Browsing: US

WASHINGTON – At a reception held at the Library of Congress on March 11 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Lithuania’s restored independence, Volodymyr Yelchenko (right), Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, and Michael Sawkiw Jr. (left), executive vice-president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, are seen with Rolandas Kriščiūnas, Lithuania’s ambassador to the United States. At the event, Ambassador Kriščiūnas presented a gift to Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), co-chair of the House Baltic Caucus, and Anthea M. Hartig, the director of the National Museum of American History, of a nanocopy of the U.S. Capitol building, which is 600,000 times smaller than its actual size. A nanocopy of the Statue of Freedom, the crowning feature of the Dome of the Capitol, is 10 times smaller than a human cell. The nanocopy of the U.S. Capitol was created by Femtika, a Lithuanian company that is a spin-off from the Vilnius University Laser Research Center.

WASHINGTON – The 11th U.S.-Ukraine Security Dialogue took place in Washington on Thursday, March 5. The full-day conference was presented at the National Press Club as a collaborative effort of the Center for U.S.-Ukrainian Relations (CUSUR), the American Foreign Policy Council, the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.

In addition to the two dozen senior U.S. and Ukrainian strategists as well as defense and security experts who presented at the conference, were the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United States of America Volodymyr Yelchenko, as well as his successor as the permanent representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, Serhiy Kyslytsya.

WASHINGTON – The Washington area Ukrainian chorus Spiv-Zhyttya celebrated the anniversary of renowned Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko’s birthday on March 9 in front of his memorial in the nation’s capital with the performance of a collection of songs honoring his poems. The rendition included “Oi Kryknuly Siri Husy,” “Dumy Moyi,” “Reve ta Stohne Dnipr Shyrokyi,” “Utoptala Stezhechky” and “Biut Porohy.” The last two were composed by the Spiv-Zhyttya chorus member Viktor Morozov.  At the conclusion of the presentation, the choir requested that the audience join in with them and one of their chorus members — Laryssa Pastukhiv, who also plays the bandura — in the repetition of “Dumy Moyi” and “Reve ta Stohne.” The ceremony ended with everyone singing “Bozhe Velykyi, Yedynyi.” A few minutes later, the sun set and a full moon rose on the capital’s western and eastern horizons. Taras Shevchenko was born March 9, 1814, in Moryntsi, a Ukrainian village then in the Russian Empire, and died on March 10, 1861, in St. Petersburg.

NEW YORK – On January 19, in the course of his working visit to the United Nations headquarters, Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vadym Prystaiko met with members of the Executive Board of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.

Opening the discussion, UCCA President Andriy Futey warmly welcomed the minister to New York and thanked him for always being agreeable to meet with Ukrainian community leaders. Mr. Futey went on to outline the UCCA’s priorities for 2020, and informed the minister that the UCCA will be celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. He invited Minister Prystaiko to attend the UCCA’s XXIII Congress, which will be held this year in October.

SHAMOKIN, Pa. – Bringing the Ukrainian National Association’s 125th anniversary Year to a close, a commemorative event was held on February 9 in the city of Shamokin, Pa., the birthplace of the UNA.

A hierarchical divine liturgy, celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Andriy Rabiy of the Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan Archeparchy of Philadelphia, was held at Transfiguration of the Lord Ukrainian Catholic Church. Assisting in the liturgy was the church’s pastor, the Rev. Mykola Ivanov. Singing the responses in the Ukrainian language during the liturgy were members of the Dzvin Ukrainian Male Choir from Philadelphia. Joining them with responses in the English language was the Kazka Ukrainian Folk Ensemble. Tom Hasupa, cantor at Transfiguration Church, provided the scripture reading.

WASHINGTON – Leaders and members of Ukrainian American organizations, Churches and the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington came together once again on February 16 in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington for the annual honoring of the Heavenly Hundred who were killed six years ago in Kyiv while protesting Ukraine’s pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovych. Standing among those in front of the crowd holding the huge Ukrainian flag and addressing the importance of that historic event were Ukraine’s Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko, Nadia McConnell of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, Michael Sawkiw of the Ukrainian National Information Service, Maryna Baydyuk of United Help Ukraine and Nadiya Shaporynska of U.S. Ukrainian Activists. Also there to lead the crowd in prayers for the 100 victims of that historic conflict were the priests of the local parishes of the Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

CHICAGO – The annual commemoration of “Unity Day,” marking Ukraine’s independence of January 22, 1918, and the unification of eastern and western Ukraine of January 22, 1919, was held at the Ukrainian Cultural Center of Ss. Volodymyr and Olha in Chicago on January 26. The event was organized by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America–Illinois Division with a themed focus on “Security and Independence.”

The guests of honor were Lt. Gen. My­khailo Zabrodskyi, commander of Ukrainian Airmobile Forces, and Dr. Philip Karber, president of the Potomac Founda­tion. Also in attendance were Democratic Congressmen from Illinois Danny K. Davis, Michael B. Quigley (co-chair of the Cong­ress­ional Ukraine Caucus), Raja Krishna­moorthi and Sean Casten; Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas; Commiss­ioner Dan Patlak of the Cook County Board of Review; and representatives of the Azerbai­jani, Hungarian, Lithuanian and Polish communities.

CHICAGO – Mykhailo Zabrodskyi, Hero of Ukraine, is a lieutenant general and a member of the newly elected Parliament of Ukraine. In 2014, Lt. Gen. Zabrodskyi launched a unique military raid, attacking the enemy from the rear of the enemy lines in Russian- and separatist-held territory to recover a significant area of the Russian-occupied territory and liberating 3,000 Ukrainian troops from their posts. This raid made history – it is being studied in military schools and the general himself has become a living legend. He is uniquely familiar with Ukraine’s military problems and understands what changes are required.

Lt. Gen  Zabrodskyi spoke at a celebration of Ukraine’s Unification Day in Chicago on January 26, giving an hour-long presentation on how the Ukrainian Army has been rebuilt during recent years. He elaborated on the military support from the Verkhovna Rada and improved morale, and the differences between Western and post-Soviet military. Afterwards, he consented to an interview.

WASHINGTON – Ukraine’s new ambassador to the United States, Volodymyr Yelchenko, and recently appointed Honorary Consul Iryna Mazur on January 11 took part in a ceremony at Ukraine’s Embassy during which an agreement about the creation of an Honorary Consulate in Philadelphia was signed.
“Providing closer ties w/ Ukrainian Americans is one of our major priorities,” the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States wrote on Twitter on January 11.
On December 19, President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Mr. Yelchenko as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United States. He presented his credentials to President Donald Trump on January 6.

NEW YORK – The Executive Board of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the representative assembly of nearly 30 regional and national associations of Ukrainian Americans representing the interests of nearly 2 million Americans of Ukrainian descent, has announced that the Ukrainian American Bar Association (UABA) has been accepted as the newest member organization of the UCCA National Council.
Assembling in New York City on December 7, 2019, UCCA National Council delegates – representing Ukrainian Churches and Ukrainian American religious associations, educational institutions, national and central member organizations, and local UCCA chapters – reviewed a year’s worth of UCCA activities at a meeting presided over by National Council Chair Stefan Kaczaraj, who is the Ukrainian National Association’s president/CEO.

NEW YORK – Columbia’s Ukrainian Studies Program at the Harriman Institute will offer eight courses focusing on Ukrainian history, political science, literature, language and visual art in the spring 2020 semester. It will also organize a series of lectures in Ukrainian studies at the university.
Joining the program for the spring semester will be Dr. Oksana Vynnyk, the visiting assistant professor of history for spring 2020 – a position supported by Ukrainian Studies Instructional Fund. Dr. Vynnyk earned a Ph.D. in history in 2018 at the University of Alberta. Her research focuses on the reintegration of World War I invalids in Lviv and, more generally, how disability is defined by the state. She has also studied minorities in Lviv of that period, as well as sexual abuse during collectivization and the Holodomor.

WASHINGTON – On December 9-12 the head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, Patriarch Sviatoslav, together with the bishops of the Permanent Synod – an executive committee that helps the patriarch in leading the Church – visited Washington.
In addition to their working sessions, the bishops met with the Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S.A. Archbishop Christophe Pierre, representatives of the State Department, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic University of America, and others.
The Permanent Synod, which is elected for five years, now includes two Ukrainian American Catholic bishops, Metropolitan Borys Gudziak of Philadelphia and Bishop Bohdan Danylo of Parma, as well as Metropolitan of Przemyśl-Warsaw Eugene Popowicz (Poland), Auxiliary Bishop of Ternopil Teodor Martyniuk (Ukraine) and the secretary of the Synod of Bishops, Bishop Bohdan Dziurakh (Ukraine).