The Ukrainian Weekly, 2015
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INSIDE: l Dnipro loses in UEFA Europa League final – page 4 l Holodomor monument unveiled in Saskatchewan – page 5 l 39th annual Ukrainian Festival in New York – page 10 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXXIII No. 22 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2015 $2.00 Ukraine and EU UCCA celebrates 75th anniversary come up short by Yaro Bihun WASHINGTON – The Ukrainian Congress at Riga summit Committee of America (UCCA) celebrated the 75th anniversary of its founding with a by Zenon Zawada reception on May 20 at the Senate Visitor’s KYIV – The Eastern Partnership Center at the U.S. Capitol, where U.S. and summit in Riga on May 21-22 revealed Ukrainian government representatives the European Union has lost the bold- joined with a large group of representatives ness it demonstrated in Vilnius in of Ukrainian American organizations and November 2013, when its participants the Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox ostracized former Ukrainian President Churches to mark the occasion. Viktor Yanukovych for declining to sign As they praised and thanked the UCCA the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement. for the positive work it has done since its After the military aggression dem- founding in 1940 for the benefit of its com- onstrated by the Russian government munity, Ukraine and the United States, much of the focus of remarks by speakers, since then, the European Union’s lead- including five members of the U.S. ers demonstrated heightened caution, Congress, was also on what the United refraining from any direct condemna- States and other Western countries are and tions of Russia and mutedly encourag- Yaro Bihun should be doing to help Ukraine during its ing the six post-Soviet member states Three former U.S. ambassadors to Ukraine – Roman Popadiuk, William Green Miller current crisis with Russia. on their Euro-integration efforts. and John Herbst – share their ideas about what the UCCA and the United States can The first congressman to address the and should do to help Ukraine today. As expected, in the summit’s joint gathering, Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio), declaration, the EU refrained from who chairs the House Armed Services territorial integrity, freedom and the ability Kelly also mentioned and delighted many making clearer Ukraine’s prospects for Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land for self-determination.” attending the reception by noting that she, membership, let alone offering visa- Forces, put it this way: “I appreciate you Similar expressions of support were too, has Ukrainian roots. Her mother is half- free travel regimes. For the first time, being here. I appreciate your strong voice made by the four other U.S. representatives Ukrainian, the daughter of Ukrainian immi- the declaration referred to “trilateral for Ukraine, and I appreciate also the participating in the event: Bill Pascrell Jr. grants to Pennsylvania, she said. consultations” on the Ukraine-EU Free opportunity to stand with you in support of (D-N.J.), Paul D. Tonko (D-N.Y.), Brendan Trade Area, calling the January 1, a country, that like all countries, deserves Boyle (D-Pa.) and Robin Kelly (D-Ill.). Rep. (Continued on page 16) 2016, launch date “provisional,” to the disappointment of observers. The declaration “reads like a suc- cessful sting operation by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB),” Anders Aslund, a senior fellow at the Some politicians lead change on May holidays, others keep status quo Atlantic Council in Washington, wrote Yet, even with the national government sending letters to local on May 26, describing the summit as a councils advising them to organize events accordingly, traditional “disaster” for Ukraine. parades and processions were repeated on May 9 in many cities, The consensus among numerous towns and villages throughout the country. political observers was that Ukraine “One needs to understand the machine that the consciousness remains on track for Euro-integration, of people went through under the Soviet Union. It was always but both the Russians and the underestimated and continues to be,” said Yevhen Holovakha, the Ukrainians themselves have succeed- director of the Institute of Sociology at the National Academy of ed in dampening the enthusiasm. Sciences. “It’s social inertia, and transition mechanisms are neces- “The EU is tired of Ukraine’s desire sary. In Hungary for example, when the names of streets were to gain political results without real changed, the new signs were placed under the old ones, before work,” said Bohdan Yaremenko, a they were finally removed.” Ukrainian diplomat and head of the Though moderates favored a transition, nationalists criticized Maidan Foreign Affairs Fund. President Petro Poroshenko for not leading the transition by delib- The lack of results was most felt erately not signing the legislation until after the holidays, on May among the public in the lack of a firm 15, which they said was meant as a signal to proceed as usual. date to launch a visa-free regime with Left to their own devices, it was local politicians themselves the EU, which would allow Ukrainian who decided how to approach the commemorations. Their deci- citizens to travel to EU countries for 90 sions were largely driven by how they felt their respective constit- days without needing to apply for a visa. Solomianskyi District Administration uencies would respond, particularly with the first local elections in The public had “heightened expec- Maksym Shkuro, the head of the Solomianskyi District five years scheduled for October. tations” in this regard, said Volodymyr Administration in Kyiv, awards a veteran of the Anti-Terrorist Those who felt their constituencies wanted change began to Operation at a Victory Day celebration on May 7. Fesenko, the board chairman of the shift the emphasis away from May 9. These were mostly in Kyiv, Penta Center for Applied Political where only 63 percent of residents believe May 9 should be cele- Research in Kyiv. by Zenon Zawada brated, and western Ukraine, where 66 percent support it. Nationwide, 78 percent of Ukrainians think Victory Day should be At the same time, he acknowledged KYIV – Ukraine’s growing pains were ever more apparent during celebrated, according to a poll conducted between March 13 and that the administration of President the annual May holidays. Parliament approved legislation in early 20 of 2,800 respondents by the Social Monitoring Center in Kyiv Petro Poroshenko had failed to fulfill April that was aimed at shifting the emphasis to the newly created and the Ukrainian Institute of Social Research. Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation on May 8, instead of the (Continued on page 13) traditional Victory Day on May 9. (Continued on page 8) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2015 No. 22 ANALYSIS EU, Ukraine sign $2 B loan deal with NATO Secretary-General Jens Sergei Shoigu: Point man Stoltenberg at the White House on May 26, RIGA – The European Union and Ukraine Mr. Obama said, “We had a chance to dis- have signed a 1.8 billion-euro ($2 billion) cuss the situation in Ukraine and the for Putin’s war in Ukraine loan deal to help revive Ukraine’s ailing increasingly aggressive posture that Russia economy. Officials signed the agreement on by Roger McDermott Part of this process meant that unlike has taken.” He also urged Russia to “stop May 22 at a summit of leaders of EU states Eurasia Daily Monitor previous Russian defense ministers, Gen. supporting separatists and to withdraw all and six countries identified as the EU’s Shoigu was not limited by being too its forces from eastern Ukraine,” which con- eastern partners: Georgia, Moldova, Since the Russian military became a pol- “Soviet” in his approach, which had result- tinues to be embroiled in sporadic fighting Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. icy tool in the Kremlin’s conflict in Ukraine, ed in inertia among his predecessors. And, despite a ceasefire agreement signed in The Associated Press reports the agree- Defense Minister Army Gen. Sergei Shoigu unlike Mr. Serdyukov, he was able to avoid Minsk in February. (RFE/RL, with reporting ment, part of the EU’s Macro-Financial has received surprisingly little attention an impression that novel ideas were being by Agence France-Presse) from observers of Russia’s defense policies. imported into the Russian armed forces Assistance (MFA) program, would require Gen. Shoigu offered broad support for the from abroad. Mr. Khodarenok believes that Ukraine to adopt a series of reforms, Hollande: Russia must be pressured operation to “restore” Crimea to Russia, Gen. Shoigu has tried to reinvigorate the including anti-corruption measures, to while emphatically denying the presence of “best traditions” of the Imperial Russian remedy structural problems in its economy. RIGA – French President Francois Russian military personnel in southeastern Army and the Soviet Army, which contrib- The agreement brings the total amount of Hollande has said that pressure needed to Ukraine. Recent articles in the Russian utes to his popularity among the officer EU assistance to Ukraine in the past two be applied on Russia and pro-Russian sepa- media celebrating the defense minister’s corps (Voyenno Promyshlennyy Kuryer, years to about 6 billion euros. Ukrainian ratists in Ukraine to respect a ceasefire he 60th birthday offer high praise for his abili- May 18). Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko told jour- helped broker in February. “What is clear is ties and illustrate that Gen. Shoigu has According to Mr. Khodarenok, Defense nalists that the EU support was “critical” to that the ceasefire is not entirely respected,” played an underestimated role in oversee- Minister Shoigu stands out in his ability to her country. “This third macro-financial Mr. Hollande told reporters during the ing and facilitating these events master detail and apply complex solutions assistance package is the largest to date..