Author: Staff

Forty-five years ago, on September 19, 1976, a monument bust of Ukrainian poetess Lesia Ukrainka was unveiled at the Soyuzivka Heritage Center.

During the unveiling ceremonies, attended by more than 2,000 people, Natalka Chuma recited a verse from the poem “Contra Spem Spero” by Ukrainka. “Up the steep pathway on the rocky flinty hill, I’ll bear my rocky burden all day long. And though I carry such a load, I still shall keep my heart and sing a happy song.”

The Ukrainian Weekly welcomes letters to the editor that react to articles published on its pages. Opinions expressed by letter writers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of either The Weekly editorial staff or its publisher, the Ukrainian National Association.

NS2 critic appointed to State Department

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has appointed an outspoken critic of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 (NS2) pipeline to oversee policy for Central and Eastern Europe at the State Department following backlash over its decision to allow the project to move ahead. Robin Dunnigan, who served as deputy assistant secretary for energy diplomacy in the State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources from 2014 to 2017, will help craft policy toward Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, as well as Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, a spokesperson told RFE/RL.

Dear readers, we are thrilled to announce that The Ukrainian Weekly will launch a redesigned website on October 6, which marks the 88th anniversary of the newspaper’s founding.

The previous major update to the site was made roughly six years ago. An editorial in the June 14, 2015, issue of The Ukrainian Weekly informed readers that, while the web address remained the same, “the look and functionality [of the new site] are entirely different.”

Seven years ago, on September 18, 2014, President Petro Poroshenko addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress during his working visit to the United States. Mr. Poroshenko noted that the honor of addressing both chambers of Congress was not his, but it belonged “to the people of Ukraine, those brave men and women who are today on the forefront of the global fight for democracy!” he said.

Zelenskyy and Biden summit ‘productive’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his meeting on September 1 with U.S. President Joseph Biden took place in a productive and constructive atmosphere, and that both parties are interested in a fruitful dialogue. “I don’t know if there was ‘chemistry,’ but the fact that the meeting lasted two hours instead of an hour shows that the parties are interested in the dialogue and the outcome of this dialogue. I believe that the meeting was held in a normal, productive, not in a constantly sunny atmosphere, but in a direct conversation,” Mr. Zelenskyy said during a conversation with the media in Washington after the talks with Mr. Biden. Mr. Zelenskyy said Mr. Biden gave him a positive assessment of the reforms being implemented in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. President Joe Biden in the Oval Office on September 1. As soon as that meeting ended, Ukrainians around the world wanted to know whether Mr. Zelenskyy had done enough to convince Mr. Biden that the United States should do more to help Ukraine gain entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, fend off the looming threat of further Russian aggression by providing more concrete military aid and stop construction of the Nord Stream 2 by punishing the pipeline’s builders with strong sanctions.  Speaking the day before his meeting with Mr. Biden, Mr. Zelenskyy was clear in what he hoped to achieve during his visit.

Twenty-five years ago, on September 11, 1996, two Ukrainian naval vessels – the Hetman Sahaidachny (a frigate) and the Kostiantyn Olshansky (a landing ship) – arrived at the U.S. Naval Base in Norfolk, Va., making it the first time that Ukrainian naval vessels (representing an independent Ukraine, flying Ukraine’s blue-and-yellow banner) visited a U.S. port. The weeklong visit included joint naval landing exercises, shore excursions for the sailors, a weekend open house for American visitors and an evening concert by the military band aboard the Sahaidachny.

On August 24, Ukraine kicked off its celebration of the 30th anniversary of the country’s renewed independence with all of the official pomp and pageantry one might expect.

Ten years ago, on August 30, 2011, Oleksii Pukach, the prime suspect in the killing of Ukrainian investigative journalist Heorhii Gongadze, stated at his trial that former President Leonid Kuchma was among those who ordered the murder. Gongadze’s headless body was discovered in a forest outside of Kyiv in late 2000.

Merkel in Kyiv discusses geopolitics
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said natural gas should never be used as a geopolitical weapon and backed extending an energy partnership deal with Ukraine once it expires in 2024. Ms. Merkel made the remarks in Kyiv on August 22 at a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In the wake of the policies of glasnost, perestroika and demokratizatsia announced by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, there was ferment throughout the USSR. What follows is a timeline of events leading up to the proclamation of Ukraine’s independence on August 24, 1991, and its affirmation by a nationwide referendum on December 1, 1991