Author: Zenon Zawada

KYIV – When Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov told Mikheil Saakashvili to “Get the hell out of my country!” to conclude their nasty shouting match at the December 14 meeting of the president’s National Reforms Council, he struck a nerve in the country. Ukrainians have been critical of the unprecedented number of foreigners serving in key...

KYIV – Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) held its eighth annual Charity Evening and Silent Auction in Kyiv on December 5. What began as a modest get-together of mostly diaspora and native Lviv professionals in Kyiv has swelled to become among the most well-attended and highly sought-after charity events in the capital city – so much...

KYIV – Amid renewed Russian military aggression on the Donbas frontlines, which has brought a new round of dead and wounded, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko hosted a visit by Polish President Andrzej Duda on December 14-15 during which they consolidated their cooperation across many spheres. Riding a wave of conservative political victories in Europe this...

KYIV – Natalie Jaresko has been at the epicenter of the Ukrainian government’s reform efforts since accepting her appointment to the Cabinet as finance minister on December 2 of last year and taking Ukrainian citizenship the same day. Since then, Ms. Jaresko has earned international recognition for her successful execution of a $15 billion debt...

KYIV – If there’s anything that Ukrainians can agree on, it’s that the country’s headed for an enormous crisis next year that promises to alter the current state of affairs, particularly the ongoing domination of the nation’s corrupt oligarchy. Not only have Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk failed to pursue structural...

Dear Editor: In his “Immigration” column (October 25), Andrew Fedynsky expressed his shame for those of us who have found long-awaited relief in Donald Trump’s brave stand on immigration. Perhaps he should examine some facts instead of relying on emotions. In the July 6, 1948, issue of The Ukrainian Weekly (the year that Mr. Fedynsky...

KYIV – Crimean Tatars last weekend launched their biggest countermeasure since the beginning of the Russian occupation of their homeland by ruining four electricity lines, situated in the neighboring Kherson Oblast, that account for 70 percent of the peninsula’s electricity. Authorities declared a state of emergency on the morning of November 22. By the time...

KYIV – It’s been two years since the launch of the Euro-Maidan protests in November 2013 that sent geopolitical tremors around the globe. The authorities’ crackdown on the three-month revolt that became known as the Revolution of Dignity claimed 121 lives and injured more than 2,000, including law enforcement officers. Yet not a single criminal...

KYIV – Ukrainians eagerly anticipating a visa-free regime with the European Union were dealt two major setbacks on November 5 as the result of their government’s actions. The Verkhovna Rada failed to muster enough votes to support legislation, required by the EU for a visa-free regime, which would forbid workplace discrimination based on race, political...

KYIV – Ukrainian authorities on October 31 arrested and detained Hennadiy Korban, a longtime business associate and political confidante of Igor Kolomoisky, Ukraine’s second-biggest oligarch. Arrested at his home in Dnipropetrovsk, Mr. Korban was charged with stealing from the private Country Defense Fund, as well as organizing the kidnapping of two government officials. In his...

Euro-Maidan opponents re-elected KYIV – Exhausted by war, economic depression and ongoing government corruption, Ukrainians turned out less-than-expected to elect their local councils and heads on October 25. Tallies conducted locally were still being registered by the Central Election Commission on October 29 but observers were already drawing conclusions. As expected, the Solidarity Petro Poroshenko...

KYIV – Just as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko failed to ensure open party list voting in the 2014 parliamentary elections, now the local elections to take place on October 25 will also occur without genuine open party lists, which is widely considered the optimal voting system for Ukraine. Instead, Ukraine’s Parliament in July approved an...