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No. 50, December 13, 2015

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No. 50, December 13, 2015 INSIDE: l Text of Biden’s address to the Verkhovna Rada – page 3 l Snyder gives 18th annual Ukrainian Famine Lecture – page 4 l Lubomyr Luciuk’s op-ed on Canada and refugees – page 7 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXXIII No. 50 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2015 $2.00 At the epicenter of reforms, U.S. vice-president addresses Verkhovna Rada Jaresko offers bird’s eye view Biden says cost to Moscow will rise if aggression persists by Zenon Zawada KYIV – Natalie Jaresko has been at the epicenter of the Ukrainian government’s reform efforts since accepting her appointment to the Cabinet as finance minister on December 2 of last year and taking Ukrainian citizenship the same day. Since then, Ms. Jaresko has earned international recog- nition for her successful execution of a $15 billion debt operation, in which Ukraine’s government and some of its biggest enterprises had to restructure their debt repay- ments that were made impossible due to the economic wreckage caused by the war in Donbas. Her next biggest challenge is preparing the 2016 state budget, which will require a painful $2.5 billion in savings, most likely in the form of spending cuts, to meet the International Monetary Fund’s requirement that the deficit not exceed 3.7 percent of GDP. “Ugh. I don’t know how you’d compare. They’re both enormous challenges,” Ms. Jaresko said when asked by The Ukrainian Weekly whether the debt operation or the bud- get was the bigger challenge. She’s a busy woman, to put it mildly. Kyiv economists told The Weekly that she often schedules meetings with them, far more than her predecessors, yet she ends up can- celing some of them because of other last-minute engage- Presidential Administration of Ukraine ments that surface. U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden addresses the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The Weekly managed to sneak in a few questions with Ms. Jaresko amid her busy schedule at Ukrainian Catholic RFE/RL 8 in a rare appearance by a top Western official before the University’s eighth annual Charitable Evening and Silent Verkhovna Rada. KYIV – U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden told Ukraine’s Auction held on December 5 at the Fairmont Grand Hotel “The U.S. will maintain pressure until Moscow fulfills its Parliament that Western pressure on Russia will increase if in Kyiv. She popped in soon after at the start, gave some [peace deal] commitments,” he said. “Despite some de- interviews, then had to leave for a Cabinet meeting. Moscow continues its “aggression” against Kyiv. escalation in violence, there can be no sanctions relief “If Russian aggression persists, the cost imposed on (Continued on page 10) Moscow will continue to rise,” Mr. Biden said on December (Continued on page 12) Svyatoslav Vakarchuk speaks on civil society in Ukraine at Fordham University by Dana Kurylyk Aside from his artistic achievements, Mr. Vakarchuk holds a Ph.D. degree in theoretical physics and has been NEW YORK – Svyatoslav (Slava) Vakarchuk delivered a widely recognized for his activism. He established the char- guest lecture, titled “Ordinary Citizens in Extraordinary ity foundation Lyudy Maybutnyoho (People of the Future) Times: Civil Society in Ukraine,” at Fordham University on with projects that include “Knyha Tvoryt Lyudynu” (A November 20. This event was sponsored by the Book Creates A Man), “Osvita Krainoyu” (The Country’s Department of Political Science and the deans of arts and Education), “3D Proyekt” (3D Project) and “Dumay, Diy, science in an attempt to advance the understanding of Dopomohai.” (Think, Act, Help). world politics among Fordham students. In 2007, Mr. Vakarchuk won a seat in the Ukrainian Mr. Varkarchuk is currently finishing up his Yale World Parliament and went on to play a conducive part in law- Fellowship program in New Haven, Conn. The purpose of making as a member of the Parliamentary Committee on the program is to cultivate a generation of globally engaged Freedom of Expression and Information. However, he gave leaders devoted to making the world a better place. up this position in 2008 in protest against the overwhelm- Throughout the program, Mr. Varkarchuk has been active ing level of political corruption in Ukraine. Mr. Vakarchuk’s in contributing as a lecturer at various American universi- involvement in the Euro-Maidan revolution of 2013-2014 ties, including Harvard, Columbia and the University of earned him an unmatched level of public support and California-Berkeley. influence of which few, if any, politicians in Ukraine can Olena Nikolayenko, associate professor of political sci- boast. His volunteer projects, concerts and posts on ence at Fordham, introduced the guest speaker to the audi- Twitter and social media provide Ukrainians with hope for ence, albeit he does not need any introductions in the a better future. Ukrainian community. Mr. Vakarchuk is widely known as the His lecture at Fordham primarily focused on the role lead singer of the most successful post-Soviet rock band of that civil society plays in the development of a country. Ukraine, Okean Elzy. The tours of Okean Elzy sell out venues Using metaphorical images and expanding on philosophi- and stadiums across Ukraine and the world, while each of cal ideas of Aristotle and Plato, Mr. Vakarchuk reflected on Dana Kurylyk the eight studio albums released since their formation in Svyatoslav Vakarchuk lectures at Fordham University. 1994 in Lviv were a music sensation in Ukraine. (Continued on page 4) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2015 No. 50 ANALYSIS Ukraine is not a bargaining chip Over 9,000 killed in Ukraine’s east Russia says U.S. refused guarantees KYIV – A United Nations report released MOSCOW – Russia says it has received an for Putin’s support against ISIS on December 9 says the confirmed death toll official refusal from the U.S. government to from the conflict in eastern Ukraine now provide guarantees for Ukraine’s debts and by Ihor Kozak the conflict indefinitely in order to exert exceeds 9,000, despite a “significant reduc- that Moscow will sue Kyiv if it doesn’t pay pressure on Kyiv and the West, while keep- tion of hostilities in certain parts” of the its debt on time, according to December 5 Two months ago, while travelling along ing open the possibility to advance further region. The report by the U.N. Human Rights news reports. The Russian Finance Ministry the frontlines of eastern Ukraine, I predict- at any point in time. The Kremlin’s ratio- Monitoring Mission in Ukraine attributed says that without Washington’s guarantee ed that the Minsk II ceasefire agreements nale behind its recent escalation on the the decrease in hostilities to the withdrawal for Ukraine’s debt, Moscow cannot restruc- would not be respected by the Kremlin and frontlines is to achieve a frozen conflict by of “certain heavy weapons by the Ukrainian ture the $3 billion loan and will sue Kyiv if it its puppet Peoples’ Republics. It was clear gradually sabotaging the execution of the military” and pro-Russian separatist fighters. doesn’t repay the debt by December 20, to me – in spite of a tentative ceasefire put Minsk II agreements without triggering But it warned that weapons and fighters are when it is due. Russia had offered to in place on October 2 – that the situation in more Western sanctions. still pouring into rebel-held areas of eastern restructure Ukraine’s Eurobond loan in the Donbas would continue to deteriorate. The tragic events in Paris and the inten- Ukraine from Russia. It said the death toll equal installments over the next three years Unfortunately, my projections were sification of the West’s fight against ISIS put since fighting began in April 2014 had if the West agreed to provide guarantees. right. Fighting has flared up again. Over the a new spin on the Russian-Ukrainian con- reached 9,098 in mid-November with anoth- But Ukraine has included the Russian loan last few weeks, Ukrainian field command- flict. The West wants Russia’s cooperation er 20,732 people injured. The casualty toll among several loans that are to be restruc- ers, humanitarian volunteers and local against ISIS and Syrian President Bashar includes civilians, Ukrainian government tured in a deal with a group of its largest troops, and pro-Russian armed groups. The journalists told me that the Russia-backed Assad. Western leaders are asking Mr. Putin creditors, in effect spurning Russia’s report says there were 47 civilian deaths in fighters have been engaging in provocative to agree to a formula, where Mr. Assad restructuring offer. The Russian Finance eastern Ukraine between August 26 and shootings from mortars, heavy machine could be removed from power, thus hope- Ministry claimed that its restructuring offer November 15. It said most of those deaths guns, automatic weapons and snipers, and fully halting the country’s five-year civil had better terms for Ukraine than the were caused by “explosive remnants of war that these have become a regular occur- war. They are also calling for the Russian and improvised explosive devices, under- International Monetary fund (IMF) loan rence along the entire frontline. military to stop attacking the pro-Western scoring the urgent need for extensive mine terms. Ukraine is restructuring its debts On several occasions, the separatists Syrian rebels, and to focus on fighting ISIS clearance and mine awareness actions on under an IMF-led $40 billion bailout pro- have even brazenly launched full-fledged instead. both sides of the conflict line.” (RFE/RL) gram. The Eurobond was issued by the gov- frontal assaults on Ukrainian positions.
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