Month: August 13, 2021 12:30 am

KYIV – Self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has intensified hostility toward Ukraine by accusing the country of sending “weapons and fighters” into the neighboring country to “fuel unrest.”

KYIV – A prominent statesman who helped shape Ukraine’s nationhood during much of its formative years after renewed independence in…...

As Ukraine was still reeling from the news that Berlin and Washington had reached a compromise deal concerning the Russian-German Nord Stream 2 project without Ukraine’s input, it was suddenly announced by Ukrainian officials on August 9 that Germany’s outgoing chancellor, Angela Merkel, will visit Kyiv on August 22.

The Nord Stream 2 saga is far from over. Although the agreement between the United States and Germany would allow for the physical completion of this natural gas pipeline (directly linking Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea), its certification and especially its future operation at full capacity are far from certain.

LVIV – Olexander Roytburd, a postmodern artist and a leader of the Ukrainian “New Wave” artistic movement, died on August 8. His death was first reported by the Odesa Fine Arts Museum where Mr. Roytburd was a director since 2018. He was 59.

LVIV – An annual scholarship for journalism students at the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) has been established in honor of Marta Kolomayets, the first U.S. journalist and the second foreign journalist to be accredited as a correspondent in Ukraine, the university’s press office announced on August 5. The scholarship was established by Ms. Kolomayets’ brother, Andrew Kolomayets, and her friends.

As Ukraine prepares to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its renewed independence on August 24, there is unease that Russian President Vladimir Putin will use the opportunity to further antagonize a nation he believes should never have been an independent, democratic country separate from Russia.

Thirty years ago, on August 19-21, 1991, hardline conservative Communists in Moscow attempted a coup d’etat in the final days before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In an indication of what the Kremlin may be being told, a pro-Moscow activist in the Donbas says that there are no internal forces capable of changing Ukraine’s direction and that it will cease to be “the anti-Russia” Vladimir Putin talks about if outside force is brought to bear on that country.

On Friday, March 13, 2020, New Jersey schools announced that the following Monday all schools would be closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. At first, everyone expected a two-week closure. However, the school closure was extended and St. John’s Ukrainian Montessori Preschool in Newark, N.J., had to close until the summer.

For many reading this column – certainly those of the older generations – 1991 is a year that is embedded in our consciousness. After seven decades of brutal oppression under the Soviets – occupation, war, famine, and Gulags – Ukraine achieved independence. Thirty years later, it remains independent, and, despite the serious external and internal challenges, Ukraine is here to stay.

SOMERSET, N.J. – The 74th Convention of the Ukrainian Orthodox League held its annual convention virtually via Zoom on July 24. The convention was originally planned to be hosted by the UOL chapter of St. Vladimir Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Philadelphia, but due to pandemic precautions it was moved to an online, single-day format.