The Ukrainian Weekly, 2017
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INSIDE: l UWC visits Ukrainians in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore – page 8 l How we celebrated Ukrainian Independence Day – centerfold l Borzemsky retrospective at The Ukrainian Museum – page 16 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXXV No. 37 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2017 $2.00 Konowal Walk opens at WWI memorial in France Ukraine’s Donbas war veterans fight invisible foe of post-combat stress by Mark Raczkiewycz KYIV – Vasyl Bondar faced a new foe when he came home from a tour of duty in a Ukrainian naval forces unit that included nearly nine months in the frontline Donetsk Oblast town of Shyrokyne where he often faced shelling from Russian-led forces. Returning to civilian life in November 2016, the 42-year-old native Kyivan started fighting an enemy that was at once invisible and elusive. “I was sleeping only two to four hours a day, my hearing became supersensitive and my sight greatly deteriorated,” he told The Ukrainian Weekly. “My state of mind was At the Konowal Walk dedication ceremonies (from left) are: Paul Grod, president, ruined.” Ukrainian Canadian Congress; Prof. Lubomyr Luciuk, chairman, Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation; and the presiding officer, Lt. Gen. Paul The former marine noticed other chang- Wynnyk, commander, Canadian Army. es, or what psychologists say are post-trau- ma symptoms that are prevalent among Courtesy of Vasyl Bondar Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties The naming of the central pathway at the war veterans. Vasyl Bondar, 42, spent nearly nine Association Hill 70 memorial after Konowal was made “You see, over there [on the front] we possible through the generosity of the turned into ‘animals’… I had this feeling that months in the frontline town of Shyrokyne LOOS-EN-GOHELLE, France – Hundreds Temerty Family Foundation, the Ihnatowycz I was surrounded by enemies back home… in Donetsk Oblast in a marine unit during of people from France and a sizeable dele- Family Foundation, the Petro Jacyk my head was spinning 360 degrees… I felt his yearlong tour of duty. gation of Ukrainians from the diaspora Education Foundation, the Ukrainian uneasy with strangers standing behind me war veteran that the Bostonian’s team attended the public unveiling of the Battle Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation, in lines,” Mr. Bondar related. helped with sleep deprivation and promot- of Hill 70 Memorial at Loos-en-Gohelle, Canadian First World War Internment Initially, he took steps to overcome these ed mental well-being through seminars run France, on August 22. Recognition Fund, Ukrainian Canadian conditions and acclimatize alone. He by other combatants and trained psycholo- Included in the ceremony was the offi- Veterans Fund, Shevchenko Foundation and would, for example, force himself to buy gists. cial opening of the Konowal Walk. Cpl. Filip other Ukrainian Canadian organizations cheap items at grocery stores just to grow In Ukraine, few veterans also are willing Konowal’s valor 100 years ago at the Battle and individuals, with the support of the accustomed to standing in lines again. to admit that war trauma has affected them. of Hill 70 (August 22, 1917) was recog- Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain. Then a former colleague told him about Statistics show, however, that post-combat nized with the highest medal of the British Prof. Lubomyr Luciuk, chairman of the Wounded Warrior Ukraine, a project found- stress is taking a toll on combatants. Empire, the Victoria Cross. He was the only ed by Dr. Roman Torgovitsky, a Harvard- Ukrainian ever so distinguished. (Continued on page 16) trained biomedical scientist. She told the (Continued on page 5) Toronto celebrates Ukraine’s independence, Canada’s 150th anniversary by Nadia Prokopiw Consul General Andrii Veselovskyi. Mr. Bahriy reiterated that “Ukraine is TORONTO – The Ukrainian Canadian still in a real war, regardless of who is call- Congress Toronto Branch (UCC-Toronto) wel- ing it what… but we will overcome and comed over 12,000 people to the 26th annual defeat our enemy because truth and God Ukrainian Independence Day celebration on are on our side.” He also proudly recalled Saturday, August 19, at Centennial Park in the words of Ukraine’s president, who said Toronto for what is the largest such celebra- that “Toronto is the largest Ukrainian City tion in North America and the diaspora. outside of the boundaries of Ukraine,” The 2017 Independence Day celebration whose residents are true Ukrainian patriots marked not only over a quarter century of who continue to fight for Ukraine’s sus- Ukraine’s independent statehood, but also tained independence. commemorated Canada’s 150th anniversary. The celebration was attended by many The event was a huge success: there was government representatives. Among the record attendance and a full day of festivi- Federal representatives offering greetings ties and entertainment. and showing support for the independence The stage program commenced with of Ukraine were the Minister of Science opening prayers conducted by clergy from Kirsty Duncan, Members of Parliament the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Arif Virani, James Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. This Maloney, Peter Fonseca, Peter Kent, and was followed by a warm welcome from the Andrew Scheer, leader of the Conservative UCC-Toronto President Taras Bahriy, and Paul Horbal Party of Canada. special greetings from Ukraine’s ambassa- Flag-bearers in Centennial Park for Toronto’s Ukrainian Independence Day celebra- dor to Canada, Andriy Shevchenko and tion, which also marked the 150th anniversary of Canada. (Continued on page 11) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2017 No. 37 ANALYSIS Zapad 2017 plan reflects religious, NATO chief on Russia war games give the final confirmation on September 14, one day before they are due to expire, TAPA, Estonia – NATO chief Jens the diplomats said. The diplomats said that Stoltenberg has said he sees no “imminent ethnic factors, not just geopolitical ones Russia’s new ambassador to the United threat” from Russia’s upcoming military States, Anatoly Antonov will remain on the be directed. These include “Luben” (com- maneuvers with Belarus, but criticized by Paul Goble EU sanctions list as no country asked for his posed of the northeastern portion of Poland Moscow for not being more open about the Eurasia Daily Monitor removal. Mr. Antonov, a former deputy and the southwestern part of Lithuania, i.e., drills. The Zapad (West) 2017 exercise, defense minister and deputy foreign minis- The upcoming Zapad 2017 joint exercise which Moscow says will involve some ter who arrived in Washington on August by Russian and Belarusian troops in (within which are the remainder of 12,700 troops, has caused concern in 31 to take up his post, is under EU and Belarus has sparked concerns that it may theLithuania so-called and “Suwałki the central corridor), part “Vesbariya” of Latvia) Poland and the Baltic states. Lithuania and Canadian sanctions but not U.S. sanctions. be used by Moscow either to carry out a and, most provocatively of all, “Vayshnoria” Estonia say that as many as 100,000 sol- The Russians under EU sanctions include hybrid revolution in Belarus – along the (embracing the northwestern portions of diers could take part, though Russia insists Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin; lines of what Vladimir Putin did in Crimea Grodno, Minsk and Vitebsk oblasts, which the event is “purely defensive” in nature. Sergei Glazyev, an adviser to Russian in 2014 – or to put new pressure on are all part of modern-day Belarus and are NATO has deployed four battle groups – President Vladimir Putin; Armed Forces Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries. populated by the largest concentration of around 4,000 troops – to Estonia, General Staff chief Valery Gerasimov; and Minsk has sought to downplay those fears the country’s Roman Catholics). Thus, on Lithuania, Latvia and Poland in recent state TV presenter Dmitry Kiselyov. The EU by inviting observers from these countries the map issued by the defense planners, years in response to growing Russian will also add the company Crimean Sea and others and insisting that all Russian which Nasha Niva features in its reporting, assertiveness in the region, particularly Ports, which runs several ports on the pen- troops will be withdrawn from Belarusian the Republic of Belarus itself is shown in “a after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in insula, to the sanctions list and remove four territory when the exercise is completed at truncated form” (Nasha Niva, August 29). 2014. Mr. Stoltenberg, speaking during a separatists who have died since the last the end of September (Interfax, July 17; In both Russian and Western defense visit to a NATO contingent in Tapa, Estonia, renewal. A total of 149 people and 38 enti- Belta, August 29). exercises, it is common practice to invent said the alliance’s troop presence sent a ties are expected to remain on the list. But plans for the exercise, as announced “enemy” regions to avoid offending existing clear message “that an attack on one ally (RFE/RL, with reporting by Rikard Jozwiak) by the Belarusian General Staff, could add states by naming them directly. But three will trigger a response from the whole alli- to nervousness not only in Belarus itself, things make the Zapad 2017 case more ance.” He added, “We will monitor the Putin’s threat, if U.S. gives lethal aid but among neighboring countries as well. serious in this regard than is normally true. [Zapad] activity closely and we are vigilant MOSCOW – If the United States provides The Belarusian paper Nasha Niva First, by playing up ethnic and religious fac- but also calm, because we don’t see any lethal aid to Ukraine, Russian militants may reports that those who planned the exer- tors relative to political ones, this wargame imminent threat against any NATO ally.” point their guns at other Ukrainian regions cise created notional “enemy” territories plan appears to underscore Vladimir But Mr.