Part 2 of THE YEAR IN REVIEW pages 7-17 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit association Vol. LXXXIX No. 4 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 24, 2021 $2.00 Ukraine honors “cyborg” troops who withstood Ukrainians now legally entitled Russia’s 242-day siege of Donetsk airport to service in Ukrainian by Mark Raczkiewycz Ukraine’s struggle to defend itself amid Russia’s unprovoked aggression. KYIV – Ukraine commemorated Donetsk Ukraine’s military says that 101 of their Airport Remembrance Day on January 16 own soldiers were killed and 440 wounded and honored the soldiers who – outnum- while defending the airport, which was bered, and for eight months – withstood given an estimated $860 million facelift superior Russian-led forces in the Donbas ahead of the European soccer champion- War. ship that Ukraine co-hosted with Poland in Known as the second battle of the now- 2012. Nine Ukrainian combatants are still destroyed airport – named after Russian missing. composer Sergei Prokofiev – the siege last- The stoic fortitude with which the air- ed 242 days from May 26, 2014, to January port’s defenders repelled the enemy’s 20, 2015. increasing onslaughts of infantry, armor Despite dogged efforts to defend the and artillery fire has become legend. The strategic site’s two terminals, including the enemy’s moniker of calling the airport’s Ukrainian air traffic control tower atop defenders “cyborgs” soon spread through which steadfastly stood a Ukrainian flag, the airport soon became a symbol of (Continued on page 3) Mark Raczkiewycz A woman orders a beverage at a coffee stand in Kyiv on January 20. by Mark Raczkiewycz Fines for violating the law range from 5,100 hryvnias to 6,800 hryvnias ($182- KYIV – Starting on January 16, a provi- $243), Taras Kremin, the commissioner for sion in Ukraine’s language law went into protecting the state language, told The force that stipulates all public service pro- Ukrainian Weekly. viders must first address their customers “Fines are levied if two such violations in Ukrainian and they must provide infor- are recorded during the year [at the same mation for customers while browsing or business],” he said. shopping in the state language. After the first violation, recommenda- Aside from commercial transactions, the tions are sent to the business for compli- provision also applies to educational, medi- ance, Mr. Kremin added, comparing the cal and social services, the office of the lan- two-step process to “receiving a yellow and guage ombudsman’s website says. At the then a red card in soccer.” This includes customer’s request, service may be provid- labels, signage and product information, ed in another language, such as Russian or and it applies to online stores as well. RFE/RL English, if it is mutually acceptable to both A Ukrainian soldier searched for dead bodies at the Donetsk airport in October 2015. parties. (Continued on page 5) NEWS ANALYS External relations: a promising start to 2021 for Ukraine by Bohdan Nahaylo The Ukrainian leader wasted no time in Ukrainian and four media entities for their Ukraine’s Independence Day last August. inviting Mr. Biden to visit Ukraine in his role in a Russia-linked foreign influence He declared: “As president, I will make it The new year has gotten off to a good new role, for he has already been to network. The move underscored that clear to the Kremlin that it must end its start for Ukraine, at least in the realm of Ukraine several times while vice president such a ploy would no longer be tolerated. aggression toward and occupation of external relations. Official Kyiv has wel- in the Obama administration. As he On the eve of Mr. Biden’s inauguration, Ukraine. A Biden-Harris administration comed the change at the helm in watched the inauguration ceremony on the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential will ensure that Ukraine gets the economic Washington and is hopeful that the new January 20, Mr. Zelenskyy wrote on office, Ihor Zhovka, announced the coun- and military support that it needs, includ- administration of U.S. President Joe Biden Twitter that “I’ll be glad to welcome Joe try’s main priorities in the relationship ing lethal weapons, while urging Ukraine will be better not only for Ukraine, but for Biden in well-known Kyiv. I’m sure our with the new U.S. administration. Those to pursue the essential reforms that are Europe and international affairs generally. relations will be enhanced.” priorities boil down to ensuring U.S. sup- vital to its success.” Already buoyed by a number of signifi- Enthusiasm in Kyiv for the change in port of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and Kyiv is looking to both Washington and cant foreign policy achievements during Washington also suggests that Ukrainian of returning the country’s temporarily London to help it revive the stalled 2020, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s officials feel a sense of relief that the coun- occupied territories to Ukraine, as well as Normandy format negotiations with team is looking forward to building on try will no longer be used as a political intensified economic cooperation and Moscow on ending Russia’s aggression these accomplishments knowing that, if weapon in the struggle between cooperation in combating corruption. against Ukraine. After the last summit of the country can deliver on reforms and Republicans and Democrats. On January Those priorities more or less square its participants (Germany, France, Russia combat corruption, it can rely on more 11 the U.S. Department of Treasury with the pledge Mr. Biden made as a presi- consistent forms of support from the U.S. announced that it had sanctioned seven dential candidate on the occasion of (Continued on page 3) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 24, 2021 No. 4 NEWS ANALYSIS Russia’s strategy in the Azov Sea: the Kerch bridge, House arrest denied in Sheremet case Russians, while a Turkish official put the number at 13. Sinan Guner, governor of A Ukrainian court has rejected a request northern Turkey’s Bartin Province, said five artificial shipping delays and continued harm to Ukraine by a jailed suspect in the high-profile 2016 seamen had been rescued. He added that killing of journalist Pavel Sheremet to be weather conditions were hampering rescue by Ihor Kabanenko Strait (Mtu.gov.ua, November 28, 2018). transferred to house arrest. Kyiv’s efforts. “There are high waves, and because Eurasia Daily Monitor Artificial delays for vessels at the Kerch Shevchenko district court on January 19 of the waves the [rescue] boat can’t see its Strait entrance on their route to and from ordered Andriy Antonenko to be remanded surroundings. We are trying to reach them Russia’s “hard power” activity in the Mariupol and Berdyansk has continued to in pretrial detention. Mr. Sheremet, a with directions from the shore,” Mr. Guner Azov Sea has increased significantly since dramatically rise since July 2018, extending Belarusian-born Russian citizen who had was cited as saying by Turkish news agen- May 2018, when the authorities officially to an average wait period of 73-88 hours made Kyiv his permanent home, was leaving cies. Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry opened the Kerch Strait Bridge they had per vessel in August 2018 – 10 to 12 times his apartment to head to the studio where spokesman Oleg Nikolenko told AFP that been building since the illegal annexation of longer than in May 2018 (Euromaidan- he hosted a morning radio show when an Crimea (UNIAN, May 15, 2018). Immedia- press.com, July 18, 2018). The peak was the ship was owned by a Ukrainian firm. He improvised explosive device planted under tweeted that five Ukrainians and one “for- tely, experts identified Moscow’s bridge recorded later that November, when delays his vehicle exploded on July 20, 2016, killing building project as, in part, a deliberate reached 124.2 hours (Blackseanews, eigner” had been rescued so far and were him. Mr. Antonenko and two other suspects, hospitalized in satisfactory condition. “access limitation” operation. Moreover, December 15, 2020). The ever-lengthening Yulia Kuzmenko and Yana Duhar, were both during the construction phase and ship stoppages were not incidental: along Tensions remain high in the strategic arrested in December 2019. Ms. Duhar and region. Moscow’s 2014 annexation of since completion, it was accompanied by with the “access limitations” imposed by Ms. Kuzmenko were later transferred to frequent freedom-of-navigation restrictions the Kerch Bridge, they represent a specific Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea house arrest. The three suspects took part in has not been recognized by a vast majority (“access denial” – see below), including sys- “access denial” tactic for implementing the military operations in different capacities in tematic Russian Federal Security Service Kremlin’s broader “Boa Constrictor” strate- of nations and has led to U.S. and EU sanc- eastern Ukraine, where government forces tions against Russia. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian (FSB) Coast Guard boarding and inspec- gy, which aims at stifling Ukraine’s Azov Sea have been fighting Russia-backed separat- tions of merchant vessels traveling through littoral economy (see EDM, June 11, 2018). Service, with reporting by AFP, AP, Reuters, ists since April 2014. The Interior Ministry and Interfax) the Kerch Strait to and from Berdyansk and In 2018, Ukrainian losses from the multi- and the National Police have said the group’s Mariupol, the Ukrainian ports in the Azov pronged Russian blockade of the Azov Sea goal was “to destabilize the political and Bodies found from sunken cargo ship Sea. Some of these incidents occurred only reached 10 billion hryvnas ($360 million) social situation in Ukraine” by killing Mr.