www.ukrweekly.com INSIDE: l Mark von Hagen on Ukraine’s forgotten peace – page 6 l Maidan veteran gets eye surgery in Detroit – page 8 l Ukrainian Youth Games in upstate New York – page 18 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXXII No. 38 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2014 $2.00 Association Agreement is ratified President Poroshenko addresses after trade concession to Russia joint session of U.S. Congress by Zenon Zawada major concession from the EU, which agreed to allow the Ukrainian government KYIV – The Ukrainian and European to keep in place its custom duties on EU parliaments on September 16 simultane- exports. ously ratified the Ukraine-European Union In essence, the implementation of the Association Agreement in what was Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area described in both legislatures as a historic (DCFTA) was postponed until January 1, moment. The legislation gained 79 percent 2016, following trilateral consultations support among the National deputies in held on September 12 in Brussels between Kyiv and 77 percent in the European EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht, Parliament in Strasbourg. Russian Economic Development Minister “The readiness to give one’s life and die Aleksei Uliukaev and Ukrainian Foreign for your fatherland is considered to be very Affairs Minister Pavlo Klimkin. natural, but the Heavenly Brigade and 872 Indeed, the move was requested by the courageous Ukrainian soldiers died not only Ukrainian government after the Russians for Ukraine. They risked their heads so that threatened to launch an immediate trade war, we could take our dignified place in the EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule family of European peoples,” said President told the European Parliament on the day of Petro Poroshenko, who compared the the Association Agreement’s ratification. atmosphere in the Verkhovna Rada that day Ukrainian business was confronted with WASHINGTON – With U.S. Vice-President Joseph Biden and the Speaker of the to 1991, when Ukraine declared its inde- losing its free trade privileges with the House of Representatives John Boehner sitting behind him, Ukrainian President Petro pendence from the Soviet Union. Commonwealth of Independent States Poroshenko addressed the joint session of the U.S. Congress on September 18, pre- “Since World War II, no nation ever paid (CIS), which is the largest export market senting his government’s position on the latest developments in Ukraine’s east and such a high price for the right to be for most of the country’s producers. calling on the United States to increase its political, economic and military support of Europeans,” he said. “In addition to a military threat, we were Ukraine. He opened his address with these words: “It’s impossible to imagine what I’m Yet, amid all the pomp, there was an omi- faced with the threat of a full-scale eco- feeling right now. How symbolic is the unity of the United States Congress and solidar- nous pall as the ratification didn’t occur ity with Ukraine. This is exactly what Ukraine now needs the most: unity and solidarity. without the Russian Federation gaining a (Continued on page 14) Not only with the United States Congress, not only with the United States, but with the whole world.” (Details on President Poroshenko’s visits to Washington on September 18 and Ottawa on September 17 will appear in next week’s issue.) – Yaro Bihun Parliament approves amnesty, self-governance for occupied lands Ukrainian Canadian on the front lines by Zenon Zawada decision legalizes terrorism and the occupation of Ukraine.” KYIV – Ukraine’s Parliament on The critics – which also included the of Donbas war zone, MH 17 crash site September 16 approved legislation that lays Svoboda nationalist party, the Civic the foundation and sets in motion the peace Position party and the Radical Party – plan proposed by Ukrainian President Petro were also outraged that the bills were Poroshenko to resolve the five-month war in approved as part of a blind vote, which the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that has allowed national deputies to cast their bal- resulted in more than 3,170 casualties and lots in favor while remaining anonymous. 630,000 refugees. “First they squeezed out the votes for The first bill establishes a zone of self- a closed-session regime and then the governance for those Donbas districts Verkhovna Rada head held a vote for the occupied by Russian forces, which bills in the closed regime without amounts to about one-third of the terri- Parliament’s approval beforehand, which tory of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, is a violation of procedure,” said National while the second grants amnesty to those Deputy Andrii Shevchenko of the involved in the war, with the exception of Batkivshchyna party. the most severe offenders. “That means we simply saw the num- While polls indicated Mr. Poroshenko’s ber 277 on the screen. We don’t know peace plan has wide support, the legisla- who voted for these laws and we don’t OSCE/Evgeniy Maloletka tion drew much criticism as a capitulation know whether Parliament truly support Michael Bociurkiw holds a press scrub with foreign journalists at the main crash site. to the Russian Federation, allowing yet these laws. I’m very ashamed of this another swath of Ukrainian territory to Parliament.” by Zenon Zawada Once an editorial staffer at The fall under Russian control and potentially It became apparent afterwards that Ukrainian Weekly (in the mid-1980s), Mr. encouraging further aggression. those who gave 277 votes for the self- KYIV – Michael Bociurkiw became one of Bociurkiw has been broadcast by television “This is a complete surrender of governance bill and 287 votes for amnes- the most recognized Ukrainian Canadians in news networks such as CNN throughout Ukraine’s interests in the Donbas,” said ty consisted of the entire faction of the the world after the tragic crash of Malaysian the tragedy’s aftermath as the spokesman former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Airlines Flight 17 on July 17 near the eastern for the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) the head of the Batkivshchyna party. “This (Continued on page 5) edge of the Donetsk region, near the Russian border. (Continued on page 4) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2014 No. 38 ANALYSIS Senators introduce new sanctions bill Ukrainian goods if the EU and Ukraine pro- Moscow prepares revised military doctrine ceed with the application of the deal from WASHINGTON – The chairman and November 1. (RFE/RL, with reporting by ranking member of the U.S. Senate Foreign civil war (Ekspert, September 2; The Reuters, Deutsche Presse-Agentur and by Roger McDermott Relations Committee on September 17 Moscow Times, September 3). Agence France-Presse) Eurasia Daily Monitor introduced a new bill that would stiffen Nonetheless, the military doctrine sanctions against Russia and provide more Russian President Vladimir Putin amendment process is clearly timed to U.S. expands sanctions against Russia military assistance to Ukraine. In a sign of undoubtedly timed the coordinated effort include recent developments in Crimea bipartisan unity, Sens. Robert Menendez WASHIGNTON – The United States to initiate a ceasefire in southeastern and southeastern Ukraine, possibly updat- (D-N.J.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said that announced another round of sanctions Ukraine to coincide with both the North ing the document’s references to the the Senate Foreign Relations Committee aimed to punish Russia for its role in the Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) United States and NATO. The 2010 military would vote on the Ukraine Freedom Ukraine crisis, targeting defense, energy, September 4-5 summit in Newport, Wales, doctrine framed the designation of NATO Support Act of 2014 on September 18. The and banking sectors. The move came after in diplomatic language, and it may be the and the European Union’s threat of addi- legislation requires U.S. President Barack the European Union also stepped up retal- case that the hawks within the Russian tional sanctions against his country. Obama to impose sanctions against iatory measures against Russia. The U.S. security elite will now push for an outright However, due to the downturn in rela- Russian arms import-export company Treasury Department tightened on clarification on this issue. tions with the alliance since the annexation Rosoboroneksport and other defense and September 12 debt-financing restrictions Perhaps one worrisome indication of of Crimea and ongoing Russian involve- energy firms. It also requires sanctions for sanctioned banks from 90 days to 30 the mood prevailing in these circles, ment in the Ukraine crisis, Moscow has against Gazprom if the president deter- days. And it added Sberbank, Russia’s larg- buoyed by the annexation of Crimea and also signaled its own counter-response, mines it is withholding gas from Ukraine, est financial institution, to the list of state the recent routing of the Ukrainian Anti- though consigned to the doctrinal security Moldova, Georgia or other NATO allies. It banks subject to the restriction. It also pro- Terrorist Operation (ATO) came in a recent policy level. Senior Russian defense offi- also authorizes $350 million in military hibited the exporting of goods, services and article by Vasily Kashin, an analyst with the cials confirmed in early September that the assistance to Ukraine and $50 million to technology for Russian deepwater or off- Center for Analysis of Strategies and 2010 military doctrine will now be revised address a potential fuel shortage in 2014- shore projects to five of Russia’s leading Technologies (CAST) in Moscow. Mr. by the end of the year. This is allegedly 2015. (RFE/RL) energy companies: natural gas monopoly Kashin argued that by the end of 2014, a driven by NATO enlargement, its military Gazprom, its oil unit Gazprom Neft, Lukoil, new cold war would commence, and that infrastructure “gradually” increasing close Application of free trade pact delayed Surgutneftgas, and Russia’s largest oil pro- to Russia’s borders, the United States’ mis- Russia will not be defeated (The Moscow BRUSSELS – The European Union and ducer, Rosneft.