Author: The Ukrainian Weekly

At some point it became clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that he might have a big problem on his hands, so he decided to severely scale back the revered Victory Day commemorations that take place every year throughout Russia on May 9. As British Army Col. Hamish Stephen de Bretton-Gordon put it in an...

Thirty-nine years ago, on May 8, 1984, the Soviet Union announced its withdrawal from the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The following day, East Germany and Bulgaria echoed Moscow’s stance and said that the two countries would not send athletes to the Games, and similar announcements were expected from other Soviet satellite countries....

Drone attack reported in Russia Fire, damaging explosions on railways and a drone attack targeting a military airport have been reported in two Russian regions close to Ukraine, Krasnodar and Bryansk. The governor of the Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratyev, said on May 3 that a large oil reservoir caught fire in the village of Volna...

Much has been written in the past few months about Ukraine’s looming counteroffensive, which is expected to begin in the spring or summer. Kyiv is doing everything it can to keep its plan for that counteroffensive shrouded in mystery and disinformation. It was a strategy that served Ukraine well at the end of August 2022...

Fifteen years ago, on May 3, 2008, Kyiv – the capital of Ukraine – hosted its first-ever “Vyshyvanka” (traditional embroidered shirt) Parade, which was organized by Oleh Skrypka, front man of the Ukrainian rock band Vopli Vidopliasova. More than 1,000 participants marched in an event that depended more on word-of-mouth promotion than formal advertising. All...

SOMERSET, N.J. – During the annual St. Thomas Sunday observances on April 22 and April 23 at St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery in South Bound Brook, N.J., faithful had the opportunity to visit information tables of various vendors at the Cultural Center. Among them was a table with information about the Ukrainian National Association (UNA). Staffing that table on April 22 were Maria Drich (left, holding small Ukrainian flag), secretary of UNA Branch 42 and a home office employee, with her granddaughters, Nelia (right) and Nastia (second from the left); Michael Bohdan (third from the left), secretary of UNA Branch…

Estonian PM backs Kyiv’s bid for NATO, EU During a visit to Ukraine, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said she backed Kyiv’s efforts to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union “as soon as conditions allow.” “We agree that a strong, independent and prosperous Ukraine, as part of the Euro-Atlantic family...

It’s no surprise that the subject of this year’s World Press Photo of the Year is the war in Ukraine. On April 20, World Press Photo, an independent nonprofit organization that supports photojournalism, announced that their photo of the year prize for 2023 was awarded to Associated Press photographer Evgeniy Maloletka for what the AP...

Thirty-seven years ago, on April 28, 1986, the first reports of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster began to emerge. Initial estimates suspected the death toll could climb as high as 15,000. Located just 60 miles north of Kyiv, near the town of Prypiat, the Chornobyl accident was a milestone in the loosening of the...

Zelenskyy calls for ‘security guarantees’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelens­kyy has called for “effective security guarantees for Ukraine” immediately, even as rescue work continues following a Russian air strike in the Donetsk region city of Slovy­ansk that left at least 11 civilians dead. In his nightly video address on April 15, Mr. Zelenskyy said he had...

On April 13, U.S. authorities arrested a 21-year-old air national guardsman in connection with the investigation of leaked top-secret defense and intelligence documents that were posted and circulated online. It is not clear how many documents were leaked, but some were reportedly marked secret and top secret. Pentagon spokesman Chris Meagher said on April 10...

Seven years ago, on April 18, 2016, Russia’s Ministry of Justice announced the suspension of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, the highest ruling body for Crimean Tatars, for what it called “extremist activities.” The Mejlis was legalized by the Ukrainian government in 1999 and it continues to refuse to recognize Russia as the legitimate rulers of...