Month: March 19, 2021 4:27 am

Part 2. Any successful relationship requires both parties to do their part. This maxim applies to the U.S.-Ukraine partnership as it does to any other. While there is still plenty of work ahead, the prospects are encouraging.

In 2019-2020, Ukrainian and Canadian archaeologists and historians continued their research of the early modern town of Baturyn, Chernihiv Oblast.

Ukraine sees record number of COVID deaths
Ukraine registered a record daily high of 289 coronavirus-related deaths over a 24-hour-period on March 17, leading the prime minister to urge local authorities to impose stronger restrictions to contain its spread. Ukraine last month prolonged a lockdown until the end of April but allowed regions with fewer COVID-19 cases to ease some curbs.

CHICAGO – During a visit to the Ukrainian Village here on March 12-13, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk met with various diaspora representatives and took part in a question-and-answer session in which he addressed issues related to Ukrainian politics, corruption, implementation of land, medical and educational reforms, as well as the privatization process and the program to support small and medium business in his country.

KYIV – The U.S. State Department imposed travel bans on Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky and his immediate family on March 5 citing the tycoon’s alleged “involvement in significant corruption.”

KYIV – Ukraine remained in the middle “partly free” category among 195 countries in a yearly freedom ranking, advancing slightly on social progress while placing in the upper one-fifth among global militaries.

There’s hardly a dull moment in Ukrainian politics, whether domestic or international. And, so far, this month has been no exception. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seems to have been politically reinvigorated, some are even saying “re-born,” and for the moment his opponents seem at a loss over how to respond.

On March 5, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy removed the head of the Executive Committee on Reforms, Mikheil Saakashvili, from his position on the Coordination Council for Urban Planning. The Presidential Office provided no explanation for this sudden decision (Sova, March 5). Mr. Zelenskyy had appointed Mr. Saakashvili – the former president of Georgia and one-time governor of Ukraine’s Odessa Oblast – as head of the Ukrainian Executive Committee on Reforms back in May 2020 (RBC, May 7, 2020).

When President Joe Biden’s administration declared tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky persona non grata, formally barring him from entering the United States over corruption concerns, the decision was generally cheered by people pushing for economic and political reforms in Ukraine.

OTTAWA – On March 9, Ukrainians around the world mark the 207th anniversary of the birth of Ukraine’s bard, Taras Shevchenko. His contributions to the development of Ukrainian culture, national identity and national unity cannot be overestimated. For two centuries, Ukraine’s Kobzar has inspired generations of Ukrainians, both in Ukraine and abroad.

The following statement was released by the Atlantic Council on March 10.

We believe that President Joseph Biden and the new U.S. administration represent an opportunity to further deepen the strategic partnership and commitments between the United States and Ukraine and advance the interests of both nations.

LVIV – Celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8, Ukrainians held rallies throughout the country in which activists called on the government to do more on gender equality and safety for women.

Rallies were held in Kyiv, Lviv, Kramatorsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhia, and were focused on the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on women and on gender violence faced by women in Ukraine.