INSIDE: l UWC, UCCA react to joint statement by Trump and Putin – page 4 l Virtual community programs during coronavirus pandemic – page 9 l Young Ukrainian American awarded Carnegie Hero Medal – page 14 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit association Vol. LXXXVIII No. 18 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020 $2.00 NEWS ANALYSIS 34 years after Chornobyl disaster, After one year, is Zelenskyy running out of steam? the Exclusion Zone is burning Presidential Office of Ukraine Presidential Office of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a year after being elected president of Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his entourage lay flowers at the monument to Chornobyl Heroes located on the territory of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. by Bohdan Nahaylo shvili to his team as a vice prime minister responsible for reform. by Roman Tymotsko chuk, the only person who died on the KYIV – On April 21, 2019, Volodymyr Whatever the motives behind this move night of the Chornobyl disaster and whose Zelenskyy was elected president of Ukraine by a still relatively new president who has KYIV – April 26 is a black day on body remains forever buried in the rubble in a landslide victory that was seen by his become known for his impulsiveness, it Ukraine’s calendar. On that day in 1986, the of the central hall. As they do every year, supporters as a victory for the forces of proved to be a miscalculation. Mr. Zelens- worst nuclear disaster in history occurred workers brought flowers to the commemo- change over the old order and its ways. kyy failed even to secure a sufficient num- at the Chornobyl power plant near the city rative plaque installed in his honor. But the response to the first anniversary ber of votes within his own Servant of the of Prypiat in Kyiv Oblast. It has been On April 26, President Zelenskyy, togeth- of his presidency was a muted one, reflect- People party for Mr. Saakashvili’s approval approximated that 400 times more radio- er with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, ing the difficulties the new administration from the Parliament. The issue had to be active substances were released into the paid tribute to the Chornobyl liquidators. has run into and increasingly created for placed on hold and eventually, on April 30, atmosphere after the Chornobyl accident Mr. Zelenskyy laid flowers at the monument itself. It was overshadowed by the unex- the head of the faction, David Arakhamia, than after the nuclear bomb was dropped to the Chornobyl Heroes located near the on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. pected news the following day that announced that the president would be power plant unit that exploded in 1986. This year, there were no official public President Zelenskyy had decided to add the offering Mr. Saakashvili an alternate post. “The Chornobyl disaster is, without commemorations due to the coronavirus former Georgian president-turned-contro- exaggeration, of a planetary scale. It has quarantine restrictions. However, President versial Ukrainian politician Mikheil Saaka- (Continued on page 11) become not only a bitter lesson from the Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his delegation recent past but also a warning for the visited the site of the nuclear accident and future. Planet Earth is a cradle and a home surrounding areas. for all humanity. Therefore, its preservation During the weeks leading up to the 34th is the responsibility of every human being U.N. says consequences remain anniversary of the tragedy, wildfires rav- and a shared duty of all nations of the aged areas of the Chornobyl Exclusion world,” Mr. Zelenskyy said. The attendees 34 years after Chornobyl disaster Zone, posing a potential risk to the defunct honored the memory of the rescuers with a power plant. moment of silence. RFE/RL The firefighters on April 26 were focus- “Despite the quarantine, but in compli- The visit to Chornobyl was a part of the ing on trying to contain fires in two sepa- ance with all requirements of personal president’s working trip to the Kyiv region, The United Nations says persistent and rate areas where trees and brush are smol- safety, workers of the Chornobyl Nuclear during which Mr. Zelenskyy met with serious long-term consequences remain dering, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service Power Plant (NPP) honored the memory of employees of the State Service for more than 30 years after the explosion and said. the heroes of Chornobyl,” the Chornobyl Emergency Situations. They continue to be fire at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant Ukrainian officials have attributed NPP administration reported on its web- involved in extinguishing a large-scale for- in Ukraine. smoky air in Kyiv in recent days to fires in site. “On the eve of the sad anniversary, city est fire in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. He The warning came as the U.N. marks the nearby Zhytomyr region, assuring resi- authorities appealed to the residents of presented state awards to 22 rescuers. International Chornobyl Disaster dents that radiation levels in the Ukrainian Slavutych to observe the quarantine and to Before that, the president flew via heli- Remembrance Day on April 26 – the 34th capital are within an acceptable range. remember the fallen heroes of Chornobyl copter over the area damaged by the fire. anniversary of the accident that spread a Background radiation in Kyiv is “stable” not with the traditional laying of flowers, “We are grateful for your great work. radioactive cloud over large parts of and does “not exceed the permissible val- but with a candle in the window. Now, from the altitude of a helicopter, we Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. ues,” the State Emergency Service said on Inhabitants of the city, including many have seen the true result of your work. You More than 1,000 firefighters were work- April 26. CNPP employees, agreed, and lit candles in are heroes for us,” Mr. Zelenskyy told the ing on April 26 to try to put out brushfires The 1986 reactor meltdown and explo- many windows on the evening of April 25,” emergency workers. He noted that the fire and forest fires that have been burning the sion at Chornobyl is considered the worst the plant’s administration wrote, referring had destroyed a large area of forest – more past three weeks within the 30-kilometer civilian nuclear disaster in history. Dozens to the city built for the stricken nuclear sta- than 11,000 hectares. “Only there, from exclusion zone around the plant – raising of people, particularly firefighters and tion’s evacuated personnel. that height, can one understand how diffi- concerns about the potential release of In addition, the nuclear plant’s opera- radioactive particles into the air. (Continued on page 4) tional staff paid tribute to Valery Khodem- (Continued on page 14) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020 No. 18 ANALYSIS Revival of Ukraine’s space sector: Protest against coronavirus restrictions Dutch court began criminal proceedings against them last month. All four are Several hundred small-business owners believed to be in Russia. Most of the 298 have protested in the Ukrainian capital, A viable new prospect? people on board MH17 were Dutch citi- demanding that the authorities ease restric- Cooperation Agreement that established a zens. The jet was downed by a Russian- by Alla Hurska tions imposed to stem the spread of the partnership on Earth observation (Kmu. built surface-to-air missile system, which Eurasia Daily Monitor coronavirus. The demonstrators gathered gov.ua, July 10, 2018); now, the time has Dutch officials believe was secretly trans- on April 29 near a government building in On March 12, the Dnipropetrovsk come to deepen that partnership, the ported across the Russian border into the center of Kyiv and briefly blocked traffic Regional State Administration hosted a Ukrainian legislators argued. Moreover, on Ukraine. As part of their investigation, in defiance of rules against public gather- retreat session of the Ukrainian Parliament’s December 1, 2019, Brussels and Kyiv Dutch authorities released intercepted ings. Wearing face masks, the protesters Committee on Economic Development. The launched the Ukrainian Regional Center of phone calls and called for public help in called for permission to reopen small enter- main subject on the lawmakers’ agenda the European Union’s Copernicus Earth identifying some of the individuals heard prises such as shops, restaurants and cafes was the prospects of reviving the Ukrainian observation program. This initiative simpli- on the calls. One was a key figure named as to save them from bankruptcy. “One more rocket industry as well as launching a fies Ukraine’s access to the data from “Vladimir Ivanovich.” Bellingcat and The day of your protection and we will disap- national space program. Dnipro – nick- Copernicus Sentinel satellites, meaning that Insider identified him as Col. Gen. Burlaka, pear,” one sign read. Ukraine has confirmed named Ukraine’s “space valley” – became both the public and private sectors of who they said was the chief of operational 9,866 coronavirus cases, including 250 known during Soviet times for rocket pro- Ukraine will be granted free access to this staff for the Border Guard Service of the deaths, according to official data. Authorities duction (both military and civilian). The valuable data (Space.com.ua, January 28). FSB. The outlets said they established the imposed lockdown restrictions in March, zenith of the region’s development coincid- According to Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, general’s identity by searching phone ordering all nonessential businesses to ed with the creation of the SS-18 “Satan” Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for records and travel data, and comparing his close and reserving public transport for missile; though, after the dissolution of the European and Euro-Atlantic integration, voice from different recordings.