INSIDE: l UCCA National Council welcomes UABA – page 4 l Koliadnyky from Kryvorivnia perform in New York – page 9 l Reflections: Ukrainians and the NYC Marathon – page 11 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association, Inc., celebrating W its 125th anniversaryEEKLY Vol. LXXXVIII No. 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2020 $2.00 A difficult start to the New Year in Ukraine Ukrainian plane crashes in Iran, by Bohdan Nahaylo and to give a new look and feel to the tradi- killing all 176 people aboard tional speech from the country’s leader. It KYIV – For Ukraine, the New Year has contained few details and did not elaborate started with a roller-coaster effect, moving any precise plans for the year ahead. from seasonal festive joy to tragedy and The main message was the need for mourning. unity at a time of war, economic difficulties It began with an upbeat, unconventional and efforts to get reforms back on track. Mr. New Year’s Eve address to the nation by the Zelenskyy challenged his listeners to reflect country’s new president, Volodymyr Zelens- on what it is to be Ukrainian today, what kyy, which was warmly received by many, should unite Ukrainians and what threatens but antagonized those in opposition to him. to perpetuate mutual distrust, misunder- And, following Christmas celebrations standing and antagonism, what should be according to the old Julian calendar, it was the priorities today in this regard, and what followed by a very different presidential can be addressed later or more gradually. message to the Ukrainian people – a decla- Mr. Zelenskyy pleaded for understand- ration of a Day of Mourning on January 9 ing and tact, patience and goodwill and, for the victims of the Ukraine International recognizing the diversity in the country, Airlines plane that crashed for unexplained urged unity based on inclusive rather than reasons on January 8 after takeoff from exclusive values or premises, be they root- Tehran, killing all 176 people on board. ed in history, religion, ethnicity or regional In between, other controversies were differences. “In the new year, we need to be stirred up at home, and a number of note- a single country every day,” he stressed. worthy developments occurred on the “This should be our national idea. Learning Vyacheslav Ratynskiy/UNIAN external front, all overshadowed by the to live together in respect. For the future of National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov (left) and Prime escalation of tensions between the U.S. and the country.” Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk at a press briefing in Kyiv on January 8 following the Iran. Understandably, President Zelenskyy Mr. Zelenskyy was immediately attacked crash of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 in Iran. has since been discussing the air disaster by his political opponents, who accused RFE/RL On January 9, unidentified U.S. officials with the Iranian president, and the leaders him of diluting patriotic Ukrainian ele- said they were confident that Iranian air of Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan and the ments in his address and promoting an atti- A Ukrainian commercial airliner crashed defense systems accidentally downed the United Kingdom, whose citizens were tude of “who cares” as regards Ukrainian on January 8 soon after taking off from Boeing 737-800, based on satellite, radar aboard the ill-fated aircraft. national attributes. In his speech he had Iran’s capital, Tehran, killing all 176 people and electronic data. Newsweek quoted a In his first New Year’s address, Mr. on board, mostly Iranian nationals, but also Zelenskyy sought to break with tradition (Continued on page 14) Western and Ukrainian citizens. (Continued on page 9) Building Ukraine Together project celebrates five years by Roman Tymotsko KYIV – In 2014, after the first months of Russian armed aggression in the east of Ukraine, volunteers cooperated to help locals with restoring the damage Russian forces did in their towns and villages. The Building Ukraine Together project (known by its Ukrainian acronym as BUR) emerged as a volunteer action to rebuild houses damaged by war. Over time, BUR has become a volunteer movement all across Ukraine, forming and uniting a new generation of responsible Ukrainians who are making change. Therefore, BUR is about building, still not only houses but bridges of communication between Ukrainians. On December 21, 2019, the initiative celebrated its fifth birthday and shared its insights, presented achievements and announced its plans. “Ukraine desperately needs more responsible and bold people who would dare to start their businesses, go into the government or politics. Unfortunately, there are very few programs that teach those social skills and give moti- vation. BUR is among those few,” said Yurko Didula, a co- founder of the initiative and the leader of the BUR develop- ment team. “We provide young people with an opportunity to prac- tice responsibility. We give them a chance to fall in love with Ukraine and build a desire to make it a better place. Anna Yutchenko/BUR Volunteers and friends at the celebration of the Building Ukraine Together project’s fifth birthday. (Continued on page 4) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2020 No. 2 ANALYSIS Th e OSCE in 2019: Epitaphs New chargé d’affaires at U.S. Embassy Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) doesn’t recognize Kristina Kvien, deputy chief of the U.S. and opposes the Orthodox Church of diplomatic mission in Ukraine, has been to cooperative security doctrines Ukraine, which was granted independence appointed as the interim charge d’affaires have found their way into public state- in January 2019 by the Patriarchate of by Vladimir Socor at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv. In a video post- ments by senior OSCE officials (Opening of Constantinople in Istanbul. Epifaniy was Eurasia Daily Monitor ed on Facebook on January 2, Ms. Kvien the OSCE Ministerial Council, Bratislava, installed as the new church’s metropolitan said that the U.S. “policy of strong support The Organization for Security and December 5, 2019). This can also lead to a on February 3 after an election by high- for Ukraine remains steady.” She noted: Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has marked form of self-censorship in the OSCE’s inter- ranking clergy in Kyiv. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian “Our Embassy team will continue to part- this year the 25th anniversary of the nal reporting. For example, the SMM’s Service) ner closely with the Ukrainian government OSCE’s Code of Conduct on Politico-Military internal reporting refers to Ukraine’s “non- and civil society and support Ukrainian Aspects of Security, 25th anniversary of the government controlled areas” and the Two Ukrainian soldiers killed in Donbas sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Budapest Memorandum on Security (unnamed) “armed formations” there, support reforms that will help Ukraine Ukraine’s military has said that two of its Assurances to Ukraine (both pacts adopted tongue-tied (pen-tied in this case) about build its prosperous European future.” Ms. soldiers were killed during the previous 24 at the OSCE’s 1994 Budapest Summit), as Russia’s responsibility. Kvien replaced William Taylor, who hours while on a combat mission in the well as the 20th anniversary of the Charter The previous year-end ministerial con- stepped aside earlier on January 2 after country’s eastern Donbas region. According for European Security, the 20th anniversary ference, in December 2018, in Milan, occa- to a post on Facebook by the Ukrainian of the signing of the Adapted Treaty on sioned a German proposal to extend the serving in the post since May 18, 2019. Ambassador Taylor said good-bye to Defense Ministry, one of its soldiers was Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE OSCE SMM’s mandate to cover the Azov Sea killed as Russia-backed separatists violated Treaty), and the 20th anniversary of and the Kerch Strait. German Chancellor Ukrainians in a video statement on a ceasefire deal four times since January 5. Russia’s commit- Angela Merkel and December 31, saying he was “very optimis- Another soldier was killed inside a military ments to withdraw Foreign Affairs tic” about Ukraine’s future. Mr. Taylor was truck that ran over an explosive device near its forces from Russia has turned Minister Heiko Maas launched into the forefront of the impeach- the frontline town of Khutir Vilnyi in the Georgia and pursued this idea ment hearings against U.S. President eastern Luhansk region. Another soldier Moldova (all three the OSCE into an during January Donald Trump in November when he testi- traveling in the vehicle also was seriously pacts adopted at the 2019. There is no fied that one of his staffers overheard organization unable wounded, the statement said. The OSCE’s Istanbul indication in the Trump ask U.S. Ambassador to the Summit). to implement its public domain that European Union Gordon Sondland about Ukrainian Defense Ministry said ceasefire Russia has turned the OSCE’s hierarchy “investigations” against Joe Biden, one of violations by separatists also included the all these pacts into own resolutions on rallied to this pro- the president’s main political rivals. During firing of 82-millimeter mortar rockets, gre- dead letters in posal; rather, it his testimony, Mr. Taylor also criticized Mr. nade launchers, heavy machine guns and Europe’s East. They security affairs in seemed to take a Trump’s decision to delay military aid to different types of firearms at Ukrainian Ukraine and a White House invitation to are also epitaphs to Europe’s East. wait-and-see atti- positions in the conflict zone. Ukrainian cooperative security tude so as to avoid a Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, forces liberated the town of Khutir Vilnyi, doctrines. Russian veto.