Month: April 23, 2021 4:51 am

Czechs detain five eager to fight in Ukraine

The Czech national unit to combat organized crime has detained at least five Czechs suspected of planning to travel to eastern Ukraine to fight alongside Russia-backed separatists against a backdrop of rising tensions between Prague and Moscow. Investigators from the state prosecutor’s office suspect the five of preparing to join a militant group that calls itself the Donetsk People’s Republic, which opposes Kyiv and controls part of eastern Ukraine near the Russian border, Czech state prosecutor Martin Bily said on April 21. Earlier reports suggested that around 20 people had been detained in the overnight operation by the NCOZ, a police unit to counter terrorism and extremism.

The international community has focused on Moscow’s buildup of forces on land adjoining Ukraine, concerned that such a concentration of Russian military power will be used against its neighbor (see EDM, April 8, 15, 19). But as Moscow routinely insists, it has the right to shift its forces about on its own territory. In its view, these units would only be a problem if the Russian government were to send them across the border. In contrast, in the waters off Ukraine, Russia, by its latest actions, is already in violation of international law: Moscow has announced that it is unilaterally closing the Kerch Strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to naval vessels of Ukraine and other countries until the end of October (RIA Novosti, April 16).

Dr. Bohdan R. Czepak (1937-2021), a long-time activist and community leader in greater Cleveland, passed away on April 9 after an extended illness. He was 83.

Professionally, Dr. Czepak was a plastic surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University Hospital and Lutheran Medical Center specializing in hand surgery, helping thousands of patients over his more than 50 years of practice and winning widespread praise in the process.  He was especially devoted to the greater Cleveland Ukrainian community, serving as a board member of the Ukrainian Museum-Archives, securing very generous contributions and grants over the years which will be ongoing with his legacy contribution.

The United States expresses its deep concern over Russia’s plans to block foreign naval ships and state vessels in parts of the Black Sea, including near occupied Crimea and the Kerch Strait. Russia has a history of taking aggressive actions against Ukrainian vessels and impeding access to Ukraine’s ports in the Sea of Azov, impacting Ukraine’s international commerce. This represents yet another unprovoked escalation in Moscow’s ongoing campaign to undermine and destabilize Ukraine. This development is particularly troubling amid credible reports of Russian troop buildup in occupied Crimea and around Ukraine’s borders, now at levels not seen since Russia’s invasion in 2014, and other provocative actions by Russia-led forces at the line of contact.

Sincere thanks to all contributors to The Ukrainian Weekly Press Fund.

The Ukrainian Weekly Press Fund is the only fund dedicated exclusively to supporting the work of this publication.

News broke just several hours before The Weekly’s deadline on April 22 that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had ordered Russian troops to start returning to their permanent bases, seemingly deescalating a situation that heightened tensions with the West over Moscow’s military buildup near the border with Ukraine, as well as in Russia-occupied Crimea.

Five years ago, on April 26, 2016, Ukraine commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster.

Sirens were sounded in the early morning hours on April 26 in Ukraine to mark 30 years since the moment that the first explosion blew the roof off the building housing a reactor at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant that sent a cloud of radioactive material high into the air, drifting into Russia and Belarus and across northern Europe.

Easter Pastoral letter from the Permanent Conference of Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops Beyond the Borders of Ukraine.

“O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are overthrown. Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen, and life reigns. Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave. For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages. Amen.” (Conclu­sion of the Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom, read during Paschal Matins.)

The year 2025 will mark the 1,700th anniversary of the first ecumenical council, the council of Nicaea (325), which initiated a new chapter in the history of Christianity. On this occasion, the World Council of Churches is planning to organize a World Conference of the Faith and Order Commission in order to celebrate this anniversary and to reflect on the transmission of the apostolic faith today. The purpose of this conference will not be to study the history of the council nor to study its theology, but rather to reflect on what “visible unity” means today to different Christian Churches and how Christians can collectively promote, preach and live the apostolic faith today in the context of so many contemporary challenges, such as secularization and religious pluralism.

The following commentary is signed by the authors at the conclusion of this piece.

For public health and medical professionals, there is nothing more frustrating than knowing that members of our own community will fall victim to a deadly disease for which a vaccine is readily available.  Using 21st century technology, we’ve developed life-saving vaccines against the COVID-19 virus – vaccines that have been proven to be both safe and effective in preventing or limiting the impact of this disease.

PHILADELPHIA – Year 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to Ukraine. To commemorate the event, a symposium titled “St. John Paul II and Ukrainians” was held on April 17 in Philadelphia. The event was organized by the St. Sophia Religious Association of Ukrainian Catholics, Inc., the Basilian Spirituality Center and Sisters of St. Basil the Great, in cooperation with the Ukrainian Selfreliance Federal Credit Union. Students of the Ukrainian Heritage School participated in the event via Zoom.

TORONTO – Dzherelo Children’s Rehab Center in Lviv is growing by offering new, smaller branches. No longer are all programs being delivered from the one center on Chervonoyi Kalyny Avenue. Dzherelo continues to expand and develop with smaller compact settings, and a new sixth satellite branch will offer improved programming to Lviv’s children with special needs.

For over 25 years, Dzherelo Children’s Rehabilitation Center has been operating as an independent facility in Lviv, focusing on the consultation, rehabilitation treatment, education and counselling of both children with special needs and their families.