Month: August 9, 2019 10:23 am

This past week, four Ukrainian soldiers were killed in Russia’s continuing war against Ukraine. According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, pro-Russian militants opened fire at Ukrainian military positions on August 6, using grenade-launchers, machine guns and assault rifles. It was the highest daily death toll since President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took office, and it occurred three weeks after a ceasefire had been agreed upon.

Eighty years ago, on August 19, 1939, a commentary on Russian-American relations spelled out issues related to an aggressive Russia that are reminiscent of the situation today. The aim of the 1939 commentary was to argue against the U.S. forces joining some sort of an alliance with the Soviet Union in the event that a second world war erupted.

Rising public protests in Russia, dramatized by the police cracking heads last weekend in Moscow, may be putting the Kremlin on the defensive at home. Abroad, however, the Kremlin is playing offense, challenging the United States and the West more than at any time since the early 1980s, when Ronald Reagan was president. Reagan’s strategy to counter the Kremlin back then offers insights that could help guide U.S. policy today.

The rule of law is vital to the advancement of democracy worldwide, which, in turn, will help provide a more prosperous economic environment. Article 8 of Ukraine’s Constitution enshrines a commitment to the rule of law, stating that “the principle of rule of law is recognized and effective.”

On August 14, the Ukrainian Canadian community will lose one of its most effective parliamentarians when Sen. Raynell Andreychuk reaches the mandatory retirement age of 75.
To understand the idea of a mandatory retirement age for senators, one must also understand that the Canadian Senate is substantially different from the American one. In fact, it is modelled after the British House of Lords and is not elected, but appointed by the governor general (representing the queen of England in Canada) on the advice of the prime minister.

Svitolina eliminated in quarterfinal
Elina Svitolina lost 6-1, 6-7(3-7), 3-6 in the singles quarterfinal against Maria Sakkari of Greece at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif., on July 31 through August 4. In the knockout round, Svitolina, the highest ranked player at No. 7, won 6-3, 6-1 against Daria Kasatkina of Russia. Liudmyla and Nadia Kichenok were eliminated in the women’s doubles quarterfinal 1-6, 4-6 by Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan.

OTTAWA – Within a busy summer season of events, the Capital Ukrainian Festival has carved out a unique niche that blends the traditional with the eclectic that this year attracted an estimated crowd of 20,000 people to the fifth annual instalment that ran from July 19 to 21.

PITTSBURGH – The Ukrainian Technological Society (UTS) of Pittsburgh presented its 2019 scholarship awards to 16 undergraduate and graduate students from Western Pennsylvania and Ohio in ceremonies at the Henry Clay Frick Fine Arts Building on the University of Pittsburgh campus on Sunday, July 28.

MONTREAL – The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC), Montreal Branch, sponsored a screening of the Ukrainian-language version of the documentary film “Bereza Kartuzka” at the Ukrainian Youth Center to mark the 85th anniversary of the opening (1934) and 80th anniversary of the closing (1939) of this infamous Polish concentration camp. Thousands of Ukrainian patriots were imprisoned here between 1934 and 1939.

CHICAGO – The exhibit hall was at double capacity. Like the champagne bottles welling over the kitchenette’s threshold, anxious guests overflowed into the foyer, hoping for a glimpse of the canvases that summoned every eye with their soulful depth and luminosity.
These very patient people came from all walks of life – from consul generals of India and Iceland, to trendy Windy City gallery owners and aspiring artists, to wide-eyed suburban teens, to Fourth Wave Ukrainian immigrants visiting the museum for the first time.

OTTAWA – A retractable, high-quality, permanent and re-useable metal banner (with carrying case) is now available, free of charge, to help communities commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I internment operations in Canada.

KYIV – As the implications of the historic landslide victory by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party sink in, important clues and details have been emerging about how its leaders see their next steps, priorities and challenges.

The crucial issue for them at this stage is to have the new Verkhovna Rada in place as soon as is possible and for their victorious and majority party to put its representatives in key positions both within the Parliament and in the new government. Only then will it be possible to move ahead with promised new laws and a revamping of institutions and policies.