Marin­chen­ dent of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council, a Washington-based trade lobby group, any chance of receiving a verdict regarding ko and Tamtur continuing in December said Ms. Markarova’s appointment is a positive sign that Ukraine is taking steps the only Berkut officers to have been put on under presiding judge Serhiy Dyachuk at toward implementing badly needed reforms. trial over the killings which took place dur- the Svyatoshynsky District Court in Kyiv. Ms. Markarova “is considered a heavyweight in international circles, a reformer, ing the Revolution of Dignity. Mr. Dyachuk called the suspension a deci- and she hits the ground running in Washington because she knows a lot of the folks. Although 25 Berkut officers from a spe- sion forced upon the court, since any fur- It is a strong appointment,” Mr. Williams told RFE/RL. cial unit under the command of Dmytro ther delay could be viewed as the court tak- Ms. Markarova, 44, led Ukraine’s finance ministry from June 2018 until March Sadovnyk are believed to have been involved ing a certain position to help one side in the 2020. She has also played a significant role in talks with the IMF and bondholders in the shooting of activists, only six officers proceedings. that ultimately resulted in the restructuring of $15 billion of Ukrainian sovereign were ever taken into custody. Mr. Sadovnyk Essentially the trial of the three can only debt. Ukraine is also hoping to reach an agreement with the IMF over a $5 billion was arrested in April 2014, together with be resumed if either INTERPOL or some funding program that was approved last June, but has stalled because Ukraine has two of his subordinates, Serhiy Zinchenko other international body places the men on not implemented the necessary anti-corruption reforms. It is believed that Ms. and Pavlo Abroskin. There other subordi- their wanted list, or if Ukraine’s legislators Markarova’s appointment will help on that front. nates – Serhiy Tamtur, Oleh Yanishevsky pass the necessary amendments to the leg- But we are under no illusion regarding the task ahead for Ms. Markarova. The and Oleksandr Marin­chenko – were later islation on trial in absentia. United States has a long list of priorities it needs to tackle quickly, and it is believed arrested and taken into custody. The above-mentioned bill, which was that Ukraine is not high on that list. Mr. Zelenskyy has said repeatedly that he is still Mr. Sadovnyk vanished almost immedi- voted on in its first reading on February 17, trying to hold his first telephone call with Mr. Biden. In order for her to be effective, ately after judge Svitlana Volkova from the will not in its present form solve the prob- Ms. Markarova will need to convince Mr. Biden that Ukraine is a major priority. It is Pechersky District Court in Kyiv suddenly lem. While the bill excludes being on the here that the Ukrainian diaspora in the U.S. can help. Politicians respond and react decided to release him under supposed international wanted list as a condition for to pressure. If the past presidential election has shown us anything, it’s that our house arrest on September 19, 2014. Ms. trial in absentia, it does not envisage any Ukrainian American diaspora – while deeply divided – is incredibly passionate. Our Volkova was later charged under the crimi- other mechanism for defending the rights diaspora can and should channel this passion into bipartisan pressure on Mr. Biden’s nal code for issuing a knowingly wrongful of such individuals. This is why Ms. White House to pick up the phone when Ukraine calls. verdict. The court was, however, in no Zakrevska believes that amendments must hurry to examine the case and reviewed it be made within the next two weeks if there in May 2015. By the end of the trial in is to be any hope of a verdict with respect August 2020, Ms. Volkova was acquitted, to all five men in 2021. since several months earlier Ukraine’s In the October 2020 ruling, the court March Turning the pages back... Constitution Court declared unconstitu- stressed that the three men are accused of tional the article under which she was the gravest of crimes and that their prose- Twenty-seven years ago, on March 6, 1994, The Ukrainian charged. cution is in no way political. There were, 6 Weekly’s editorial highlighted the yearlong centennial celebra- The other five men remained in custody, therefore, no grounds for INTERPOL to tions marking the founding of the Ukrainian National charged with the killing of 48 activists on reject the request to issue Red Notices (that 1994 Association, the publisher of Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly Institutska Street. All five men admitted to they are wanted) with respect to Messrs. newspapers. having been in that part of the street, but Abroskin, Yanishevsky and Zinchenko. In 1994, celebrations were kicked off with a gala centennial they denied any part in the gunning down The ruling stated that the men would be concert that was held on February 19 at Carnegie Hall in New York, with a reception the of protesters. Although three of the men placed on the wanted list when an interna- following day at the UNA’s headquarters, at the time, in Jersey City, N.J. were later released under house arrest, the tional body with such jurisdiction took the As part of the continuing coverage of the UNA centennial, readers of The Weekly were trial continued and a verdict had been necessary action. directed to that issue’s centerfold and beyond, where a photo spread showcased the expected in early 2020. The problem here is that the former employees of the UNA, “because it is they who serve this organization’s membership and Then, in December 2019, it became clear search mechanism for CIS countries is not the community at large,” the editorial noted. that the men were to be released as part of functioning (and Russia has, after all, given The editorial explained: “They are the ones who process insurance certificates and an exchange of prisoners between the most fleeing Maidan suspects asylum and, answer insurance queries, handle applications for mortgage loans, take subscription Ukrainian authorities and the Russian- often, citizenship). INTERPOL, on the other orders, send out book orders, organize special events and serve advertisers. They typeset controlled Donbas militants. Their inclu- hand, has not once agreed to issue Red Svoboda, The Ukrainian Weekly and Veselka [a children’s supplemental publication], then sion in the exchange was bitterly opposed Notices with respect to any former print these periodicals, address them and mail them at the Main Post Office in Jersey City, by the families of the victims and their law- Ukrainian high-ranking official or Berkut or deliver them to newsstands in New York. They answer the phone and direct callers to yers and, seemingly, by the prosecutors in officer. There is thus a dead end with no the appropriate departments, they listen to readers’ and community members’ concerns the case, though it was ignored by trials in absentia able to take place. and often offer advice, information or help. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and then In her report for LB.ua, Sonya Roy notes “They help the news media and scholars who so frequently call for information, and Prosecutor General Ruslan Riabosha­ p­ka. that suspects in the Maidan killings include they translate the historic documents of our day so they are accessible to the non-Ukraini- The men were all freed from detention or not only Berkut personnel. According to an world (e.g. Ukraine’s declaration on state sovereignty and, later, its proclamation of house arrest on December 28, 2019, after a the public prosecutor, there are currently independent statehood). They are an American presence and an independent news cruel mockery of an appeals court hearing 11 criminal prosecutions underway over bureau in Kyiv, as well as a Ukrainian lobbying office in Washington. They are the face of where the outcome proved to have been the killings on February 20, 2014, with 33 the UNA to the world at large. And, to a large extent, they are representatives of known in advance. They were handed over suspects. Ukrainians, and yes, Ukraine, before the American and Canadian public and their govern- to the militants the following day. One of these suspects is Volodymyr ments.” Messrs. Marinchenko and Tamtur Kosenko from the Omega special unit, who This year, the UNA celebrates the 127th anniversary since its founding on February 22, returned to Kyiv in February 2020, assert- was arrested on February 18, 2020, and 1894. The editorial from 1994 underscored that the centennial celebration was for its ing that they were victims of persecution charged with the murder of Maidan activist employees as well, “a celebration for all those who’ve ever worked at the UNA Home Office and that they were determined to prove Oleh Ushnevych and the attempted murder or other UNA entities wherever they may be.” It was “a quiet, but heartfelt thank you to all their innocence. The whereabouts of of Vitaly Hukov, as well as with exceeding these dedicated people who work behind the scenes at the world’s largest Ukrainian fra- Messrs. Abroskin, Yanishevsky and official powers. He is accused of having ternal organization.” Zinchenko are not known, but it is likely Source: “A centennial appreciation,” The Ukrainian Weekly, March 6, 1994. that they, like many other ex-Berkut fugi- (Continued on page 15) No. 9 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 7

COMMENTARY Ukraine’s public enemy number one Nord Stream 2: Germany’s gift to Putin

by George Woloshyn him of “colluding” with Russia amidst an ongoing war. Collusion is easy for Mr. throws Ukraine ‘under the bus’ The judge’s ruling stunned the court- Medvedchuk who, contrary to Ukrainian by Jaroslaw Martyniuk its share to NATO and, adding insult to inju- room. For the first time since indepen- law, flies freely in his private jet to visit Mr. ry, has taken an unprecedented step of dence, a Ukrainian court – in clear violation Putin. He never misses a chance to lend aid As Mark Twain once remarked, “history imposing German taxes on U.S. military of the Constitution – ordered that a book be and comfort to the enemy. doesn’t repeat itself, but it sure rhymes.” In personnel stationed in the country. Little banned and the plaintiff’s name removed What has made it possible for Mr. 1716, the King of Prussia – then Frederick wonder President Trump decided to trans- from its contents. The judge, Maryna Medvedchuk to regain his footing and posi- William I – presented the ornate Baroque fer U.S. troops to Poland, closer to Ukraine, Zastavnenko, suspected of having ties to tion himself as a grave threat to Ukraine’s masterpiece, the Amber Room, to Tsar where they are vastly more effective. and property in the Russian-occupied statehood in less than two decades? The Peter the Great as a gesture of friendship It is ironic also that, while President “DNR” [Donetsk “people’s republic”], decid- answer is money and media. A large part of between Prussia and Russia, honoring a Biden cancels the Keystone pipeline and ed that the book “violates” the plaintiff’s his income comes from Mr. Putin’s gener- Prussian-Russian alliance against Sweden. compromises an alliance with , our “right to honor and dignity.” ous allocation of large Russian assets for The lavish gift, a study in Baroque excesses, closest ally and trading partner, on the The plaintiff, Viktor Medvedchuk, hap- his use, making it possible for him and his was shipped to Russia in 18 large boxes grounds of meeting global CO2 reduction pens to be one of the most reviled and associates to steadily acquire much of the and installed in the Winter House in St. goals, the president gives a pass to a mutual hated men in Ukraine, and the offending nation’s media. In addition to his control of Petersburg. enemy, Russia, to continue building its gas chapter that so “violated” the plaintiff’s three television news channels through his Today Germany is presenting Russia transit pipeline, which will ultimately be “honor and dignity” dealt with his complici- partner, Taras Kozak, he holds large owner- with an even more generous gift. Despite used to blackmail Germany and Europe. ty in the persecution of Ukrainian dissi- ship interests in some of Ukraine’s most Russia’s many transgressions, violations of The United States was also the world’s dents in the 1970s. In fact, that persecu- popular channels, such as 1+1. According international norms, invasion of Ukraine, leading energy producer. The past decade’s tion was doubly heinous in that he was to former Ukrainian prime minister and the poisoning and arrest of Alexei fracking revolution delivered record oil and appointed their defense attorney, but coop- Arseniy Yatseniuk, Ukraine is in danger of Navalny, Germany decided to demonstrate gas production and gave the U.S. energy erated with the prosecution in condemning losing control over its domestic informa- its goodwill toward Russia by permitting it independence and the ability to speak from them and urging an extension of imprison- tion space. “Putin controls 50 percent of to complete the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. a position of strength. President Biden, ment. One such victim, the poet Vasyl Stus, Ukrainian news channels, so he can easily The Trump administration, urged by with a few strokes of the pen, jeopardized died in prison under mysterious circum- control 50 percent of Ukrainian minds and Congress, signed laws in 2019 and 2020 that position. He closed the Keystone pipe- stances. The other, Mykola Kuntsevych, hearts,” Mr. Yatseniuk said. that halted the pipeline’s construction. line and introduced regulations to restrict had his prison term extended by 21 Early in February, Ukrainian President However, it is essential to recall that the fracking and constrain the oil and gas months after Mr. Medvedchuk “poured Volodymyr Zelenskyy – at the behest of Trump administration was ready to push industry. Such moves play directly into more dirt on him than the prosecutor.” And Ukraine’s National Security and Defense the ante even further by threatening to Russian hands, making the West hostages another, Yuriy Lytvyn, was convicted and Council – closed three TV news channels impose tariffs on German exports to the to Russian oil and gas. died in prison. controlled by Mr. Medvedchuk because “the United States, including luxury automobiles In a recent Der Spiegel editorial titled Mr. Medvedchuk has been variously channels had been transformed into an such as BMWs and Mercedes. It was a lan- “The Russian Pipeline Is Germany’s Greatest described as a “cancer on Ukraine’s politi- instrument of [Russian] propaganda…and guage Germans understood and work on Foreign Policy Embarrassment,” Mathieu cal scene,” the “undisputed leader of receive financing from Russia.” Mr. Rabi­ the pipeline ceased. Barely a month after von Rohr argued that “Germany’s uncom- [Vladimir] Putin’s fifth column in Ukraine,” novych, co-chairman of Mr. Medvedchuk’s the new administration moved into the promising stand has not only split the EU and a “perpetrator” in the bloody events of party, called the legislators and Mr. White House, Russia, with Germany’s con- but threatens to sour relations with the U.S. the Maidan. His daughter, Daryna, has Mr. Zelenskyy “fascist devils” and sang a Soviet sent and sensing President Joe Biden’s The Baltic states share Poland’s fear of Putin as a godfather and Dmitry Medve­ World-War II-era song at the podium. The more lenient attitude, resumed work on Russian power and are instinctively dev’s wife as a godmother – designations very next day the three channels resumed the last hundred kilometers of the pipeline. opposed.” Since its inception, the pipeline has been considered to be those of an extended broadcasting on YouTube TV. They could The Biden administration’s initial reac- opposed by many in Europe who share “family.” He is married to a Russophile barely restrain themselves in whining tion was a firm stand against the pipeline. America’s concerns about dependency on Ukrainian singer, Oksana Marchenko, and about “censorship” on behalf of a boss who Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated Russian energy. Some see it as a ploy to his wealth is estimated to be in the hun- managed the censorship of unflattering dis- that he is “determined to do whatever we allow Russia to stop sending gas via Ukraine dreds of millions of dollars. closures of his career. can to prevent the pipeline’s completion.” to escalate the conflict there; others even Although Mr. Medvedchuk’s early politi- But Ukraine’s media space is not the However, on February 20 the department’s called it the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact II. cal career was unsuccessful, with only 1-2 only battleground between Russia and position shifted. Its spokesman Ned Price In response, Chancellor Angela Merkel percent support in the polls, his current Ukraine. Politicians with virtually unlimit- indicated President Biden’s administration floated the disingenuous idea that if Russia pro-Russian Opposition Platform – For Life ed funds can create mayhem across the is “reluctant to impose sanctions if the dis- would bypass the Ukrainian pipeline net- (OPFL) party now holds 44 seats in the land through bribery, thuggery, paid riots pleasure is ignored.” During a briefing he work, she would cut Russian gas from com- and often joins with Ihor and rallies, “contracts,” and a wide spec- reiterated that “we’ve been clear for some trum of dirty tricks, such as staging ing through Nord Stream 2, a proposal that Kolomoisky’s For the Future party, which time that Nord Stream 2 is a bad deal and “nationalist” rallies for opposing presiden- is utter nonsense. Where else will Germany holds 24 seats, constituting a dangerous 15 that companies risk sanctions if they are tial candidates under neo-Nazi banners, or get its gas? Recently German President percent voting bloc. His party enjoys 18 involved. But as we said, we don’t preview spreading disinformation about (non-exis- Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Armin percent support in the polls. Add to this a any potential sanctions.” tent) U.S. biological centers using Laschet, likely successor to Ms. Merkel, tried gallery of oligarchs, such as Yuriy Boyko, Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Ukrainians for testing. Although the ban- to justify Nord Stream 2 on the grounds that Nestor Shufrich, Taras Kozak, and Vadym Dmytro Kuleba’s and Polish Foreign Affairs ning of the news channels is a much over- Russia suffered greatly during WWII as a Rabinovich, and Mr. Medvedchuk hangs like Minister Zbigniew Rau’s reactions were due “hit” on Russia’s ability to pollute consequence of the German invasion and a dark cloud over Ukraine’s future. swift. Nord Stream 2 would deprive Ukraine’s informational space, Mr. Medved­ atrocities committed against Russians. The We see his influence in the book banning Ukraine of transit fees from existing pipe- chuk’s money allows him to continue justification infuriated Ukrainian decision, and the damage he can do in part- lines that transverse its territory. They acquiring and holding substantial interests Ambassador to Berlin Andriy Melnik, who nership with Ukraine’s Constitutional called it a “dangerous, divisive project.” in other media, both openly and secretly. called it “an unacceptable distortion of his- Court by nearly destroying the nation’s Dangerous because, as Debra Cagan, a Mr. Medvedchuk controls dozens of tory and direct disregard of the exorbitant anti-corruption infrastructure and banking member of the Friends of Ukraine Network companies involved in various types of sacrifices of the Ukrainian people.” system. Had Mr. Medvedchuk and the Court National Security Task Force, wrote on transactions, including shell companies, For decades, the Ukrainian transit sys- prevailed, Ukraine would have risked bil- February 22, “[the U.S.] giving Europe a but most of his assets are derived from tem has handled the bulk of Russian gas lions in IMF support, possible bankruptcy, Pass on Nord Stream 2 is yet another Putin Russian fossil fuels. Specifically, the deliveries to Europe. In reality, there is no and economic chaos and privation. After victory. There is only one victor of this Kremlin made available, through competi- need for a new pipeline. It was built mainly Mr. Medvedchuk’s brief stint with Ukraine’s arrangement designed to sanitize Nord tive bidding, extraction rights to a huge at the behest of Mr. Putin to punish delegation to the Minsk negotiations, for- Stream 2: Vladimir Putin.” 40-million-ton oil deposit. But the terms of Ukraine, and the Germans sheepishly mer President accused It is incomprehensible that the United the bid ensured only one successful bidder States, the world’s leading military and eco- acquiesced. Nord Stream 2 will strengthen – Mr. Medvedchuk, through his wife, nomic power, would have so little sway Russia’s grip on the European energy mar- George Woloshyn, MBA, JD, was a senior Oksana Marchenko. The oil is processed in with an ally like Germany on one of the ket and put an end to any geopolitical lever- executive under three U.S. presidents: a Rostov refinery largely owned by Mr. most critical issues of our times. A partner age Ukraine may still have in its struggle Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Bill Medvedchuk’s wife, and shipped via tanker that, by the way, has not been contributing with Russia. Clinton. He served as the Office of Personnel across the Kerch Strait to Houston where it In short, when Nord Stream 2 goes “on Management’s­ Director of the Office of is sold to an ExxonMobil subsidiary at an stream,” the winner will be Putin’s Russia, Federal Investigations, the Federal estimated annual income of $150 million. Jaroslaw Martyniuk is a former diplomat and the losers will be Europe, the United Emergency Management Agency’s Director In addition, Mr. Medvedchuk gained control and Principal Administrator with the States and, above all, Ukraine. Even more of National Preparedness, and as Inspector of more than 30 percent of diesel fuel International Energy Agency/Organization frightening will be Mr. Putin’s ability to General of a bank regulatory agency. While imports to Ukraine and a major amount of of Economic Cooperation and Development intimidate and blackmail the Europeans for at FEMA, Mr. Woloshyn held an executive its liquefied gas market. With such large in Paris and a retired researcher affiliated decades to come. level IV position as a Senate-confirmed, with Radio Liberty in Munich and presidential appointee. (Continued on page 15) Washington. (Continued on page 9) 8 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 No. 9 No. 9 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 9

Subdeacon Yaroslav Bilohan Seminarians of St. Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Theological Seminary distribute Archbishop Daniel (third from right) with St. Sophia seminarians outside St. Andrew soups during the Souper Bowl Sunday fundraiser. Ukrainian Orthodox Memorial Church in South Bound Brook, N.J. UOL chapters host Souper Bowl Sunday fundraiser

UOC-U.S.A. narians were able to raise $1,000 that will go toward the St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Society, founded in work of the St. Andrew Society. 1990 by the UOC-U.S.A. as a religious and charitable orga- SOMERSET, N.J. – The Ukrainian Orthodox League UOL parish chapters from across the U.S.A. participated nization, is an integral ministry of the UOC-U.S.A. through (UOL) hosted a Souper Bowl Sunday fundraiser in through their home parishes. Ss. Peter and Paul Ukrainian its philanthropic mission, which focuses on providing February to raise funds through soup sales to benefit the Orthodox Church in Youngstown, Ohio, made headlines by humanitarian assistance to the needy and supporting work of St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Society of the offering soup for free, noting the great need within the church-related projects in Ukraine. Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. (UOC-U.S.A.), local community. Any voluntary donations that were col- The organization provides aid to the needy, orphans, the which sponsors soup kitchens and orphanages in Ukraine. lected were earmarked for the St. Andrew Society. elderly and refugees in Ukraine, as well as financial and Multiple events were planned for February 7 but, due to “While we will have a basket out for freewill giving, we logistical assistance to seminaries in Ukraine and scholar- snowstorms, some were postponed until February 14. don’t expect people to do that because we realize that peo- ships for theological students to study abroad (through the Seminarians of the St. Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox ple in our own community also need food,” Ann Very Rev. Dr. Wolodymyr and Halyna Lewytzkyj Theological Seminary, through its own chapter of the UOL, Woloschak, a youth group advisor at the parish, told Seminarian Scholarship Foundation, among others). The hosted the soup fundraiser on February 14 following WKBN News on February 6. organization also publishes religious literature and pro- divine liturgy. Through the generosity of donors, the semi- The UOL is a national volunteer organization of mem- vides assistance toward medical projects and church resto- bers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA who are rations. Since its founding, St. Andrew Society has raised committed to promoting the Orthodox faith, supporting over $1.3 million for religious, educational and humanitari- the church, developing youth and encouraging their active an projects. St. Andrew Church lights participation in the church, and preserving Ukrainian heri- Its Soup Kitchen program provides over 4,000 hot and tage and culture. The major of the UOL of the U.S.A. is nutritious meals every month at cafeterias, churches or dark times as pandemic to serve the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Holy social service centers for the needy elderly. The soup kitch- Eastern Orthodox faith, and to do so by exemplifying the ens are staffed by volunteers in local communities or by deaths surpass 500k meaning of the emblem and the motto “Dedicated to Our church-affiliated institutions and organizations. Church, Devoted to its Youth.” Donations to the program can be sent to St. Andrew’s A vital organ of the UOC-U.S.A., the UOL was conceived Society, Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A., P.O. Box in 1946 after the seventh Sobor of the UOC-U.S.A. autho- 495, South Bound Brook, NJ, 08880. For more information, rized the formation of a national youth organization. A readers can e-mail [email protected], tele- committee, under the direction of the late Very Rev. phone 732-356-0090, or visit the UOC-U.S.A. website, Volodymyr Bukata, conceived the organization and the www.uocofusa.org, or the UOL’s website, www.uolofusa. UOL was incorporated in New Jersey in 1948. org.

Archbishop Daniel visits Znamianka Orphanage

UOC-U.S.A. Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. to Znamianka Orphanage in Ukraine under the leadership of Tatyana SOMERSET, N.J. – Archbishop Daniel of the UOC-U.S.A. Ivanivna Valko…” traveled to Ukraine on December 21-23 to visit the The Znamianka Orphanage is the first among five Znamianka Children’s Orphanage in Kirovohrad Oblast. orphanages in Ukraine that the UOC-U.S.A. took under its The archbishop delivered financial assistance from the care, aided by the work of the Children of Chornobyl faithful of the UOC-U.S.A. for necessary repairs of the Relief and Development Fund, led by Dr. Zenon and heating pipes in the orphanage and to help pay for the Nadia Matkiwsky. The UOC-U.S.A. has provided financial, annual wages for special needs instructors at the material and spiritual assistance to the orphanage for orphanage. the past 24 years. The archbishop wrote on his Facebook page that Donations to support the orphanage can be sent to “time flies so fast… years go by… but the love we share Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A., P.O. Box 495, with the children of Znamianka Orphanage is eternal… I South Bound Brook, NJ, 08880. Additional information am grateful for the opportunity to deliver financial assis- can be found at the UOC-U.S.A. website, www.uocofusa. tance on behalf of the faithful and its clergy of the org.

port Ukraine. . . . You can rest assured that a Biden adminis- SOUTH BOUND BROOK, N.J. – St. Andrew Ukrainian Nord Stream 2... tration will maintain and expand, as necessary, sanctions Orthodox Memorial Church at the Spiritual Center - (Continued from page 7) against Russia.” Today it is clear that such an optimistic Metropolia of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the assessment was unwarranted and misguided. Mr. Biden’s U.S.A. is illuminated on February 22 to honor the How it has come to this imbroglio is hard to fathom. sweet words of support were only that: words. In the final memory of the 500,071 individuals who lost their lives Even more baffling has been the blind belief by many analysis what matters are results. Mr. Trump delivered, and to COVID-19, according to data from John Hopkins American-Ukrainians that Joseph Biden would be the best Mr. Biden did not. University’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Like an thing for Ukraine since the fall of the . (See In the end, to get out of the conundrum it’s likely that eternal candle, St. Andrew Church was designed to Orest Deychakiwsky’s hagiography of Mr. Biden “Hope for some sort of a face-saving diplomatic compromise will be honor the victims of the Holodomor of 1932-1933. the new year” in the January 10 issue of The Ukrainian cobbled together. No matter how that compromise turns (Facebook.com/UOCofUSA) Weekly.) Mr. Deychakiwsky wrote, “I have complete confi- out, one thing is sure: it will be detrimental and harmful to dence that the Biden administration and Congress will sup- Ukraine. 10 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 No. 9

es Moscow of carrying out assassinations and refer to the downing of Malaysia rying out this cyber-attack allow [us] to NEWSBRIEFS “in Russia and on the territory of other Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine connect it with one of the hacker spy (Continued from page 2) states... outside a situation of armed con- in July 2014, human rights violations in the groups from the Russian Federation,” the flict” in what Kyiv says is a violation of the Crimea Peninsula, which Moscow annexed council said, without identifying the group. iation. Iran’s missile attack was in response “right to life” as stipulated in Article 2 of from Ukraine in 2014, and Russia’s seizure It was the second cyber incident reported to a U.S. drone strike that killed the power- the European Convention on Human of three Ukrainian Navy vessels in the by the Ukrainian authorities this week. On ful commander of the Islamic Revolutio­ Rights. In the application, Ukraine also Kerch Strait in 2018. The case on the February 22, Kyiv accused unnamed nary Guards Corps, Maj. Gen. Qasem alleges that Russia’s failure to investigate human rights violations in Crimea was Russian internet networks of attacks on Soleimani, in Baghdad five days earlier. such alleged assassinations amounts to “an declared partly admissible by the Grand Ukrainian security and defense websites. (RFE/RL, with reporting by dpa) administrative practice” that is also sus- Chamber of the Court on January 14. A Ukraine and Russia have been at logger- tained through “deliberately mounting cov- Grand Chamber judgment on the case will heads since Russia’s annexation of Crimea Ukraine takes Russia to human rights court er-up operations aimed at frustrating be delivered at a later date, according to from Ukraine in 2014 and involvement in a Ukraine has accused Russia of the “tar- efforts to find the persons responsible.” court documents. The other three cases are conflict in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass geted assassinations” of “perceived oppo- The court did not provide details of the still to be reviewed by branches of the region which Kyiv says has killed 14,000 nents” in a case filed at the European Court alleged assassinations. It is the ninth case court. Russia has been supporting separat- people. (Reuters) of Human Rights (ECHR), the latest in a taken by Ukraine against Russia at the ists who are fighting Ukrainian govern- Call for U.S. to help stop Nord Stream 2 series of legal complaints against Moscow. ECHR, which hears complaints over alleged ment forces in eastern Ukraine in a conflict The case, filed last week and published on breaches of the convention on human that has claimed more than 13,200 people Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister the court’s website on February 23, accus- rights. Four of those cases are still pending since April 2014. (RFE/RL, with reporting Dmytro Kuleba and Polish Foreign Affairs by AFP) Minister Zbigniew Rau have appealed to Ukraine says hackers attacked state system U.S. President Joe Biden to prevent the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipe- Ukraine accused an unnamed group of line from Russia to Germany, which they Russian hackers on February 24 of trying called a “dangerous, divisive project.” The to disseminate malicious documents pipeline would affect Ukraine by depriving TO PLACE YOUR AD CALL WALTER HONCHARYK (973) 292-9800 x3040 or e-mail [email protected] through a web-based system on which gov- it of transit fees from existing pipelines that ernment documents are circulated, but did transverse its territory. The U.S. Congress not say whether any damage was caused. last year passed the Protecting Europe’s SERVICES PROFESSIONALS Kyiv has previously accused Moscow of Energy Security Clarification Act (PEESCA) orchestrating large cyber-attacks as part of to widen the list of sanctionable services ОКСАНА СТАНЬКО a “hybrid war” against Ukraine, which against the project to include providing Ліцензований продавець Russia denies. The aim of the attack was to insurance, reinsurance, pipeline testing, Страхування Життя contaminate information resources on the inspection, and certification services. OKSANA STANKO System of Electronic Interaction of PEESCA became law on January 1. “Poland Licensed Life Insurance Agent Executive Bodies, Ukraine’s National and Ukraine have long warned against the Ukrainian National Assn., Inc. Security and Defense Council said in a (Continued on page 11) Tel.: 908-872-2192 statement. “The methods and means of car- email: [email protected] ments (Ukrinform, February 19). More contentious... Kyiv’s move in the Contact Group signi- (Continued from page 2) fies an oblique challenge to Minsk Two’s SERVICES legitimacy, while stopping carefully short of for Donetsk and Luhansk, beyond their repudiating the Minsk “agreements” as capacity as Minsk Group participants. such. This tactic, if pursued consistently, Ukraine unsurprisingly turned it down would enable Ukraine to deflect Russian (TASS, February 17, 18; Donetskoye pressures to implement the unacceptable Agentstvo Novostey, Lugansk Infotsentr, political terms of all Minsk “agreements.” At February 17–20). a minimum, it would improve Kyiv’s bar- Outside the Minsk Contact Group, Russia gaining position regarding the political proposed a draft resolution to the OSCE’s terms. And it would gain time for Ukraine OPPORTUNITIES Permanent Council to endorse the Minsk to consolidate itself internally before Two “agreement” on the occasion of the undertaking to reintegrate the ORDLO on sixth anniversary of its blessing by the Ukrainian-defined, not Russian-defined EARN EXTRA INCOME! UNSC (see above). The United States and terms. Run your advertisement here, The Ukrainian Weekly is looking the European Union countered this in the for advertising sales agents. Permanent Council on the grounds that The article above is reprinted from in The Ukrainian Weekly’s For additional information contact Minsk Two cannot be considered separate- Eurasia Daily Monitor with permission from CLASSIFIEDS section. Walter Honcharyk, Advertising Manager, ly from Minsk One; and that Russia is its publisher, the Jamestown Foundation, The Ukrainian Weekly, 973-292-9800, ext 3040. responsible for respecting all three docu- www.jamestown.org.

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main task.” U.N.-backed COVAX distribution program. Top Russian... About 49 percent of the adult population First COVID-19... The government said it plans to get more (Continued from page 1) of Ukraine support the first round of sanc- (Continued from page 1) than 100,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech tions against the Medvedchuk-affiliated TV vaccine, nearly two million doses from the refinery owned by Mr. Medvedchuk’s wife channels, a nationwide survey by sociologi- “We have received a reliable vaccine from Chinese company Sinovac Biotech, 15 mil- has been selling some of its products to cal firm Rating Group found on February a world-renown manufacturer, the British- lion Novavax doses, and four million in U.S.-based ExxonMobil via a Swiss- 6-8. Forty-one percent don’t support the Swedish company AstraZeneca, which total of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. registered trader. Ms. Lavrenyuk’s name is measures. meets safety and quality standards and is “The vaccination program in Ukraine is mentioned as a registrant of one of the The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection widely used by leading countries in both being implemented on schedule and companies tied to the refinery. Group (KHPG) posited that the two rounds Europe and the world,” Mr. Stepanov said. according to the Ministry of Health’s road- “The products are shipped by tanker of sanctions related to Mr. Medvedchuk In India, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine map,” Mr. Stepanov, the health minister, from the Black Sea to Houston, Texas,” the might be opening up a Pandora’s Box. is produced at the local Serum Institute of said. “We did our utmost to ensure that our journalistic report said. In a February 22 article, the rights group India under the name Covishield. The insti- doctors, and all Ukrainians, receive safe, The pro-Kremlin Opposition Platform– wrote that “it looks very strange to allege tution is the largest producer of vaccines in effective, and high-quality vaccines from For Life (OPFL) party, of which Mr. Medved­ criminal behavior without initiating crimi- the world. It is reported to produce more world-renowned manufacturers.” chuk is a co-chairman, immediately nal proceedings.” than 50 million doses per month. On January 29, the Cabinet of Ministers denounced the sanctions as “political It further added that “Maksym Covishield is made from a weakened ver- published a vaccination schedule in which repression and the destruction of democra- Tymochko, a lawyer for the Ukrainian sion of chimpanzee adenovirus. In general, it said that Ukraine plans to vaccinate 14.4 cy” in Ukraine. Helsinki Human Rights Union, stresses the drug has a broad spectrum of action. million people in the country this year. Recent polls show since the beginning of [that] sanctions are a political mechanism, When a vaccine is given to a patient, it stim- Frontline medical workers treating COVID- the year that Mr. Zelenskyy’s Servant of the but they must be framed within a legal con- ulates the immune system to produce anti- 19 patients will be the first recipients of People party has been gradually losing pole text which complies with Ukraine’s interna- bodies to attack any coronavirus infection. 367,000 vaccines in the initial phase of the position in approval ratings to OPFL. tional commitments and will not be found One of the advantages of the vaccine is plan. The next stage includes ambulance Personally, Mr. Medvedchuk said the to have violated somebody’s rights by the that it can be safely stored at temperatures personnel, laboratory staff testing for Ukrainian authorities have no evidence of European Court of Human Rights.” of 2-8 degrees Celsius. As a result, the vac- COVID-19, residents and staff of nursing guilt and are bent on establishing a dicta- The Russian president is a godfather to cine can be administered in doctors’ offices. homes and the military at the frontline of torship in the country. one of Mr. Medvedchuk’s daughters and is This makes the vaccine’s use and distribu- the conflict in the east of the country. “[Mr.] Zelenskyy crossed the last moral called a Putin “proxy” inside Ukraine by the tion more affordable than others, such as Ukraine’s Ministry of Health been criti- boundaries, hitting the most precious – my U.S. Treasury Department. the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which needs cized because the European country of beloved wife Oksana Marchenko,” Mr. The powerful tycoon is also known in to be stored at -70 degrees Celsius. some 42 million people is one of the last in Medvedchuk told BBC Ukraine. “Do [Mr.] Ukraine for being the Soviet public prose- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Europe to start administering vaccines. Zelenskyy’s advisers expect me to be cutor of dissident Vasyl Stus, the Ukrainian Zelenskyy stressed that the logistics of dis- “Vaccination in Ukraine was to begin on scared? Do they really think that I will poet who died in a forced labor camp on tributing the vaccine throughout the coun- February 15. It’s too late. By this time, betray my principles, my country […] and September 4, 1985. He headed former try have been worked out and there should neighboring Poland had already vaccinated run away? This is in vain. They won’t live to President Leonid Kuchma’s staff from June be no reason for delays in the process. The 2 million people, and Britain has vaccinat- see this. The fight will continue.” 2002 to January 2005 and is also sanc- drug will be delivered to hospitals by ed more than 15 million people. If vaccina- In turn, Ms. Marchenko said on tioned by Australia and Canada for his mobile teams. The vaccines will first be tion starts two weeks later, it is thousands Instagram she will enter politics in opposi- actions during Russia’s takeover of offered to doctors in medical institutions of infected and hundreds of dead,” Inna tion to the Ukrainian president and Crimea. that provide care for COVID-19 patients. Sovsun, a member of parliament, said on described the sanctions as “unconstitution- In 2019, Mr. Medvedchuk filed an asset They will then be offered to other hospital February 19. al and repressive.” declaration that stated he and his wife had personnel, including emergency medical “All of the Ministry of Health activities She furthermore called herself and an income of $11.5 million, own five build- care workers and family doctors. during a pandemic are a complete mistake,” her family “law-abiding people who love ings, nearly two dozen vehicles, including a “Vaccination must be voluntary,” Mr. Ms. Sovsun said. “The whole world is fight- their country,” while saying she is join- Bentley and Maybach, as well as a collec- Zelenskyy said. “No one needs to be forced ing the coronavirus and deploying testing. ing the OPFL party, “where I see the pro- tion of luxury watches and a vast antique [to take the vaccine]. It is better to inform Minister Stepanov promised 100,000 PCR tection of the Ukrainian people as my book collection. people in detail about the decent quality of [polymerase chain reaction] tests in the drug.” December. But we’ve done less than 30,000 Ukraine’s Chief Public Health Officer tests. And there was no contact tracing sys- United Nations International Children’s Viktor Lyashko said that many medical pro- tem,” said Ms. Sovsun, who is also the depu- UCU awards... Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine. On fessionals have already recovered from ty chairman of the Holos Party. COVID-19, possibly gaining immunity for According to the Public Health Center of (Continued from page 4) September 30, 2020, at the age of 51, Mr. Venzhynovych’s heart stopped beating at the coming months. Ukraine, 87,000 people in Ukraine have Marta Kolo­mayets, and UCU Professor Ihor the Pochayiv Hospital. He died of bilateral Mr. Lyashko said that the second stage of been tested for COVID-19 as of February Skochylias, who died from COVID-19. He pneumonia caused by COVID-19. vaccinations in Ukraine will be adminis- 24. Since the beginning of the pandemic in also noted that one of the honorees died of Ms. Martynenko is an expert of the tered to the military. Mr. Zelenskyy said he Ukraine, 1.325 million people have con- COVID-19 and he stressed that the work of Health Department of the Luhansk Oblast would take the vaccine together with mem- tracted the virus. Of that number, 1.16 mil- the honorees often goes unnoticed by the State Administration and Head of the bers of the military. lion people have recovered, while roughly public. Infectious Diseases Department of the Ukraine expects to receive additional 25,000 people have died in Ukraine as a “We lost one of the columns of our uni- Rubizhne Central City Hospital. In March vaccines in the coming months under the result of coronavirus. versity. Doctors such as Ivan Venzhynovych 2020, Rubizhne City Hospital became a and Olha Martynenko quietly saved thou- hospital base for the medical care of sands of lives. They are not written about patients with COVID-19 in Luhansk oblast. security and prosperity of Ukraine.” Nord in newspapers and are not mentioned to Ms. Martynenko, who identified the first NEWSBRIEFS Stream 2 is “not about the energy security the general public. Therefore, with this dis- patient with COVID-19 in Ukraine, began of Germany, our close ally and partner,” tinction, the award committee wants to training specialists in the infectious diseas- (Continued from page 10) Messrs. Kuleba and Rau said. “We respect emphasize that justice is manifested wher- es service of Luhansk oblast and her dangers associated with the construction Germany’s right to express their point of ever you are and act. I congratulate the department’s staff on the pandemic in of Nord Stream 2. Our calls for vigilance view. But we also strongly believe that honorees and thank them for their exam- January 2020. For the first two months, her and boldness were heard in the U.S. these kinds of projects cannot be viewed ple. Let it be followed by many, and let this department was the only one to receive Congress, which pressed on with mea- award inspire you to continue to be an COVID-19 patients from all over the narrowly through the lens of bilateral rela- sures designed to stop this dangerous, example because it obliges you to do so to Luhansk oblast. Ms. Martynenko also con- tions, but should instead be approached divisive project,” Messrs. Kuleba and Rau some extent,” said Bishop Gudziak. ducts educational activities for people in from a broader perspective of Europe’s said in a joint article published in Politico In addition to a financial award, the win- the city and the region. interests and security as a whole,” they on February 22. “We call on U.S. President ners received a crystal statuette made by a The Light of Justice award was founded said. The Biden administration on master of glass art, Stanislav Kadochnikov. in 2010 by Bishop Gudziak, then rector of Joe Biden to use all means at his disposal February 19 imposed additional sanctions The figurine depicts a person who reaches UCU, and the late Dr. Anastasia Shkilnyk, a to prevent the project from completion,” on a Russian vessel and the ship’s owner for light, symbolizing the desire to strive Ukrainian Canadian philanthropist, author the two ministers said. Some 150 kilome- for their work on the pipeline. However, for the ideals of freedom and justice. and academic. ters of pipe under Danish and German the move was immediately criticized as Mr. Venzhynovych was a family therapist Previous winners of the Light of Justice waters in the Baltic Sea must be laid to inadequate by Republican lawmakers, who in the Pochayiv district hospital. He was a include environmental activists Dmytro complete the pipeline, controlled by the denounced the administration for failing member of the ambulance crew as a thera- Karabchuk and Julia Melnyk (2019); sociol- Russian state-owned energy giant to impose sanctions on additional targets pist and infectious disease specialist. Since ogist and editor-in-chief of the publishing Gazprom. It is expected to carry 100 bil- and demanded the administration explain the beginning of the pandemic, in April house Dukh i Litera (Spirit and Letter) lion cubic meters of natural gas a year what it is doing to oppose the completion 2020, he has provided medical care to Leonid Finberg (2018); investigative jour- from Russia to Germany. “On this issue, the of the pipeline. The two foreign ministers patients with COVID-19. In almost six nalist Nataliia Sedletska (2017); former U.S. continues to be critically important. It warned that “a lot remains at stake” in the months of daily, exhausting work, not a sin- Ukrainian military servicemember Nadiya needs to dismiss claims that Nord Stream project. “Autocratic rulers in the Kremlin gle patient under his care died. Savchenko (2015); human rights activist 2 has become ‘too big to fail’ and that it and elsewhere can and should be held Mr. Venzhynovych’s photo, taken by the Larysa Zalyvna (2012); leader of the simply needs to be finished,” they wrote in accountable. The West, led by the United Associated Press, among other pictures of Crimean Tatar national movement Mustafa the article. “If the project is successful, States, cannot afford to cower in the face of Ukrainian doctors, was posted on a bill- Dzhemilev (2011); publicist, philosopher Russia could try to convince the Ukrainian blackmail that runs counter to everything board reading “Thank You for Life.” The and human rights activist Yevhen Sverstiuk public that the West doesn’t care about its that we stand for,” they concluded. (RFE/ photo is part of a national campaign by the (2010). own principles, and ultimately, about the RL) 12 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 No. 9

2015. Mr. Shcherbych would later join the Protests ensue... mayor’s Trust in Deeds party. (Continued from page 1) The day after his alleged abduction on April 25, police say the victim filed a report ute of limitations on the kidnapping charge accusing the then two mem- had expired. bers of the crime, although Mr. Shcherbych Following the ruling, Mr. Sterenenko and had been hospitalized following three a co-defendant, Ruslan Demchuk, were apparent shock pistol wounds, having been immediately taken into custody. Half of Mr. apparently beaten. Mr. Shcherbych alleged- Sternenko’s property was also ordered to ly gave testimony to police outside the hos- be confiscated. pital and investigators never visited the Mr. Sternenko, who promised to appeal basement where he was allegedly tempo- the verdict, is a trained lawyer and former rarily held during his abduction. head of the Odesa branch of Right Sector, a Yet the two suspects would only be right-wing paramilitary group that rose to charged and detained in September 2015, prominence during the 2014 Revolution of nearly five months after the alleged inci- Dignity, which resulted in the kleptocratic, dent. Mr. Sternenko’s lawyers noted that a pro-Kremlin, former president Viktor lawyer wasn’t present when police RFE/RL Yanukovych abandoning office for self-exile searched his apartment as is required by Protesters and security forces face off near the presidential office building on in Russia. law and the judge denied their motion to Bankova Street in Kyiv on February 23. In the evening after Mr. Sternenko’s sen- have the search stricken from evidence tencing, protests supporting him erupted in based on the absence of a lawyer. ing role in Odesa, a city of nearly 1 million had in May 2019 filed a complaint to the at least 15 regional capitals, as well as at Mr. Sternenko says that before the people with a multi-ethnic population that Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) to have the Ukrainian consulates in Warsaw and alleged abduction he had “never met or had tends to vote pro-Russian. Based on Central Mr. Sternenko arrested on another case Chicago. They called for his release, for contact” with the local politician and admit- Election Commission data, Odesa’s elector- currently open against him. reform of the judicial system, the firing of ted to meeting him with Mr. Demchuk in ate is largely apathetic, but its pro-Russian Mr. Tatarov is under investigation for his unruly judges and the resignation of May 2015, a month after the alleged inci- voters are most active. The city’s mayor, alleged involvement in a $2.8 million cor- Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova. dent, according to the judge’s ruling. Hennadiy Trukhanov, is reportedly linked ruption scheme related to property devel- In Kyiv near the presidential office build- The case “basically rests solely on the to organized crime dating to the 1990s, opment in Kyiv. He maintains his innocence ing on Bankova and Hrushevskoho streets, testimony of the victim and only the reportedly holds a Russian passport and is and denies the charges against him. clashes between the backers of Mr. assumptions of the prosecutor,” Mr. corrupt – all claims he denies. Under Mr. Yanukovych’s presidency, he Sternenko and combined National Guard Sternenko’s lawyer, Masi Nayem, told Mr. Sternenko eventually ascended to was the deputy head of the main investiga- and police forces led to 24 arrests, all of Ukrainian media. Right Sector’s leadership in the city and, tion department of the Internal Affairs whom were eventually released. Law Lawyers for Mr. Sternenko also pointed after the popular uprising, he took to video Ministry. During his tenure, he justified the enforcement authorities reported that 27 out that a witness of the kidnapping in the blogging and attended law school in Kyiv. use of violence against protesters during National Guard and police officers were village of Fontanka 18 kilometers from He would openly accuse the Odesa mayor the pro-democracy, anti-corruption Euro- injured during the rift, including some with Odesa, who gave testimony in June 2015 – of involvement in corrupt real-estate, con- Maidan uprising that ousted Mr. Yanuko­ burns to their eyes. two months after the incident – was never struction and land deals. vych. More than 100 people, mostly pro- Mr. Sternenko’s advocates include rights present in court and hence there was no After his verdict was read in court, Mr. testers, were killed during the uprising, groups, members of parliament from the opportunity to question her. Sternenko tweeted an ironic “thank you” known as the Revolution of Dignity. opposition party Holos, former acting Another lawyer for the accused, Vitaliy message to Mr. Trukhanov, as well as to Former Donetsk-based journalists, activ- Health Minister Ulyana Suprun and a non- Kolomiyets, laughed at the amount that Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova, the ists and rights groups have also questioned profit group that is seeking justice for Katya was allegedly stolen because, based on the deputy head of the presidential office, Oleh the judge’s impartiality in Mr. Sternenko’s Handzyuk, a civic activist who was killed prosecutors’ version of events, because the Tatarov, and a “special thanks to [President case. Before moving to Odesa in 2015, Mr. after exposing corruption in her hometown victim had allegedly been driven for about Volodymyr] Zelenskyy.” Poprevych was a judge in Donetsk. In 2009, of Kherson. four hours, “which would’ve cost about 500 Courtroom footage following the ruling while investigating his rulings and back- Non-stop protests in support of the jailed hryvnias” in gas. showed Mr. Sternenko calling the ruling ground, local journalists discovered that activist were scheduled to begin at noon on Mr. Poprevych, according to rights “illegal” and he said that the verdict was the judge had a bust of Soviet leaders February 27. Human Rights Center Zmina, groups, had also cited Mr. Sternenko’s nega- “dictated from Bankova Street” in Kyiv Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin standing the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group tive attitude toward the political party where the presidential office building is in front of his single-family home in the city. (KHPG) and the Ukrainian branch of the membership of the victim as a motive for located. He moved to Odesa after Russia’s covert invasion of the Donbas. In 2017 he was not Helsinki Union have all described the kid- committing the alleged crime. “They [the president’s office] don’t like it selected to the revamped Supreme Court napping case against him as “dubious” and “The court is impartial, without giving when we criticize them,” he added. Lawmaker Oleksandra Ustinova of the after he failed to pass an anonymous writ- say this and three other criminal cases any assessment to the circumstances…it opposition Holos party has since started a ten exam for one of the open seats. opened against him are “politically motivat- should note that… public life in Ukraine is petition drive in parliament to amass the In Odesa, DeJure Foundation found that ed.” based on the principles of political, econom- required 150 signatures to initiate a vote of he released from custody the director of a According to the prosecutors’ and police ic and ideological diversity,” the judge wrote. no confidence in Ms. Veneditkova. The no children’s camp where three children died version of events, Messrs. Demchuk and “No ideology can be recognized by the state confidence measure needs 226 votes to in a fire despite the prosecutor’s argument Sternenko had set up a meeting with local as obligatory. There can be no racial, reli- pass. that he would try to influence witnesses if politician Serhiy Shcherbych in late April gious or other discrimination. The commit- Calling the case “politically motivated,” set free. tal of a crime against a person in connection 2015 when they allegedly abducted, beat Ms. Ustinova, a former anti-corruption His past asset declarations, according to with the performance of his public duty can and robbed him. activist, said “pro-Russian” forces are judicial watchdog ProSud, show that his be regarded as discrimination.” The alleged victim had recently been behind Mr. Sternenko’s prosecution. holdings are “hardly commensurate with elected to a district council with the Mr. Sternenko was 18 when the Euro- She mentioned Mr. Trukhanov and the income of a Ukrainian judge.” staunch pro-Russian Rodina party and was Maidan protests erupted more than seven Andriy Portnov, who was a deputy head of In one year, Mr. Poprevych didn’t declare due to be sworn in as a deputy on April 30, years ago. During that time, he took a lead- former President ’s an apartment his wife owns in Ukraine’s administration. After Euro-Maidan, the lat- Crimean Peninsula that Russia seized in ter fled to Russia along with other former early 2014 and a Mercedes luxury car man- “The Primary Chronicle of Kyivan Rus’” members of the Yanukovych administra- ufactured in 2008. tion and returned after Mr. Zelenskyy Mr. Sternenko survived three attempts became president in 2019. on his life in 2018 that he attributes to his On his Telegram channel, Mr. Portnov civic activism, pro-Ukrainian stance and A new English translation of has pushed for Mr. Sternenko’s conviction exposure of corruption. Ukraine’s ancient Chronicle in the four cases against him and referred The last attempt on his life took place in to him as a “Right Sector functionary, radi- Odesa on May 24, 2018, near his home. His usually known as “Povist cal and nationalist.” girlfriend was with him at the time. Menulykh Lit” or “Nestor’s Mr. Portnov, also a former lawmaker and According to KHPG, “two men attacked him trained lawyer, described the verdict as an and delivered several knife wounds. He Chronicle”. It is a history of indictment of “the whole parasitic roaming received [a] concussion, a deep cut to the Ukraine’s ancient past and radical morons and the order that has hand and other lacerations.” has been used in Ukraine as reigned in the country for the last seven One of the two assailants, Ivan Kuzne­ years.” tsov, died of a knife wound from Mr. a textbook for upper level Mykhailo Zhernakov of the DeJure Sternenko that the latter said was inflicted classes. Foundation judicial watchdog said on as an act of self-defense. Facebook that Mr. Sternenko’s conviction The activist was refused police protec- was part of a larger campaign to discredit tion after the first two attacks that year and the values for which activists of the Euro- is currently charged with murder for Maidan revolution stood. exceeding his right to self-defense. It is available now on line at: Independent Ukrainian investigative The other two cases against him are for Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and other book vendors journalism group Slidstvo published in rioting and beating of a police officer, and as well as the publisher’s web site, Xulonpress.com. August a report that shows that Mr. Tatarov, drug smuggling. He denies all the allega- the deputy head of the presidential office, tions and the cases are pending charges. No. 9 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 13

COMMUNITY CHRONICLE Plast Ukrainian scouting makes a comeback in the Twin Cities

by Maksym Kolomayets church board, and Ukrainian cultural cen- ter committee proved to be an advantage in MINNEAPOLIS – In the fall of 2018, spreading the word of the new initiative. members of Plast Ukrainian Scouting In order to attract new members and Organization in the U.S.A. within the Twin increase participation, the team focused on Cities area met in the empty gymnasium of hosting activities touting the outdoor recre- St. Constantine Ukrainian Catholic Church ational activities which Plast emphasizes. to discuss the branch’s future. Here, one To their advantage, Minneapolis and its generation reminisced about how strong greater metropolitan area provide a the Plast community in Minneapolis once dynamic urban setting with forested hide- was, while another dreamed of its resur- aways nestled along the Mississippi River. gence and . Despite the significant Wasting no time, Plast Minneapolis age gap between the generations, all pres- began holding meetings and activities for ent bonded over common aspects of being its scouts. Biweekly, scouts would convene a member of Plast – a love for nature, con- at the Ukrainian American Community nection to heritage and friendships with Center to learn more about the origins of other scouts from faraway states. These Plast and work on various merit badges. commonalities proved helpful in rekindling With approximately five kids separated into Plast within the Twin Cities. two groups, younger scouts (age 6-11), Plast here began in the summer of 1949, known as “novatstvo” and older scouts (age after a group of Ukrainian immigrants from 12-18), known as “yunatstvo,” the group various parts of war-torn Europe helped established a presence within the start the first branch in the Twin Cities. It Ukrainian diaspora in Minneapolis. quickly became evident to them that this Progress within the first months of organiz- organization was an opportunity to gather ing would not have been possible without and share their Ukrainian heritage. At its the persistent enthusiasm from the par- peak in 1958 the Plast Minneapolis branch ents. The renewed motivation began the had 77 members. With active participation discussion of sending kids to summer throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Plast camps, the highlight of many Plast scouts’ Maksym Kolomayets Minneapolis enjoyed sustained success in experiences. Scouts Mark Kurynytskyi (left), Adrian Kushneryk (right) and scout leader Maksym Kolomayets in Mount Rainer National Park. sending scouts to annual summer camps, In 2019, through the initiative of Plast’s as well as in hosting local hikes and excur- Seattle branch, a two-week camp was orga- embarked on the ascent of Mount Rainier severe in the midst of the pandemic. Plast sions. nized in the Pacific Northwest of the United which provided panoramic views of the Minneapolis has surely kept its vow to the Just a decade later, with numbers begin- States. With extensive coordination from Cascade Mountain Range’s most prominent scout’s creed of remaining ready. In adjust- ning to dwindle by the mid-1980s, Plast the Plast National Command in the U.S.A., peaks, Mount Adams, Mount Baker and ment to pandemic protocols, the group has Minneapolis lost its status as a branch and Plast Minneapolis was able to send two Mount St. Helens. Ultimately trekking up to focused on hosting outdoor activities. And had ultimately become a group. Activities older scouts, Mark Kurynytskyi and Adrian an altitude of over 9,000 feet, the boys were yes, as true Minnesotans, the group is not were organized, but nothing on the scale Kushneryk, to their first ever summer grateful to know that going down would be deterred from exploring Minnesota’s wil- seen previously. Since then, many members camp. Additionally, another Minneapolis much easier. Joyfully, the boys and other derness by snowshoe in the blistering cold have passed away, moved from the Twin family experienced their first Plast summer scouts were able to sled down the snow- winter. Cities area, or have lost interest, leaving 11 experience at Camp Pysanyj Kamin in capped peak in the middle of August. Either by attending a summer camp, senior scouts (age 12-18). Middlefield, Ohio, and its “Tabir Ptashat” Encouraged by this unforgettable sum- finding a best friend, or spending days on Although Plast stagnated, the Ukrainian camp. These members were the first scouts mer experience, Plast Minneapolis was end immersed in nature, Plast holds a spe- diaspora in Minneapolis continued to flour- from Minneapolis to attend summer camps excited to plan activities for the upcoming cial place within the hearts of many. The ish. With two churches, a community cen- since the 1990s – it was a moment to cele- year. Well into 2020, biweekly meetings organization has provided its members ter, an annual heritage festival, and a brate. continued and events such as a trip to a sci- with lifelong memories and friendship, and renowned Minneapolis food hotspot – Mark and Adrian’s experience was one ence museum, a Christmas program continues to do so to this day. Perhaps that Kramarczuk’s Ukrainian Deli – the commu- they will never forget. The Minneapolis (Svichechka), ice skating party, and is why the remaining members of Plast nity does not forget its Ukrainian heritage, scouts enjoyed two weeks of activities all Pysanky drawing session kept the scouts Minneapolis were eager to initiate the nor does it go hungry! the while being immersed in stunning land- busy. Steadily, the group saw an increase in branch’s revival. For the time being, it is safe Members of the community noticed the scapes. Furthermore, Mark and Adrian family participation and scout enrollment. to say that Plast Minneapolis is active and potential to revive Plast in Minneapolis, and were able to learn more about Plast princi- Within a year and a half of active work, excited to represent yet another American under the leadership of Christina ples and work toward earning merit badg- the community continues to grow and per- city which possesses strong Ukrainian roots. Cybriwsky, Zenon Stepchuk, Stephan es, such as those for archery, pioneering, Vitvitsky, Inessa Kolomayets, Adrian cartography, as well as orienteering. Ripecky and Maksym Kolomayets, a new The highlight of the camp had to be the group was formed. Team members’ four-day excursion to Mount Rainier involvement within the church choir, National Park. On the third day, the boys

Plast Minneapolis “novatstvo” with their scout leader at the Ukrainian American Cultural Center. 14 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 No. 9

Goalie Broda came up huge Walter Edward “Turk” Broda was born in 1914 and very girth. Several poor performances in a row resulted in refer- quickly as a youngster fell in love with hockey. He grew up ences as “Fat Boy” with so-called hockey experts claiming wanting to be a defenseman, but had lots of difficulty as a Broda was eating his way out of the league. Turk would go skater. When his Brandon, , school organized a on to miss the 1943-1944, 1944-1945 and most of the hockey team, Broda had high hopes, which were soon 1945-1946 seasons while he served in the Canadian mili- enough dashed because of his poor skating. At the time, tary forces during World War II. coaches usually selected the chubbiest kid to play goalie, so Strangely, his fitness level did not improve in the army, Broda had shots fired at him every day in practice. but his play in front of the net was spectacular upon his At age 18 he was called up to the Brandon Native Sons return. He finished fourth in Hart Trophy (league MVP) junior team as an emergency replacement goalie in the voting in his first full season back (1946-1947), and spear- 1933 Memorial Cup Western Canada final. The next season headed his Leafs to three consecutive Stanley Cups, becom- Imperial Oil-Turofsky/HHOF he became a starter in where he caught the ing the first goaltender in NHL history to accomplish the Five-time Stanley Cup winner Walter “Turk” Broda in interest of a Detroit scout. By age 20 he was being utilized feat. The 1947-1948 season saw him win his second Vezina the net for the . by the Detroit Red Wings as a practice goalie because he Trophy. made for a good target. It did not hurt his cause that he was Weight continued to be an issue, and although Broda located Broda’s drinking buddy passed out in the orchestra a pleasant fellow, well liked and popular in the dressing laughed it off, GM Smythe pursued it to the point of a con- pit of a famous Hollywood night club. Broda was seated at room. tract addendum in the form of a dollar-per-pound clause at the piano, playing a duet with the night’s featured perform- Practice kept making him better between the pipes and the start of 1950-1951. Listed at 5-foot-9, 165 pounds, it er, legendary jazz pianist Hoagy Carmichael. Later that he progressed to the Red Wings’ farm team the following was common knowledge his playing weight could fluctuate night, Broda shut out the Montreal Canadiens, 1-0, in the year, guiding the Detroit Olympics to an International upward by some 40 pounds. The clause made him step on final game of a playoff series. League title, sporting the league’s top goals-against aver- the scales every payday – if he weighed less than 190 Broda earned his fifth Stanley Cup with Toronto in 1951, age. pounds, then he would receive a bonus – if he exceeded and retired after one game the next season, happily over- About the same time, the Toronto Maple Leafs were 190 pounds, his paycheck would be garnished. At the time, weight. looking to finally replace 41-year-old George Hainsworth. this story made for great headlines and photos. There are two different versions of how young, freckle- Leafs’ general manager Conn Smythe heard about an Broda’s first official weigh-in touched 194-¾ pounds faced Walter, son of Ukrainian immigrants, got his nick- impressive 24-year-old goalkeeper named Earl Robertson, and he began to regularly spend more time in a steam name. One was in class, when his English teacher was playing with Windsor in the IHL. On a scouting trip, Smythe chamber prior to stepping on the scale. It was like a boxer speaking of an old English king who was covered in spots. observed Robertson in action, but was way more knowing water weight was one key to staying within a Citizens called their king “Turkey Egg” because of his freck- impressed by the net-minding abilities of the plump weight class. Well into his mid-30s, Broda was beginning to les. A fellow classmate said that Walter looked like a turkey 21-year-old from Brandon. look slow and unorthodox, but still capitalized on his keen egg. The second version claimed the nickname was a Broda proceeded to spend the next seven years man- sense of positioning and poise in clutch situations. His description of the way young Walter was built. He had a ning Toronto’s crease, missing a mere four out of 338 teammates called him “Old Slippery” or “Slip” for the way large upper body with short, skinny legs, leading to class- games. In 1940-1941, his fifth NHL season, he won the he moved around in front of the net, always in the right mates calling him “Turkey Legs.” Eventually the moniker Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalkeeper. The follow- place at the right time. got shortened to “Turk,” and it followed him for the rest of ing year he led Toronto to the Stanley Cup. His pleasant To his credit, Broda did not take himself too seriously. his life. nature allowed him to make friends everywhere he went, He ate when he felt like it, sneaked smokes in the bath- Walter “Turk” Broda passed away in 1972 at age 58 his happy-go-lucky personality registering with team- room between periods, and loved beer. His drinking was from a heart attack. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall mates, fans and even opponents. highlighted by the famous story of him partying the night of Fame in 1967 and into the Ukrainian Sports Hall of Fame His personal bout against weight gain was an ongoing away with an American soldier in Los Angeles during the in 2018. battle. If his game was on, not a word was mentioned, 1942-1943 season. Reportedly a military police officer was whereas struggles in net led to comments regarding his searching for missing soldiers early the next morning and Ihor Stelmach may be reached at [email protected].

Akim Aliu: advocate for diversity in hockey Part 1 members of hockey’s underrepresented communities. But When he made his NHL debut for Calgary in April 2012, those were drowned out by tons of bigoted social media notching two goals and three points in his first two games, In June 2020, a group of nine current and former NHL posts with words and phrases not suitable for print. the triumph came at a personal cost: an official of color in players established the Hockey Diversity Alliance (HDA), an Aliu has known bigotry most of his life. He was born in the Flames’ farm system urged Aliu to shave off his Afro organization dedicated to social justice issues in the world Nigeria to a white, Ukrainian mother and a Nigerian father. prior to his call-up at the risk of “standing out” in a con- of hockey. One of the two co-chairmen of the HDA is Akim The family moved to Kyiv when he was a baby. He vividly formist sport. Aliu, a 31-year-old former NHL defenseman of Ukrainian recalls his mother once hailing a taxi for herself, Akim and Much of this personal history gushed forth on December origin, who shook the sport in November 2019 by exposing older brother, Edward, when a cab driver slowed down 3, 2019, when Aliu visited the NHL’s Toronto office eight his encounters with racism. The first and primary principle long enough to spew in Russian that he wouldn’t pick her days after his tweets about coach Peters. Along with his of the organization’s action plan was to initiate important up because she had two n---- with her, before speeding new three-man legal team, Aliu met for one hour with NHL conversations about race needed in the game. This was a away. commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill dialogue Aliu had been attempting to advance ever since Desiring a more welcoming world for their family, Tai Daly. In addition to details about the Peters incident, Aliu the Blackhawks’ second-round pick revealed on Twitter and Larissa Aliu packed up and relocated to the Toronto and lawyers presented measures for the NHL to enact, like that his coach in the minor leagues, , had suburb of Parkdale when Akim was eight. They rented a a whistleblower hotline, which the league implemented a “dropped the N-bomb” on him during the 2009-2010 sea- one-bedroom apartment in a stranger’s house and each week later at a Board of Governors meeting (without cred- son because he didn’t like Aliu’s choice of music. (After sev- parent worked multiple jobs to make ends meet. Akim iting Aliu). eral witnesses confirmed the account, Peters, then the saved up for a pair of used skates and fell in love with the Akim Aliu, whose lifelong dream was to be an NHL ’ head coach, resigned, apologizing publicly local pastime, skating for hours on area outdoor rinks. superstar for 10 to 15 years, found himself potentially in a to the Flames, but not personally to Aliu.) Rocketing up the hockey ladder thanks to his excellent position to do more to change the game than he ever could Aliu hoped his revelations would spark a long overdue skating, tough frame and strong shot, racism met Aliu at have as a mere player. The reality was hockey, out of all the reckoning for the very white hockey world and its shut-up- almost every rung. He went sixth in the 2005 Ontario major sports, needs the most retooling, and Aliu was thrust and-skate culture. The 2019-2020 NHL season saw 18 Hockey League draft, and on his first day with the Windsor into a position to spark that conversation. Black players dressing in more than five games despite the Spitfires, the 16-year-old met some teammates at the billet Two days after the meeting in Toronto, Aliu sent out a United States growing much more diverse, and the Black home of recent Philadelphia Flyers draft pick , message about a Hockey Diversity Committee. Initially it population in Canada doubling to some 1.2 million (2016 only to be asked why this n---- was in his house? Later that comprised some 10 NHL players of color, then grew to census). The NHL largely looks the same as it did back in season Aliu refused to participate in a team hazing ritual and 20-plus within two days, including All-Stars P.K. Subban 1999 when a Sports Illustrated article projected 20 Black had seven teeth knocked out by a Downie cross-check in and Seth Jones. The goal was a safe space for members to players emerging as stars in the pro ranks. practice, resulting in a fight in front of teammates. In 2011, share their experiences and create a unified force for It was in November 2019, when Aliu was reading about an equipment manager with the East Coast Hockey League’s change. Topics for discussion included zero Black general how just-ousted Toronto coach Mike Babcock – a mentor of dressed as Aliu for a team Halloween party, managers in the NHL’s 103-year existence, only one Black Bill Peters – had humiliated a Leafs player, that he decided arriving in blackface and a custom Eagles jersey with Aliu’s head coach, and just two Black assistant coaches have ever to share his story with the hockey world. He revealed how longtime nickname, “Dreamer,” sewn on the back. (The hoisted the Stanley Cup. Ditto for lack of diversity in on-ice Peters had slurred him, how he pushed back, and then how nickname was a nod to fellow Nigerian and NBA star representation: the 2019-1920 season saw eight Asian, six he was demoted to a lower minor league. He received sup- Hakeem Olajuwon.) The experience caused Aliu much anx- portive responses from fellow Black players and other iety and insomnia, resulting in a brief hospital stay. (Continued on page 15) No. 9 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 15

Through March 16 Art exhibit, “Work, People, Art: Selections from the March 6 Online Concert, “The Kyiv Avant-Garde,” Kaufman Music Chicago Works Progress Administration Collection of the Illinois Online Center, Merkin Hall, Ukrainian Contemporary Music State Museum,” Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Festival, www.ucmfnyc.com www.uima-chicago.org March 7 Online concert, “Electroacoustic Voices,” Ukrainian Through April 18 Art exhibit, “Not Afraid: Janice Elkins and Gina Lee Robbins,” Online Contemporary Music Festival, DiMenna Center, Cary Hall, Chicago Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, www.uima-chicago.org www.ucmfnyc.com

March 3-4 Webinar, “U.S.-Ukraine Security Dialogue XII: Divining the March 7 Webinar with Natalie Kapeluck-Nixon, “Walking Alongside Online New Administration’s Approach to Ukraine’s Most Pressing Online Our Faithful with Special Needs,” Office of Youth and Security Issues,” Center for U.S.-Ukraine Relations, Young Adult Ministry, www.uocyouth.org 917-476-2221 or [email protected] March 9 Webinar with Maxim Tarnawsky, “Women in the Works of March 4 Varenyky sales, Assumption of the Virgin Mary Ukrainian Online Taras Shevchenko,” Taras Shevchenko Museum, through May 20 Orthodox Church, 610-261-4575 416-534-8662 or www.shevchenko.ca Northampton, PA March 10 Book presentation by Yuliya Ladygina, “Bridging East and Online West: Ol’ha Kobylians’ka, Ukraine’s Pioneering March 5 Varrenyky sale (drive-through or pick-up), Ukrainian Modernist,” Columbia University, Whippany, NJ American Cultural Center of New Jersey, 973-479-8715 https://harriman.columbia.edu

March 5 Online concert, “Voices of the New Millennium,” with works March 10 Webinar with Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern, “A Paradigm- Online by Victoria Poleva and Oleh Bezhorodko, Ukrainian Online Changing Day: September 29, 1966, and Ukrainian-Jewish Contemporary Music Festival, The Ukrainian Museum, Relations,” Harvard University, www.huri.harvard.edu or www.ucmfnyc.com 617-495-4053

March 12 Webinar with Kathryn Ciancia, “On Civilization’s Edge: A of last year from a coalition of 18 Ukrainian Online Polish Borderland in the Interwar World,” Stanford Ukraine’s... civil society organizations, headed by the University, [email protected] or 650-725-2563 (Continued from page 7) Kyiv-based Anti-Corruption Action Center, requesting that the U.S. and EU govern- March 13, 20 Online Pysanka Workshops, “Reawaken, Revitalize and Create revenues at his disposal, Mr. Medvedchuk – ments extend the 2014 sanctions against Online Pysankas,” Ukrainian National Museum, 312-421-8020 or even without his media channels – is able Mr. Medvedchuk to include his wife and [email protected] (registration required) to purchase huge amounts of ads favoring daughters, his close associate, Mr. Kozak, March 27 Paska Easter bread pre-sale, Syracuse Ukrainian National his party and pro-Russian politicians. and all the companies they control. Syracuse, NY Home, 315-478-9272 or [email protected] One very important point to keep in There may not be a great deal that most mind is that almost all the references to Mr. Ukrainians in the diaspora can do to bring Medvedchuk’s “ownership” of various busi- down Ukraine’s enemies. But this is one Entries in “Out and About” are listed free of charge. Priority is given to events nesses mean “beneficial” ownership. After HUGE enemy whose wings can be clipped. advertised in The Ukrainian Weekly. However, we also welcome submissions U.S. sanctions were imposed on him under Please write your Congressman and from all our readers. Items will be published at the discretion of the editors the Global Magnitsky Act in 2014, he Senators to tighten the loopholes in the and as space allows. Please send e-mail to [email protected]. bypassed them by signing over title to his Global Magnitsky Act (such as signing over assets to relatives and close friends, includ- nominal ownership of assets to family and ing his wife and daughters, while publicly friends or using intermediaries in the con- mocking the sanctions as powerless in pre- duct of business) so that the sanctions real- venting him from conducting business with ly hurt, rather than simply serve as a joke MUSEUM EDUCATOR U.S. entities. His wife acknowledges that among the “impacted” oligarchs and mis- she knows very little about business, but creants. The current administration intends THE UKRAINIAN MUSEUM in New York City seeks a part-time she doesn’t have to, as Mr. Medvedchuk has to use the Global Magnitsky Act as an Educator to oversee and develop its educational programs, which been running the show. important tool in conducting foreign policy. highlight and address the rich and diverse Ukrainian cultural A petition has been submitted in the fall Let’s help make it so. exhibitions and programs presented at the Museum. The Educator will be responsible for the creation of interpretive Another former Omega officer and snip- programs and materials in support of The Ukrainian Museum’s Will anyone... er, Dmytro Khmil, was arrested in 2018 and collections and exhibits. Duties will include the design, implemen- tation and evaluation of programs for schools, children, families (Continued from page 6) charged with killing Maidan activist Oleksandr Khrapachenko. The proceedings and Museum visitors. deliberately aimed and shot at protesters in that case were reportedly suspended in on Institutska Street on the morning of August 2019, pending the response to a The successful candidate will actively expand and support collabo- February 20, 2014. The prosecution request for assistance from Switzerland. rative relationships to increase the Museum’s audience and further asserts that the Omega officer worked Mr. Khmil was, at the request of the prose- the educational initiatives of the Museum. closely with Berkut officers and that they cutor, released from house arrest in late were shooting at protesters without December 2019. He was required only to This is a great opportunity to be part of an exciting team in our attempting to ascertain whether those they give up his passport. The case appears to modern facility, and to work with curators, staff members, interns were targeting were unarmed. have gone cold since then. and volunteers in the development of stimulating and informative programs for our visitors. Qualifications: Must have an undergraduate degree in Art History, touch with his NHL brethren. When he Art Education, Education, Communications, Public Relations or Akim Aliu... returned to Toronto in early March, just as related field; or an equivalent combination of training, education (Continued from page 14) COVID-19 was attacking North America, and experience. The candidate must have demonstrated experi- momentum was fading. The conversation, ence in Social Media, excellent communication and presentation however, was not going away as racist inci- Indigenous, four Hispanic/Latino and four skills (written and oral), fluency and/or working knowledge of the Arab/Middle Eastern players in addition to dents continued. January saw AHL defense- the 18 Black players appearing in more man Brandon Manning suspended for slur- and fluency in English. than five games. ring a Black opponent; in April, the comment The successful candidate should enjoy educating audiences of The desired forum never came to fruition. section of a fan chat with New York Rangers all ages and be comfortable with inquiry-based teaching, sensitive Some players were intimidated that Aliu prospect K’Andre Miller was spammed with to working with diverse audiences, and have excellent interpersonal included his lawyers on calls, wondering if the n-word; in early May, Capitals forward skills. he was planning a lawsuit. Others were con- Brendan Leipsic was waived after his misog- Please submit resume and cover letter to [email protected] cerned about the career risk of speaking up. ynistic comments on Instagram. A few players simply walked away. Stay tuned for Part 2 of Akim Aliu’s or mail to: The Ukrainian Museum, Attn: HR, 222 East 6th Street, When Aliu signed to play with a Czech quest for diversity in the sport of hockey… New York, NY 10003. No phone calls please. club in January 2020 – his 15th pro team in his sixth country since he last played in the Ihor Stelmach may be reached at iman@ The Ukrainian Museum is an Equal Opportunity Employer. NHL in 2013 – it became very hard to keep in sfgsports.com. 16 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 No. 9