INSIDE: l Senate resolution honors Revolution of Dignity – page 3 l At the heart of the Ukrainian Cultural Festival – page 11 l Our community: Oregon and Florida – page 15 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association, Inc., celebrating W its 125th anniversaryEEKLY Vol. LXXXVII No. 31 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, AUGUST 4, 2019 $2.00 Experts ask: After the elections, Zelenskyy and Servant of the People party what comes next in Ukraine? prepare for new Parliament’s convocation by Adrian Karmazyn government and Parliament on the by Bohdan Nahaylo nerability to internal fragmentation, reform process. requires consolidation, orderliness and a WASHINGTON – Speaking to audienc- As stated by Eugene Czolij, head of the KYIV – As the implications of the his- clearer sense of direction. es in the United States and Ukraine via Ukrainian World Congress International toric landslide victory by President Right now the question of who will be video link, experts in Kyiv said they see a Observer Mission to Ukraine’s 2019 elec- Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Servant of the President Zelenskyy’s chief officers in the window of opportunity for reforms now tions: “This was a watershed year. People party sink in, important clues and new Parliament and government is that the Ukrainian presidential and par- Ukraine has pulled [off] another incredi- details have been emerging about how its uppermost in minds of both his party and liamentary elections have been complet- ble feat. It has conducted three rounds of leaders see their next steps, priorities its potential allies and opponents. What is ed and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s elections – the two rounds of presiden- and challenges. at stake is not only the positions of speak- Servant of the People party has gained a tial elections and then parliamentary The crucial issue for them at this stage er of the Verkhovna Rada and two depu- majority in Parliament. elections – in a fair, democratic, trans- is to have the new Verkhovna Rada in ties, but also the head of the party’s par- The July 24 teleconference took place parent, free manner, notwithstanding the place as soon as is possible and for their liamentary faction, and chairs of various under the of the auspices of the fact that Ukraine is the object of Russian victorious and majority party to put its parliamentary committees. And then Transatlantic Task Force on Elections aggression for now over five years.” representatives in key positions both there are posts of prime minister and and Civil Society in Ukraine. Vasyl Babych of the Reanimation within the Parliament and in the new other members of the Cabinet. Since November of last year, this Package of Reforms (RPR), a coalition of government. Only then will it be possible According to the 24Kanal TV Channel, Transatlantic Task Force has conducted a leading civil society organizations, char- to move ahead with promised new laws at his first meeting with all the newly series of international video conferences acterized the post-election situation in and a revamping of institutions and poli- elected national duties from his party on aimed at encouraging Ukraine to stay on Ukraine as a “window of opportunities” cies. July 25, Mr. Zelenskyy “devoted quite a lot the path of reform during the 2018-2019 for change that can be guided by a President Zelenskyy and others have of attention to the question of unity and presidential and parliamentary election “visionary document” prepared by RPR expressed the hope that the new discipline.” This week, all of them were cycle. Two key components of that effort and others at the recent Ukraine Reform Verkhovna Rada could be convened on taken for a retreat in the Carpathian were helping make sure that the voices Conference in Toronto. Ukrainian Independence Day on August resort town of Truskavets, not only for a of Ukrainian civil society are heard in “We very much hope that this is the 24. But this now seems unlikely because crash course in governance and econom- Washington, Kyiv and Brussels, and time to reshape communication and part- several of the results in the parliamentary ics, but evidently also for team-building emphasizing the importance of conduct- nership between civil society, government elections are still being contested in purposes. ing free and fair elections in Ukraine. [and] business associations. We started court. The head of the Presidential Office, The question of appointments is linked In the latest discussion, held just three this process, we very much hope, with the Andriy Bohdan, said on July 30 that, to whether Servant of the People will days after Ukrainians elected a new Toronto Principles. And we as a coalition because of the lawsuits, he doubts the decide to enter into a formal coalition national legislature, the conclusion was now advocate it as priorities for reforms,” new Parliament will be able to start its with other parties in the Rada, the two that Ukraine had accomplished the latter expertise that will be available “to deci- work by September 1. logical candidates being rock star with flying colors. And that creates new sion makers in the office of the president In the meantime, the new president Svyatoslav Vakarchuk’s Holos party with opportunities for Ukrainian think tanks and, hopefully, with the new government and his lieutenants have acknowledged 20 seats and Yulia Tymoshenko’s and NGOs, as well as Ukraine’s Western that their hastily cobbled together party, partners, to engage with the Ukrainian (Continued on page 8) with its diverse composition and its vul- (Continued on page 14) Ukrainian sailors in U.S. for training on Coast Guard cutters by Eugene Z. Stakhiv Washington and Baltimore. All the crew members were required to WASHINGTON – On Sunday, July 21, one take a three-month immersion course in of the hottest days on record in English before their assignment to Washington, 34 sailors of Ukraine’s Military Baltimore. All the instrumentation and Naval Forces voted at the Embassy of machinery on the cutters are in English, as Ukraine in Georgetown, and followed up is their instruction. This is a very rigorous with an excursion to Arlington National training course, as each participant must Cemetery. They were accompanied by the take a series of proficiency exams in two military attachés from the Embassy, English before they can be certified in their Col. Andriy Ordynovych and Naval Capt. respective areas of expertise. The group is Oleksandr Korneichuk. led by Lt. Commander Ihor Trukhan. The sailors are here for 10 weeks of The two commanders of the cutters are training in Baltimore, learning how to oper- training with their crews. Lt. JG Pavlo ate the two Coast Guard cutters that the Hladchenko is from Zhytomyr, and Lt. JG U.S. had donated to Ukraine’s Navy for Damyr Aulin is from Kirovohrad. Both are patrolling Odesa’s coastal zone. married and are stationed in Odesa; they The two Ukrainian Coast Guard crews speak excellent Ukrainian and English. were selected because of their experience The two Coast Guard crews visited some and availability. They will man and operate of the well-known sites at Arlington, includ- the two cutters, and are already in their ing the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and fourth week of training. They are enjoying the Iwo Jima Marine Memorial. They also their stay in Baltimore and have enough Lt. Commander Ihor Trukhan free time for an occasional excursion to The Ukrainian crew’s flag-raising ceremony aboard а U.S. Coast Guard cutter. (Continued on page 13) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, AUGUST 4, 2019 No. 31 ANALYSIS True to ‘tradition,’ Russia prepares to again change Court approves seizure of tanker Kyiv plans to launch a worldwide Russian- language television channel in an attempt A Ukrainian court has formally approved to counter Russian state-controlled media parliamentary election rules to keep Putin in power the seizure of a Russian tanker that was broadcasts to people living in separatist- detained by Ukrainian authorities at the stituency districts. All Federation Council controlled parts of eastern Ukraine and in by Vladislav Inozemtsev Danube River port of Izmayil last week, members were elected in two-seat elector- Russia. “It must be admitted that Ukraine Eurasia Daily Monitor Ukraine’s Chief Military Prosecutor al districts congruous with federal-level practically lost the information war for the Anatoliy Matios said on July 30. According Recent Western commentary suggests entities composing the Russian Federation. minds of people in the occupied territories to documents posted on social media by Mr. that Russian President Vladimir Putin is The next elections, in 1995, differed of Donbas and in occupied Crimea,” Kyrylo Matios, the court in Ukraine’s southern city preparing to change parliamentary election greatly from the first: the Duma was elect- Tymoshenko, newly elected President of Odesa issued the ruling on July 29 rules after his second two-term tenure in ed by generally the same rules but for a Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s deputy chief of regarding the seizure of the tanker Nika the Kremlin finally expires in 2024; but four-year term, but the electoral turnout staff, told the Interfax Ukraine news agency Spirit. “The court seized the said vessel,” Mr. such news is hardly revelatory. In Russia, requirement was lowered from 50 to 25 on July 29. “But there is still a chance to Matios said. “We did it legally.” The Russian this scenario has been debated by experts percent. The Federation Council, mean- turn the situation around.” He added, “We vessel was seized on July 25 by Ukraine’s since his return to the presidency in 2012 while, was completely reworked: it would have developed the option to launch a SBU security service and the Military (Vedomosti, March 6, 2012); and in 2013, now be composed of the governors and the Ukrainian Russian-language channel, with Prosecutor’s Office for its alleged involve- this author co-wrote a piece predicting that heads of regional legislative assemblies which we will be able to cover the Russian- Mr.