INSIDE: Ukrainian Australian photographer wins Pulitzer – page 3 Ukrainian MPs bring message of determination to D.C. – page 4 Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro advances to UEFA Europa fi nal – page 9 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXXIII No. 21 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MAY 24, 2015 $2.00 ANALYSIS: Donetsk and Luhansk propose Crimean Tatars of Ukraine mark amendments to Ukraine’s Constitution 71st anniversary of deportations by Vladimir Socor the Minsk II agreement’s letter, attempting Eurasia Daily Monitor to usurp the Ukrainian state’s competen- cies on foreign policy and defense. The On May 12, the Russian-controlled Russian side, however, will undoubtedly try Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” to justify this demand by invoking the goal (DPR and LPR) jointly presented their pro- of “decentralizing” Ukraine. The Minsk posals for changing Ukraine’s Constitution. agreement and subsequent documents Their documents avoid using the terms envisage decentralization as part of “DPR” and “LPR,” even as they rapidly con- Ukraine’s constitutional reforms, above solidate their state structures and armies and beyond the special status for Donetsk- under Russia’s protec- Luhansk. tion. Russia will While Ukraine is From that position drafting a decentraliza- of strength they have undoubtedly use tion policy of its own as a now forwarded their the Minsk process sovereign matter, unre- proposed amendments lated to the Minsk pro- to the Verkhovna to insert itself and cess, the Russian side Rada’s constitutional the Donetsk and interprets “decentraliza- reform commission Luhansk “people’s tion” as potentially and to the participants involving Ukraine’s fed- in the Minsk Contact republics” into eralization, confederal- Group (Donetskoye Ukraine’s debates ization, or even some Agentstvo Novostey, “common political LuganskInformTsentr, on decentralization. space” – none of them Sergey Nuzhnenko/UNIAN May 12, 13). defined as yet. The com- Participants at the rally of mourning held on May 18 on Kyiv’s Independence Square The Minsk II armistice agreement of ponents of such a construct, Moscow looks to mark the 71st anniversary of Stalin’s deportation of the Crimean Tatar people. February 12 had opened the way for this set to argue, should be entitled to blocking move. The launch of the Contact Group’s powers on whatever remains of the central RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service Am A Crimean Tatar,” in Holosiyivskiy Park Working Groups on May 6 and 12, at government’s prerogatives. Russia will in Kyiv on May 18 to remember the depor- Russian and German conjoint insistence undoubtedly use the Minsk process to KYIV – Crimean Tatars in Ukraine marked tation victims. The commemoration was (see Eurasia Daily Monitor, May 15), ensures insert itself and Donetsk-Luhansk into the 71st anniversary of the mass deporta- organized by Crimean Tatar activists and a forum for discussing the DPR-LPR’s Ukraine’s debates on decentralization. tion ordered by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, the Institute for Civil Society and amendments to Ukraine’s Constitution, as Donetsk and Luhansk propose supple- which displaced around 200,000 people Democracy Development. long as the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv declines menting the Constitution of Ukraine with a and cost tens of thousands of lives. to consider them. new section on “certain areas with a spe- Organizers held a special event, called “I (Continued on page 15) Officially, the “Minsk process” is sup- cial status.” The Minsk agreements envis- posed to define some “special status” for age a “special status for certain areas of the those territories by negotiations between Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts,” meaning Kyiv and Donetsk-Luhansk. Unofficially, explicitly the DPR/LPR-controlled areas. however, it was predictable all along that The amendments just presented, however, Moscow and its main Western European are no longer limited to (parts of) the IT lawyer leaves Cabinet, partners would use this process to build Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, nor tied to constitutional obstacles against Ukraine’s any particular territory. This elastic re- citing lack of strategy Euro-Atlantic and European aspirations. wording seems designed for potential Indeed, Donetsk and Luhansk propose a application to other Ukrainian oblasts also. by Zenon Zawada constitutional amendment to stipulate Any such special status would apply “with- KYIV – An unprecedented wave of pro- both nonalignment and neutrality at the out time limitations.” fessionals from the corporate sector joined same time: “Ukraine does not join military Under the proposed amendments, the the Ukrainian government following the blocs or alliances, maintains neutrality, Donetsk and Luhansk entities reserve the Euro-Maidan, some of whom have been [and] refrains from participating in military right to unite into a single territorial entity, activities beyond its territory.” hailed as top reformers. Among them is under a common administrative structure Economic Development and Trade Minister That would rule out even mere prepara- of their own. Aivaras Abromavicius, a lifelong investment tions for joining the North Atlantic Treaty Any “areas with a special status” would banker who trimmed his ministry by a Organization (NATO) in the future (e.g., a negotiate with Ukraine’s central govern- third and is pursuing harsh deregulation. Ukrainian membership action plan or ment to conclude agreements about the Yet his first vice-minister, Sasha Borovik, some equivalent programs), would pre- delimitation of their respective competen- didn’t think he and other ministers were clude Ukraine’s participation in NATO-led cies. These areas would be deemed “inalien- doing enough. The Lviv-born lawyer for top peacekeeping missions or military exercis- able component parts of Ukraine.” As such, IT companies, who has lived extensively in es abroad, and make it difficult if not the government shall guarantee an (as yet the U.S., announced on May 13 that he was impossible for Ukraine to contribute to the unspecified) quota of financial transfers leaving the Economy Ministry, citing a lack European Union’s common security and from the annual state budget, for the socio- of strategy in the government and the need defense policies. economic development of these territories. for deeper reforms. He also cited a lack of Such restrictions have nothing to do To that end, the authorities of special-status consensus among employees and inertia. Facebook/Sasha Borovik with a “special status” for Donetsk-Luhansk Sasha Borovik, who has resigned as self-government. They clearly go beyond (Continued on page 8) (Continued on page 8) Ukraine’s first vice-minister of the economy. 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MAY 24, 2015 No. 21 ANALYSIS Ukraine’s Information Ministry: $1 B loan guarantee signed to any write-down on the principal owed. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Reuters KYIV – The United States and Ukraine on and Agence-France-Presse) underfunded or misconceived? May 18 signed a $1 billion loan guarantee agreement in Kyiv, paving the way for a loan Russia demands repayment of debts by Oleksandr Gavrylyuk (Mip.gov.ua, March 17, 18) to be completed guarantee that will make it more affordable Eurasia Daily Monitor by May, which would be followed by public discussions until September, when it may for the government of Ukraine to borrow MOSCOW – Russia has demanded that Informational warfare has been a critical be finally approved by the legislature. money from international capital markets. Ukraine repays all debts on time and part of Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine. Compared to the Ukrainian government’s A loan guarantee under this agreement will accused Kyiv of effectively setting the stage for default with a new law. It threatened to As Russian military reporter and veteran of slow process in conceiving new ideas with help the Government of Ukraine continue take the issue to international courts if nec- Russia’s two wars in Chechnya, Arkadiy which to confront Russian information war- critical spending to protect and provide for essary. The law, approved by Ukraine’s Babchenko, argues, “I believe this [the fare, Ukraine’s volunteer sector has long ago the most vulnerable Ukrainians as it contin- Parliament on May 19, gives the govern- ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war] is the first taken the initiative, just like in the case of ues to implement its ambitious program of ment the right to miss payments to its war in the entire history triggered solely by the shooting war. Even the Information economic reforms. Today’s agreement dem- international creditors as it negotiates the Goebbels-style propaganda. Had it not Ministry’s website has been designed and onstrates the United States’ ongoing dedica- terms for restructuring $23 billion worth of been for Russian TV, this war would never hosted entirely by unpaid volunteers tion and support to Ukraine. A press release foreign debt. Russia holds a $3 billion have happened” (Openrussia.org, April 15). (Slovoidilo.ua, March 16). Tapping into the noted: “The United States remains commit- Faced by such a formidable challenge, the Ukrainian Eurobond whose full repayment wide pool of ready volunteers and the entire ted to working together with international Ukrainian government’s solution to the nation’s patriotic sentiments, Mr. Stets’ is due by the end of the year. President partners to ensure Ukraine has the support problem – the formation of a Cabinet-level agency launched the so-called Ukrainian Vladimir Putin on May 20 told a meeting it needs as it continues to move forward Information Ministry – fails both in form Information Army (I-army.org), a volunteer with government ministers he found the with reforms to restore economic stability and in fact. force of Internet commentators tasked with new law “strange.” He said, “To effectively and lay the groundwork for the full realiza- On December 2, 2014, many months spreading government-approved content announce an impending default shows a tion of Ukraine’s economic potential.