The Ukrainian Weekly, 2020
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Part 1 of THE YEAR IN REVIEW pages 7-16 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association, Inc., celebrating W its 125th anniversaryEEKLY Vol. LXXXVIII No. 3 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2020 $2.00 Shootdown of Ukrainian airliner President Zelenskyy signs law in Tehran under investigation on state recognition of Plast by Bohdan Nahaylo shortly after taking off from Tehran airport. Iranian authorities quickly blamed the KYIV – The downing of a Ukrainian crash on some sort of technical failure. International Airlines airliner in Iran on Despite this occurring at a time of height- January 8 with the loss of 176 lives has con- ened tensions between Iran and the U.S., tinued to dominate domestic and interna- Tehran categorically ruled out the possibili- tional headlines. ty that its air defense systems might have On January 16, Canada’s Foreign Affairs shot down the airliner. At first, the Minister François-Philippe Champagne Ukrainian Embassy in Tehran also chaired a gathering in London of a newly appeared to follow this line. There was also formed international coordination and the possibility of a terrorist attack aboard response group that includes four other the plane, or of a bomb being planted on it. countries that lost citizens in the downing President Zelenskyy, who at the time of UIA Flight 752: Ukraine, Sweden, was in Oman, also adopted a cautious tone. Afghanistan and Britain. The group of He called for patience until the reasons for grieving nations has drafted a framework the disaster became known, and urged all for working with Iran on the disaster. to refrain from speculation and finger Apart from Iranian nationals, the largest pointing. Although immediately criticized group of foreigners on the doomed plane by some at home for not taking a firmer were Canadian citizens. Also killed were 11 stance vis a vis the Iranian authorities, Ukrainians, including nine crew members. especially as evidence began emerging Andrii Skrobach Bo Photography Kyiv and Ottawa have been working very indicating that Tehran had indeed brought Yurko Yuzych, the head of Ukraine’s National Deputy Sviatoslav Yurash, who closely in the aftermath to develop the the plane down, Mr. Zelenskyy diplomati- Plast Board. leads the inter-factional union appropriate responses. cally let other foreign leaders speak out and Ukrainians in the World. Ukrainian President Volodymyr express their common suspicions. by Roman Tymotsko Zelenskyy, together with Canadian Prime The Ukrainian president evidently want- the legislation. The 215 votes for the bill KYIV – On January 13, Volodymyr from the presidential faction, Servant of the Minister Justin Trudeau and other interna- ed to maintain a direct channel of commu- Zelenskyy signed the law on state recogni- People, only strengthened confidence that tional leaders, has called for a complete and nications between Kyiv and Tehran in order tion of the Plast movement. Almost a Mr. Zelenskyy would sign the law. The main thorough probe of what occurred, and for to secure access for Ukraine to the investi- month earlier, on December 17, Ukraine’s question was: When? Iran to assume full responsibility with all gation, to the wreckage, black boxes and Parliament passed the law with 316 votes “If a law on state recognition and sup- the legal and financial implications. Ukraine bodies of the victims, and in this way to be (with at least 226 required) in the second port for Plast had been adopted in the early has asked for a formal apology and request- able to discover who or what was responsi- affirmative vote on this legislation. 1990s, it is possible that today the organi- ed that Iran hand over the flight recorders; ble for what had occurred. Considering that the earlier version of zation’s branch in the Kryvyi Rih, it is also awaiting repatriation of the vic- Mr. Zelenskyy worked in close coopera- the law had been rejected by the president Zelenskyy’s birthplace, would already have tims’ remains. tion with Prime Minister Trudeau. The lat- and then amended to take into account his thousands of members and hundreds of Initially, it was unclear why the plane comments, there were very few doubts that suddenly burst into flames and went down (Continued on page 19) the president would sign and finally enact (Continued on page 19) Ukraine to establish Honorary Consulate in Philadelphia Embassy of Ukraine in the U.S.A. WASHINGTON – Ukraine’s new ambassador to the United States, Volodymyr Yelchenko, and recently appoint- ed Honorary Consul Iryna Mazur on January 11 took part in a ceremony at Ukraine’s Embassy during which an agreement about the creation of an Honorary Consulate in Philadelphia was signed. “Providing closer ties w/ Ukrainian Americans is one of our major priorities,” the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States wrote on Twitter on January 11. On December 19, President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Mr. Yelchenko as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United States. He pre- sented his credentials to President Donald Trump on January 6. Prior to this, Mr. Yelchenko concurrently held the posi- tions of permanent representative of Ukraine to the United Nations in New York and of Ukraine’s ambassador to Embassy of Ukraine in the U.S.A. Jamaica. He has worked in the diplomatic service of Iryna Mazur, who has been named Ukraine’s honorary consul in Philadelphia, with Ukraine’s Ambassador to the Ukraine since 1981. He previously served as Ukraine’s United States Volodymyr Yelchenko. ambassador to Austria and to the Russian Federation. 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2020 No. 3 ANALYSIS Russian military intelligence and FSB men Kyiv wants compensation for PS752 these conditions, unfortunately, he made a bad decision and the missile was fired,” Mr. reportedly led unit involved in Ukraine invasion President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Hajizadeh said. Yevheniy Dykhne, president Ukraine expects a full probe, a full admis- of UIA, told a news conference in Kyiv on sion of guilt and compensation from Iran Russia has a long track record of illegally January 11 that the airline received no by Halya Coynash after Tehran admitted, following days of using GRU or ordinary Russian soldiers in warnings before the plane took off. “At the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group denial, that it accidentally shot down a countries against whom it has not declared time of the [flight’s] departure from [Kyiv’s] Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 The so-called E.N.O.T Corporation, a war. When officers get caught, as were two Borispol Airport our air company had no aboard. “We expect from Iran assurances of once lavishly-funded Russian “private mili- GRU officers (Yevgeny Yerofeyev and information about potential threats – just their readiness for a full and open investi- tary company” that helped Russia seize Alexander Aleksandrovich) in the Luhansk as exactly the same way at the time of its gation, bringing those responsible to jus- control of Crimea and fought in the Donbas, Oblast in May 2015, huge pressure is departure from the airport in Tehran our tice, the return of the bodies of the dead, has run into trouble with Russian enforce- brought to bear to get them to deny their air company had no information, and no the payment of compensation, official apol- ment bodies, although not over its killings military status and claim that they had left decisions by responsible administrations ogies through diplomatic channels,” he in Ukraine. the military to become “volunteers.” Given have been provided to us,” Mr. Dykhne said. added. Mr. Zelenskyy spoke later in the day The Russian Investigative Committee the testimony of many ex-hostages, and the (RFE/RL, with reporting by wire services) claims that E.N.O.T men, under the leader- fact that three of the four first men due to by phone with Iranian President Hassan ship of two Russian FSB officers, took part be tried (in absentia) over the downing of Rohani. Mr. Zelenskyy’s press office said Mr. Canada seeks key role in Iran downing probe in extortion and robbery in Russia, and MH17 by a Russian Buk missile over the Rohani admitted during the call that Iran’s many of them are now in custody over occupied Donbas are Russian former (or military mistakenly shot down the plane, Canada says it intends to play a key role these charges. It seems likely, in fact, that current) FSB or GRU, there is no obvious Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 in investigating the crash of a Ukrainian air- this is a crackdown, not for criminal activi- reason to doubt that military men did play (PS752). Mr. Rohani apologized for the liner, a Boeing 737-800NG owned by ties, but for their leaders’ conflict with their a role in E.N.O.T at the time when the latter tragedy and promised that those responsi- Ukraine International Airlines, that killed Kremlin administrators. was being used for Russia’s invasion of ble would be held accountable, Mr. Zelens- dozens of its citizens despite not having There are numerous illegal armed for- Crimea and undeclared war against kyy’s press service said. The two also dis- direct diplomatic relations with Tehran. mations receiving suspicious amounts of Ukraine, as well as for its military activities cussed Iranian compensation to the vic- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau funding, so the disappearance of E.N.O.T in Syria. tims. The Ukrainian president called Iran’s told a news conference in Ottawa that 138 Corp. fighters and their “military-patriotic” The E.N.O.T Corps was one of several admission of guilt “a step in the right direc- of the 176 people on board the flight from camps teaching young kids how to kill may “private military companies” whose fight- tion” and insisted Tehran complete the Tehran to Kyiv had onward connections to not make a significant difference.