INSIDE: l Symposium dedicated to St. John Paul II and Ukrainians – page 9 l Dzherelo in Lviv set to open new branches – page 9 l Chrebet the ultimate rags-to-riches story – page 18 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit association Vol. LXXXIX No. 17 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 25, 2021 $2.00 Kyiv to commemorate 35th anniversary of Ukraine braces for Russia’s next moves Chornobyl accident with multi-media events as Zelenskyy offers Putin meeting in Donbas by Mark Raczkiewycz that still linger in society today, the project website says. President enables call-up of army reserves KYIV – To mark the 35th anniversary of A survey commissioned by the Culture as 120,000 Russian troops at border the Chornobyl nuclear accident on April 26, Ministry at the Kyiv International Institute the nonprofit European Institute of of Sociology found that 60 percent of adult Chornobyl is holding a series of events to Ukrainians do not know the date when the commemorate and raise awareness about fourth reactor at the Chornobyl Nuclear the fallout that will include discussions, lec- Power Station exploded on April 26, 1986. tures, a musical concert and an evening Thirty-one people died in the first days memorial vigil. of the accident, and an estimated 4,000- An official mobile phone application – 10,000 died later from causes related to Chornobyl App – was even developed for radiation exposure. users to view the schedule and read more The explosion released the most radio- about the mixed online and offline format active material at one time in an accident that runs from April 20 through the end of emitting “an estimated 45 million curies of the month. That app can be found at radioactive iodine (among other elements) http://chornobyl35.com/. …into the atmosphere,” Massachusetts A primary goal of the endeavor is to dis- pel Soviet myths about the nuclear fallout (Continued on page 18) Joint Forces Operation of Ukraine A row of Ukrainian tanks hold drills in the war zone of eastern Ukraine on April 20. by Mark Raczkiewycz critical component of the country’s indus- trial economy. KYIV – Ukrainian President Volodymyr “Does Ukraine want a war? No. Is it Zelenskyy challenged his Russian counter- ready for it? Yes,” Mr. Zelenskyy said in a part Vladimir Putin to a meeting in the war televised address to the nation on April 20. zone of eastern Ukraine as the country’s “Ukraine does not start a war first, but warring neighbor has now amassed more Ukraine always stands to the last man.” military forces than when it first invaded in Ever since Russian began building up its 2014-2015 amid a high-intensity war. military near the Ukrainian border in In addition to deploying 120,000 troops March, Moscow has eschewed direct dia- around Ukraine’s state border and in occu- logue with Kyiv, including phone calls, and pied Crimea, Moscow has limited maritime refused to send a delegation to a recent traffic through the Azov and Black seas, and vastly reduced the supply of diesel fuel, a (Continued on page 5) Chernobyl Radiation and Environmental Biosphere Reserve A team of wild Przewalski’s horses gallop across a field in an image taken from drone footage on April 20. Russia orders soldiers back to permanent bases after large-scale drills in Crimea RFE/RL However, it was unclear from Mr. COVID-19 death toll Shoigu’s announcement if the return Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has order covered all of the troops involved in Ukraine reaches 40,000 ordered Russian troops to start returning in that buildup. to their permanent bases following The Russian Defense Ministry said the by Roman Tymotsko “I would like to start with restrained extensive military drills in annexed drills in Crimea involved more than 60 optimism,” said Maxym Stepanov, the coun- Crimea that heightened tensions with ships, over 10,000 troops, around 200 LVIV – After one of the harshest periods try’s minister of health, during a press the West over Moscow’s major military aircraft, and about 1,200 military vehi- of COVID-19 in Ukraine, the country briefing on April 20. “We are now in the buildup near Ukraine. cles. appears to have passed a peak of the pan- third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. “I believe the objectives of the snap But the Russian military hasn’t report- demic. A forecast from the National We all see how difficult it is today and how inspection have been fully achieved. The ed the total number of additional troops Academy of Sciences shows that mortality many cases we face every day. But at the troops have demonstrated their ability to that have been moved to the region. from COVID-19 is in a final phase of the pla- same time, we can say that we have passed provide a credible defense for the coun- Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top teau, with a decrease in mortality expected the peak of morbidity.” try,” Mr. Shoigu was quoted as saying on diplomat, said on April 19 that Russia in the coming days. The government, how- The figures for the past week compared April 22 by the RIA news agency. has massed some 100,000 troops near ever, has decided to continue a national with the week before last show that “the dis- “In this regard, I have decided to com- the border. quarantine until June 30, preparing for the ease has declined,” Mr. Stepanov said. And plete the inspections in the southern and Russia has argued that it has the right possibility of a new spike in cases after this is a tribute to Ukrainians who adhered western military districts,” he said, add- to deploy its forces anywhere on its terri- Easter, though the first batches of Pfizer to the restrictions, the minister stressed. ing that the troops would return to their vaccines under the COVAX initiative arrived bases by May 1. (Continued on page 2) in Ukraine. (Continued on page 3) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 25, 2021 No. 17 NEWS ANALYSIS Macron, Merkel, Zelenskyy meet Czechs detain five eager to fight in Ukraine directorate, who were targeted in the expul- sions. Kyiv and NATO have raised alarm bells The Czech national unit to combat orga- this month over a buildup of Russian mili- to defuse Russian war scare nized crime has detained at least five Czechs tary forces near the border with Ukraine suspected of planning to travel to eastern that threatens a new chapter in the simmer- by Vladimir Socor attribution of that risk). “Concerned about Ukraine to fight alongside Russia-backed ing war since Russia invaded and annexed Eurasia Daily Monitor the growth in Russian troops along the Russia-Ukraine border and on the unlawful- separatists against a backdrop of rising ten- Crimea and began backing the separatists in On April 16, in Paris, French President ly annexed Crimea,” the conferees urge a sions between Prague and Moscow. Donetsk and Luhansk in early 2014. Moscow Emmanuel Macron hosted talks with “downscaling of those troop reinforcements, Investigators from the state prosecutor’s has consistently rejected accusations that it Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with a view to achieving a de-escalation” office suspect the five of preparing to join a is actively involved in the eastern Ukrainian in person and with German Chancellor (German readout). No reference appeared to militant group that calls itself the Donetsk conflict despite years of evidence to the con- Angela Merkel, who joined by video-link Russia’s incendiary threats of war. People’s Republic, which opposes Kyiv and trary, including captures of Russian troops in midway through the conversation. - controls part of eastern Ukraine near the the war zone. Russian relations with the The three leaders’ shared goal at this mit’s communique “remain[s] fully perti- Russian border, Czech state prosecutor Czech Republic had already taken a public juncture is to defuse the perceived threat of nent• The and December require[s] 2019 that Normandy Russia engage sum Martin Bily said on April 21. Earlier reports turn for the worse after local officials last Russian military action against Ukraine. The with Ukraine in order to facilitate imple- suggested that around 20 people had been year dismantled a statue in Prague dedicated Kremlin has orchestrated this war scare by mentation” (French readout). Those terms detained in the overnight operation by the to Soviet commander Marshal Ivan Konev. concentrating massive forces near Ukraine’s require the Ukrainian parliament to adopt NCOZ, a police unit to counter terrorism and Russia threatened a response and opened a borders and in occupied Crimea, with high a new framework law on the “special sta- extremism. But Mr. Bily said five people had criminal case over what it viewed as a publicity and dire rhetorical threats. The tus” of the Russian-controlled territory in been detained and no one had been charged slight. (RFE/RL, with reporting by iDnes.cz, aim is to intimidate Ukraine into compliance Ukraine’s east, to incorporate the so-called yet. The roundup comes with the Czechs Respekt and Aktualne.cz) with the 2015 Minsk “agreements” and have Steinmeier Formula in that law, and to pre- and Russians already embroiled in a flurry Berlin and Paris ratify that compliance pare “elections” in that territory (see EDM, of diplomatic expulsions since the April 17 Zelenskyy invites Putin to meet through the quadripartite Normandy pro- December 11, 12, 2019). Kyiv has resisted announcement that Czech authorities Ukrainian President Volodymyr cess (Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France). those demands to date. President Zelens- blame two Russian officers of a secretive Macron’s ambition is to replace the exit- kyy is aware that yielding to those Zelenskyy has invited his Russian counter- GRU military intelligence unit for an explo- part, Vladimir Putin, to meet him in eastern bound Ms.