Presidential Administration of Ukraine
The new U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, presents her letters of credence to President Petro Poroshenko on August 30. “In the last two years, Ukraine has achieved significant progress. And now we have great opportunities to continue these changes. The U.S. is a reliable friend and supports Ukraine and its reforms,” Ambassador Yovanovitch stated.
Questionable words uttered by President Barack Obama put Ukraine in the news in the United States at the beginning of the year. In his State of the Union address on January 12, speaking about threats faced by the U.S. and the world, Mr. Obama said: “Even as their economy severely contracts, Russia is pouring resources in to prop up Ukraine and Syria – client states they saw slipping away from their orbit.” According to various news media reports, apparently the word “client” was a departure from the president’s prepared text, which referred to “states,” not “client states.”
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America reacted with a statement released on January 13, noting, “In his final State of the Union address, President Obama got it wrong when it came to Ukraine. … When it came time to mention Ukraine, a long-time strategic partner of the United States, President Obama once again demonstrated a shocking ignorance of foreign policy hotspots in his biggest address to the nation.” The UCCA said it was “outraged by the description of Ukraine used in the State of the Union address. To be clear, Russia is not propping up Ukraine; the Russian Federation is destabilizing Ukraine. Nor did Ukraine ‘slip away from Russia’s orbit’; the people of Ukraine made up their own minds with regards to national policy, including their open and democratic decision to demand basic human rights, journalistic and economic freedoms and closer integration with Europe during the Revolution of Dignity.”
And reactions came from other observers as well.
Among the notable comments on Twitters were these: Ambassador Steven Pifer tweeted: “POTUS: #Russia ‘is pouring resources in to prop up #Ukraine.’ Odd line. More like Moscow pouring resources in to destabilize Ukraine”; and Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times opined: “‘Russia is pouring resources to prop up Ukraine’? Hello? More like pouring resources to destabilize Ukraine.” David J. Kramer of The McCain Institute for International Leadership wrote: “…does President Obama really think Ukraine is a ‘client state’ of Russia? That would be news to the vast majority of Ukrainians, nearly 10,000 of whom have sacrificed their lives to fend off Russian aggression in the past two years. And what money is Russia pumping into Ukraine to prop it up? Absolutely none. Instead, Russia has invested in destabilizing its neighbor as much as possible, to make it unappealing to the West. The president owes Ukrainians an apology.”
Two days later, the State Department clarified the president’s reference. Spokesperson Mark Toner stated: “Over the past two years, the United States has worked closely with our European and international partners to help Ukraine defend its democracy and territorial integrity, and the United States remains firmly committed to helping the Ukrainian people build a country that is peaceful, prosperous and free to chart its own destiny. The president was referring in his remarks to Russia’s previous long-term efforts to bolster the regime of former President [Viktor] Yanukovych as a way to prevent Ukraine from pursuing further integration with Europe, and its current occupation of Crimea, extensive efforts to support armed groups operating in eastern Ukraine and other efforts to destabilize the country.” Mr. Toner’s response was to a request for comment from a correspondent for the Ukrinform news service. Notably, The Ukrainian Weekly could find no trace of this clarification on the State Department’s website.
In one of a series of interviews published on March 10, President Obama again made comments regarding Ukraine that were seen as troubling. RFE/RL reported on an article in The Atlantic in which the president said Ukraine “is going to be vulnerable to military domination by Russia no matter what” the U.S. does. Furthermore, he said Ukraine was clearly a core interest for Russia but suggested that it may not be one for the United States. Ukraine is “an example of where we have to be very clear about what our core interests are and what we are willing to go to war for,” Mr. Obama said. In the article titled “The Obama Doctrine,” the president once again used the term “client states” in reference to Ukraine and Syria, saying that in both countries Russian President Vladimir Putin acted “in response to a client state that was about to slip out of his grasp” and “improvised” a way to maintain control – but that in Syria, this came at enormous cost to the well-being of his own country.” The president rejected the idea that “talking tough or engaging in some military action” could be useful in resolving the situation in Ukraine and he stated: “If there is somebody in [Washington] that would claim that we would consider going to war with Russia over Crimea and eastern Ukraine, they should speak up and be very clear about it.”
Third year of Crimea’s occupation
On March 16, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby spoke about the situation in Crimea: “Today, as Russia’s occupation of Crimea enters its third year, we reaffirm our commitment to a united, sovereign Ukraine. The United States does not recognize Russia’s ‘referendum’ of March 16, 2014, or its attempted annexation of Crimea, which violates international law. …We will not accept the redrawing of borders by force in the 21st century. Sanctions related to Crimea will remain in place as long as the occupation continues. We again call on Russia to end that occupation and return Crimea to Ukraine.”
Helsinki Commission
At the Helsinki Commission’s November 10 briefing on human rights and security violations in Russian-occupied Crimea (from left) are: Paul Goble, Ambassador John Herbst, Orest Deychakiwsky, Oksana Shulyar and Taras Berezovets.
On April 28, the Stability and Democracy (STAND) for Ukraine Act was introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and 14 co-sponsors. The bill’s aim was to bolster U.S. support for Kyiv with measures that included tightened sanctions against Russia and a push for greater private investment in the Ukrainian economy. The bill would require that the U.S. president, prior to lifting a raft of Ukraine-related sanctions, submit “certification” to Congress that Ukraine has restored “sovereignty” over Crimea or that the peninsula’s status has been resolved to the satisfaction “of a democratically elected government” in Kyiv. The legislation would also codify the U.S. government’s policy of non-recognition of Russian authority over Crimea, mirroring Washington’s policy of refusing to recognize Soviet sovereignty over the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives on September 21 and sent the next day to the Senate, where it was referred to the Foreign Relations Committee.
New ambassador to Ukraine
On May 18, President Obama nominated a new ambassador to Ukraine. Marie Yovanovitch, a career member of the Foreign Service, class of minister-counselor, who since 2014 was the dean of the School of Language Studies at the Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute, was tapped to replace Ambassador Geoffrey R. Pyatt, who was nominated to serve as envoy to Greece. Ms. Yovanovitch previously served at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv as deputy chief of mission from 2001 to 2004. She was the U.S. ambassador to Armenia in 2008-2011 and the ambassador to Kyrgyzstan in 2005-2008. Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 21, Ms. Yovanovitch stated that “more progress has been made in Ukraine in the past two years” than in the past 25 years of Ukraine’s renewed independence and said her objectives as U.S. ambassador will be to assist in reforming key sectors in Ukraine and fighting corruption. She enumerated three aspects to countering Russian propaganda: 1) get the story out, 2) put a premium on analyzing the stories and countering with facts, and 3) build capacities in training journalists to recognize the disinformation and how best to reply. After her confirmation by the Senate on July 4, she was sworn in on August 12 at the State Department. Ambassador Yovanovitch is the eighth U.S. ambassador to Ukraine since its restoration of independence in 1991.
The ambassador was already on the scene as Ukraine celebrated the 25th anniversary of its re-establishment of independence, although she presented her letters of credence to President Petro Poroshenko a few days later, on August 30. In Washington, President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry issued statements on the historic independence anniversary.
Mr. Obama noted: “On behalf of the American people, I’m proud to join the Ukrainian people in marking this historic anniversary. As we have been reminded in recent years, Ukraine’s path has not always been easy. From the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who linked arms in a great human chain in 1990 to the fallen heroes of the Maidan, realizing the dream of independence has called on the solidarity and sacrifice of the Ukrainian people. The people of the United States, including proud Ukrainian Americans, have been honored to partner with Ukraine on this journey. Today, we reaffirm that the United States will continue to stand with the Ukrainian people as they protect their sovereignty and territorial integrity, embrace the vision of a strong and united Europe, and deepen their commitment to democracy, anti-corruption and respect for human rights.”
Samantha Power/Facebook
Among the U.S. officials who called for Nadiya Savchenko’s release from Russian captivity were U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, who spoke on March 9, noting that the previous day was her “600th day of wrongful imprisonment,” and Secretary of State John Kerry, who said on March 7 that he was “deeply concerned about the health and welfare of Ukrainian pilot and Rada Deputy Nadiya Savchenko,” who was on a hunger strike. (The two are seen above in a photo taken in July at the United Nations.)
Mr. Kerry said: “During my most recent visit to Kyiv, I was deeply impressed by all you have accomplished in the more than two years since the Revolution of Dignity. Despite Russia’s aggression in eastern Ukraine and its illegal occupation of Crimea, you have worked steadily to build stronger and more effective political, economic and cultural institutions. These efforts have required perseverance and sacrifice, for which I applaud you. Today we mark not just a quarter-century of your independence, but also of the fruitful partnership between our nations based on our shared commitment to freedom and the rule of law. The United States will stand by you as you continue to strengthen your democracy. With our European partners, we will also press for full implementation of the Minsk agreements to end Russian aggression in Donbas and return the international border to Ukrainian control. We remain steadfast in our refusal to recognize Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea.”
U.S. Mission to the OSCE
Meanwhile in Vienna, in a press briefing on July 29 via telephone, two U.S. diplomats – Ambassador Daniel Baer, head of the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt – accused Russia of continuing to supply separatist fighters with fuel and weapons and creating a “deteriorating security situation” in Ukraine’s east. “We see continued resupply of weapons and fighters; we see continued provocations to keep the conflict going; we see continued restrictions of the SMM [Special Monitoring Mission of the OSCE] and its monitors; we see continued shoot-downs of SMM UAVs [drones] after they have seen Russian heavy weaponry in places where it shouldn’t be,” Mr. Baer said, according to RFE/RL. “Rather than terminating this conflict, Russia’s actions are having the effect of escalating it once again,” Mr. Pyatt said. Both ambassadors stated that Russia was not implementing the Minsk agreements of September 2014 and February 2015.
During the course of 2016, Ambassador Baer and the U.S. Mission to the OSCE repeatedly raised the issue of Russian mendacity and aggression in statements to the OSCE Permanent Council based in Vienna. Most recently, on December 20, the U.S. Mission expressed “deep concern over the offensive combined Russian-separatist forces launched on Sunday, December 18, in what appears to have been a failed attempt to seize territory in strategic areas outside the town of Svitlodarsk, near separatist-held Debaltseve.” The U.S. Mission pointed out: “This Russian-separatist attack is clearly prohibited by Russia’s commitments under the Minsk agreements. It is not an isolated action, but a deliberate effort to seize further territory. This is the fourth major attempt by combined Russian-separatist forces to seize territory beyond the Line of Contact that was established when Russia and the separatists it backs signed the September 19, 2014, Minsk Memorandum. Since signing, combined Russian-separatist forces have violated that agreement multiple times including in Debaltseve in February 2015, Mariyinka in June 2015 and Svitlodarsk in June 2016, and again in the last few days. This latest attack at Svitlodarsk is a continuation of this disturbing pattern and a deadly reminder of Russia’s disregard for its commitments under the Minsk Agreements.”
Back in Washington, the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is known as the Helsinki Commission, on November 10 held a briefing whose goal was to discuss how Ukrainians continue to defend Helsinki principles in the face of Moscow’s egregious and unrepentant violations, and how the international community is responding. Panelists were: Orest Deychakiwsky, U.S. Helsinki Commission; Oksana Shulyar, deputy chief of mission, Embassy of Ukraine to the U.S.; John E. Herbst, director, Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council, and former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine (2003-2006); Paul A. Goble, editor, “Window on Eurasia,” and professor, The Institute of World Politics; and Taras Berezovets, founder, Free-Crimea Project, Kyiv. During the hearing it was noted that violations of human rights by Russian authorities in Crimea remain persistent and egregious; Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians who oppose the illegal annexation are targeted; and the actions of Russia in Ukraine present a threat to the international order and violate the basic principles of territorial integrity, inviolability of borders, sovereignty, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Concerns about conflict, corruption
At the beginning of the year, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland met in Kaliningrad with Russian presidential aide Vladislav Surkov, reportedly brainstorming on a way to resolve the armed conflict in Ukraine’s east. The Weekly’s Kyiv correspondent reported at the time that a solution had yet to emerge from the January 15 meeting, the details of which were not made public. U.S. officials said they briefed senior Ukrainian officials about the meeting on January 16.
Secretary Nuland was in the news again two months later when she testified on March 15 before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warning that, if efforts to liberalize the economy and fight endemic graft fail, Ukraine “risks sliding backwards once again into corruption, into lawlessness, into vassal statehood.” She explained: “The oligarchs and the kleptocrats who controlled Ukraine for decades know that their business model will be broken if the Maidan reformers succeed in 2016,” adding, “So they’re fighting back with a vengeance, using all the levers of the old system: their control of the media, state-owned enterprises, [parliamentary] deputies, the courts and the political machinery.”
Concerns about corruption in Ukraine were expressed also by U.S senators. On February 12, Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate Ukraine Caucus, and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on European Affairs, joined by Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) wrote a letter expressing concern to Ukrainian President Poroshenko regarding the resignation of Minister of Economy Aivaras Abromavičius, who alleged that corruption remains a dire challenge within the Ukrainian political system. In their letter, the senators said they recognized the challenges facing the Ukrainian government two years after the Maidan brought positive change to Ukraine. They also reaffirmed their commitment to help President Poroshenko confront the dual threat posed by Russian aggression in Ukraine and entrenched corruption in the government, and to create a transparent and democratic government.
The case of Nadiya Savchenko
Members of the U.S. Congress continued in early 2016 to express their concern about the case of Nadiya Savchenko, who had been captured by pro-Russian forces July 2014 and whose trial in a remote region of Russia had begun in September 2015. Reps. Sander Levin (D-Mich.), Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), members of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, on January 13 called on Russia to release the former Ukrainian fighter pilot and current member of the Ukrainian Parliament. “We are gravely concerned by recent reports of her ill health since the commencement of her hunger strike. …Russian authorities have repeatedly delayed Savchenko’s trial and hearing dates, moved her trial venue to discourage attendance and restricted access to witnesses. We demand that Russia abide by its international obligations and the rule of law, and we join the international community in calling for Nadiya Savchenko’s immediate release,” said Rep. Levin, co-chair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus.
Vice-President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Kerry and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) were among others who spoke out in support of Ms. Savchenko.
Mr. Biden issued a statement on March 8, International Women’s Day, noting that as we “honor all the brave women who struggle against injustice in this world, we also stand with Nadiya and with the Ukrainian people. And we call on Russia to make the right choice – to drop all charges and release her at once.”
Secretary Kerry said on March 7 that he was “deeply concerned about the health and welfare of Ukrainian pilot and Rada Deputy Nadiya Savchenko, who since Friday has refused food and water to protest her continued detention by the Russian Federation.”
Sen. McCain stated on March 6: “Today, I stand with the Ukrainian people as they implore the world to open its eyes to the injustice that Ms. Savchenko and so many others face at the hands of a murderous Russian regime and call for her immediate release. I will also keep fighting the Obama administration to finally give the Ukrainian people the defensive weapons they need to defend themselves. Two years after Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea, the Obama administration has still not provided Ukrainian forces with the lethal assistance they need to fight an advanced Russian military, and which the Congress has authorized. The men and women striving to save their homeland have not backed down, and they will continue to fight for their country with or without the U.S. support they need and deserve.”
Ambassador Samantha Power, U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, added her voice to the defense of Ms. Savchenko on March 9, noting that the previous day was her “600th day of wrongful imprisonment.” Ms. Power stated: “Today, in spite of a ‘dry’ hunger strike in which she has not had any food or liquid for nearly a week, Savchenko took the stand to deliver her closing statement in a farcical trial. Russia’s continued detention of Savchenko demonstrates blatant disregard for its commitments under the Minsk agreements. Savchenko – as well as all Ukrainians who are being held illegally by separatists and by Russia – should be free.”
Also weighing in on the Savchenko case was Hillary Clinton, candidate for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. Her March 10 statement noted: “Russia should drop all charges and release her immediately. It should also meet all its commitments under the Minsk agreement to bring an end to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has left thousands dead and over 1.5 million people displaced. I stand with Nadiya and the Ukrainian people, as I have always stood for the rights of women and all people suffering injustices worldwide.”
When Ms. Savchenko was sentenced to 22 years’ imprisonment on trumped-up charges of complicity in the deaths of two Russian journalists and illegally crossing the Russian border, once again there was swift reaction from the United States. Condemnation of the trial and verdict came from, among others, Vice-President Biden, the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus and the Department of State.
The U.S. presidential campaign
Speaking of the U.S. presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump, a candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination was quoted on March 21 by The Washington Post as saying: “Ukraine is a country that affects us far less than it affects other countries in NATO, and yet we’re doing all of the lifting.” Speaking of America’s allies he said, “They’re not doing anything. And I say: ‘Why is it that Germany’s not dealing with NATO on Ukraine? Why is it that other countries that are in the vicinity of Ukraine, why aren’t they dealing? Why are we always the one that’s leading, potentially the third world war with Russia.’ ” At the same time, Mr. Trump said U.S. involvement in NATO may need to be significantly diminished. “We certainly can’t afford to do this anymore,” he said.
Another Republican candidate, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, reacted to a statement by Mr. Trump at a March 30 town hall meeting hosted by CNN in Milwaukee. Speaking at that same meeting, Gov. Kasich said: “I just heard briefly somebody was saying that we should just ignore Ukraine. Are you kidding me? The United States of America should be arming the Ukrainians who want to fight for freedom against Putin. We should be arming them… with lethal defensive aid.” Previously, at a March 2 appearance at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Warren, Mich., the candidate released a white paper detailing “U.S. Policy Towards Ukraine under a Kasich Administration.” Among other things, the release noted the following: “Under President Kasich: The U.S. will not recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea. We will condemn Russia’s imperialism and destabilization of its neighbors. We will provide Ukraine the lethal defensive weapons needed to defend itself. All parties should fulfill their obligations of the Minsk protocols: strict observance of the ceasefire by both sides; withdrawal of all foreign [Russian] military units, equipment and mercenaries; restore Ukrainian control over the border with Russia; agreement on procedures for elections in Donbass [sic] under Ukrainian law. …”
Soon after that came news that on March 28 the Trump campaign had made a very controversial hire. The New York Times website reported that Mr. Trump, “girding for a long battle over presidential delegates and a potential floor fight at the Cleveland convention, has enlisted the veteran Republican strategist Paul J. Manafort to lead his delegate-corralling efforts.” The political blog also reported that Mr. Manafort “has drawn attention in recent years chiefly for his work as an international political consultant, most notably as a senior adviser to former President Viktor F. Yanukovych of Ukraine, who was driven from power in 2014.”
Things got worse in July when Mr. Trump, in an interview broadcast on July 31 on the ABC-TV news program “This Week,” said he would consider recognizing Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. “I’m going to take a look at it,” Mr. Trump said. “But you know, the people of Crimea, from what I’ve heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were. And you have to look at that, also.” Host George Stephanopoulos then asked Mr. Trump: “Why did you soften the GOP platform on Ukraine?” Mr. Trump’s response: “[Vladimir Putin’s] not going into Ukraine, okay? Just so you understand. He’s not going to go into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down and you can put it down, you can take it anywhere you want.” Mr. Stephanopoulos countered with, “Well, he’s already there, isn’t he?” Mr. Trump then replied: “Okay, well, he’s there in a certain way, but I’m not there yet [apparently a reference to the U.S. presidency]. You have [President Barack] Obama there. And frankly, that whole part of the world is a mess under Obama, with all the strength that you’re talking about and all of the power of NATO and all of this, in the meantime, he’s going where – he takes – takes Crimea, he’s sort of – I mean…”
Writing in The Washington Post on August 4 about the presidential candidate’s latest statements, opinion writer George Will noted that “Vladimir Putin’s occupation of Crimea has escaped Trump’s notice.” He commented: “It is, surely, somewhat noteworthy that someone aspiring to be this nation’s commander-in-chief has somehow not noticed the fact that for two years now a sovereign European nation has been being dismembered.”
Among others reacting strongly to Mr. Trump’s statements was Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.), a member of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus. Speaking on August 1, Rep. Pascrell underscored: “It is simply irresponsible for Donald Trump to perpetuate the idea that the Kremlin has not violated the sovereign territory of another country by force. This runs counter to the current policies of the United States, our NATO allies and even the Republican Party’s platform. These remarks, as well as his history of cavalier compliments for autocratic strongmen like Putin and chosen advisors, demonstrate that Donald Trump would be dangerous for protecting human rights and democracy around the world. I will continue to stand in strong support of the Ukrainian people by pushing for continued sanctions and relief, as they fight against the illegal invasion of its territorial integrity.”
The day after the U.S. presidential election, Ukraine’s President Poroshenko offered his congratulations: “My sincere congratulations to Donald Trump on being elected president of the United States and to the friendly American nation on democratic expression of will. This is a symbol of true democracy when nobody knew the results of the elections until the very last moment. And this is a feature of true democracy always professed and promoted by our reliable and strategic American partners and friends,” he said on November 9 during a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Yovanovitch. Mr. Poroshenko expressed gratitude to the ambassador for the statement that sanctions against Russia will be continued in December and her assurances that the new U.S. administration will remain a reliable partner in the struggle for democracy. He also conveyed his invitation to the newly elected U.S. president to visit Ukraine.
On November 15, the president and the president-elect spoke via telephone, with Mr. Poroshenko again offering his congratulations, expressing his readiness to work with the Trump administration to further strengthen the Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership, and issuing an invitation to Mr. Trump to visit Ukraine at his earliest convenience. A readout of the phone call by the Presidential Administration of Ukraine also noted that the two leaders agreed to maintain contacts and to hold a bilateral meeting.
At about the same time, there were questions about what would happen now that there would be a new administration in Washington. Writing in Foreign Policy on October 30, Dan De Luce and Reid Standish asked: “What Will Ukraine Do Without Uncle Joe?” The reference was to Vice-President Biden, who served as the Obama administration’s point man on Ukraine. The analysts wrote: “No one in the U.S. government has wielded more influence over Ukraine than Vice-President Joe Biden. …he has rallied support for Kiev [sic] in the face of Russian military intervention and cultivated a personal rapport with its leaders. …Ukraine’s government has relied heavily on its direct channel to the U.S. vice-president, and Biden’s departure will leave a gaping hole. …it’s clear the next president will ‘have to have a point person for Ukraine,’ whether at the White House or the State Department, said a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity. …”
Visitors from Ukraine
Yaro Bihun
Dmytro Shymkiv (left), the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, discusses the effectiveness of the government reform program at the Wilson Center in Washington on March 3. Seated next to him is the discussion moderator, William Pomeranz, deputy director of the Kennan Institute.
During 2016, there were many visits to Washington by Ukraine’s officials and leaders. Among them was the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, Dmytro Shymkiv, the official responsible for overseeing the government’s national program of reforms necessary to raise itself to the standards of the European Union. Speaking at the Kennan Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on March 3, Mr. Shymkiv focused on 18 of the 35 EU criteria Ukraine was striving to implement by 2020 and presented a scorecard on its progress thus far. “We have more than 70 percent of the decisions of the National Reform Council being implemented in legislative documents,” he said, adding that an increasing percentage of the people surveyed in Ukraine react positively to these changes. That is especially evident in the their reaction to the “strong development” in the area of defense and security, where, he said, “Russia did everything possible to destroy the Ukrainian army, and we now have an army which is able to stand and defend the country.”
He did acknowledge that Ukrainians now see the most serious delays in the implementation of reforms in the areas of anti-corruption, the judiciary, public administration and health care, but underscored that anti-corruption reform is at the top of the government agenda. “We established all the necessary institutions needed to fight corruption,” including the Anti-Corruption Bureau. “So, it’s working. We’re building the muscles,” he assured his listeners.
Yaro Bihun
President Petro Poroshenko responds to questions about the situation in Ukraine after his keynote address at the “Ukraine in Washington” forum in the U.S. Capitol’s Congressional Auditorium on March 30. Sitting next to him is Bill Clifford, president of the World Affairs Council of America, moderator of the session.
President Poroshenko was in Washington later that month. On March 30, delivering the keynote address at the “Ukraine in Washington” conference in the Congressional Auditorium in the U.S. Capitol, Mr. Poroshenko pointed out that, after Ukraine abandoned the world’s third largest nuclear arsenal in 1994, it received security assurances under the Budapest Memorandum guaranteeing its sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. He asked: “But what has it turned [out] to be in reality?” He explained: “Russia simply defied its assurances to Ukraine and committed a direct armed aggression against my state,” referring to Moscow’s actions in Crimea and the Donbas region of Ukraine, where “Ukrainian patriots are losing their lives defending the same values that are dear to America and Europe.” He called on the United States and other Western powers to continue their sanctions on Russia to help end its “direct armed aggression against my state.”
The Ukrainian president said that his country has “effectively stopped” the Russian offensive. But, he added, “The price we paid is striking”: almost 10,000 people have died and more than 2,700 Ukrainian soldiers were killed by combined Russian-militant forces – more than the number of American military losses in Afghanistan over the past 15 years. In addition, about 1.75 million people have lost their homes in the Donetsk and Luhansk region and have been forced to move to elsewhere in Ukraine.
The conference at which President Poroshenko spoke was organized – in cooperation with the Embassy of Ukraine – by the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation and the World Affairs Council of America, and co-hosted by the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council, Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, Jurkiw Family Fund and other organizations. In his address Mr. Poroshenko also thanked the United States “for standing by Ukraine’s side over the last two years – the hardest two years in the history of my country”; the Ukrainian American community, which has been supporting Ukraine “so actively and in so many ways”; and “all people of goodwill who stood with Ukraine and extended their financial, in kind and moral support.”
The next day, before joining in with the leaders of more than 50 countries at the Nuclear Security Summit, President Poroshenko visited the recently dedicated Ukrainian Holodomor Memorial in Washington, where he laid a floral wreath to honor its millions of victims.
The 2016 “Ukraine in Washington” conference, which focused on the devastating impact of Moscow’s war against Ukraine and U.S. efforts to assist Ukrainians with the humanitarian, economic and security crises brought on by Mr. Putin’s hybrid military invasion, also featured an address by Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States Valeriy Chaly, who emphasized the very important role that Washington plays in maintaining trans-Atlantic unity regarding support for and solidarity with Ukraine. Ambassador Chaly called the war waged by the combined Russian-separatist forces, which has resulted in 10,000 deaths and 2 million displaced persons, “one of the biggest tragedies in Europe and for Europe in the modern era.” Panels were devoted to the topics “The Human Cost of the War in Ukraine,” “Economic Development in Rebuilding Ukraine,” and “From Budapest to Minsk and Beyond.” Among other speakers were: Kurt Volker, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO; Dr. Ulana Suprun, founder of Patriot Defence and director of humanitarian initiatives for the Ukrainian World Congress; economist Anders Aslund of the Atlantic Council; former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor, now with the U.S. Institute of Peace; and David Kramer of the McCain Institute.
Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Tarr
Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges (right), commander of U.S. Army Europe, and Dr. Ulana Suprun (left), Ukraine’s acting minister of health, speak to the media during the official handover of five Field Litter Ambulances to the Ukrainian armed forces on August 27. With them is Sgt. Taras Vintonyak from the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine. The ambulances were part of the train-and-equip program with Ukraine. “I am very proud, of course, to see these ambulances behind me, a manifestation of the support of the United States for Ukraine,” Lt. Gen. Hodges said.
The next month, Natalie Jaresko came to Washington as the minister of finance of Ukraine to participate in a discussion on April 14 about the status of Ukraine’s economy and the prospects and results of its economic reforms and the effects of the conflict in Donbas. Earlier that morning, however, she learned – as did the rest of the world – that the Ukrainian Parliament had voted in a new prime minister and Cabinet of Ministers, in which she would be replaced by Oleksandr Danyliuk. In her opening remarks at the conference, organized by the Atlantic Council and the Center for International Governance Innovation, Ms. Jaresko said she had made the decision not to comment on or criticize the new government or her former colleagues because “I believe is it better for Ukraine not to do so.” Instead, she focused on the economic reforms initiated in Ukraine and what stills needed to be done.
Yaro Bihun
Ukraine’s new prime minister, Volodymyr Groysman, briefs the White House press at the conclusion of his meeting there with Vice-President Joe Biden on June 15.
On his first visit to the United States, Ukraine’s new prime minister, Volodymyr Groysman, expressed his gratitude for the support his country is receiving for its political and economic reform programs, and in stopping Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine and Crimea. “In this very important time in Ukraine’s history we now have the strong backing of our American partners,” was how he described that bilateral cooperation to members of the press on June 15, at the conclusion of his meeting at the White House with Vice-President Biden. As Mr. Biden greeted the Ukrainian prime minister at the White House, he praised him for his efforts. “You’ve taken on a difficult job,” he said. “We have a lot more to do. But I’m impressed.” During his visit to Washington, Mr. Groysman also met with Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), as well as Democratic Party congressional leaders as and top U.S. government officials.
Sanctions against Russia
The next day, Prime Minister Groysman spoke at the National Press Club, heralding his government’s steps toward institutional and economic reforms, saying changes to the customs service, public procurement procedures and the courts will make the country more attractive to investors. According to a report from RFE/RL, Mr. Groysman argued that sanctions enacted by the U.S. and the European Union “can be eliminated only when the aggressor returns within its borders, when the aggressor renounces his aggressive plans.”
His words echoed those of Assistant Secretary of State Nuland, who told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 7 that sanctions are the most powerful leverage the United States has over Russia. “I think the largest piece of leverage that we have on Russia is the sustainment over two years of deep and comprehensive sanctions across the U.S. and the EU countries,” Ms. Nuland was quoted by RFE/RL as saying. “So again this is why we are advocating – because Minsk is not being implemented – that the sanctions have to be rolled over again.” She added, “We have deterred further land grabs in Ukraine, and that was a real risk when we first started with sanctions – that they would try to run all the way to Kyiv and Kharkiv. …I will tell you now that the Russians are now openly talking about the pain of sanctions…”
Secretary of State Kerry reassured Ukraine on July 7 that sanctions would remain in place unless Moscow fulfilled its obligations under the Minsk agreement. Speaking at a joint news conference in Kyiv with President Poroshenko, he also announced an additional $23 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine to help those affected by the ongoing war in Ukraine’s east. (Two months earlier, the U.S. had announced $28 million of similar aid. The latest allocation of funds brought the total of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since the start of the ongoing conflict to over $135 million.)
Indeed, at the end of the year, the U.S. added seven more well-connected Russian insiders and over three dozen companies in Russia and Russia-occupied Crimea to its sanctions list.
Another visitor to Washington during 2016 was former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, now the leader of Ukraine’s People’s Front party. As did his successor, Prime Minister Groysman, two weeks earlier, Mr. Yatsenyuk met with Vice-President Biden, thanking the U.S. government and people for their support of Ukraine and asking that they continue their assistance in the future. During his June 27-30 visit, he also met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, officials at the International Monetary Fund and with Sens. McCain, Durbin and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.). During an open discussion at the Atlantic Council, he responded to many questions about Ukraine’s internal affairs and foreign relations, especially with the United States and Russia.
Two more visitors from Ukraine were National Deputy Savchenko and former President Leonid Kravchuk.
Yaro Bihun
Nadiya Savchenko, former Ukrainian military pilot and now a member of the Verkhovna Rada, discusses her experience as a prisoner of war in Russia and her views on the situation in Ukraine and its relationship with Russia at the Atlantic Council in Washington on September 22.
Ms. Savchenko arrived in late September. She received the Atlantic Council’s Freedom Award on September 19 in New York and then spoke at the council’s headquarters in Washington on September 22. The pilot-turned-politician urged the international community to fight to free every single Ukrainian locked up in Russia. “I was not the only prisoner in a Russian jail. I would like you to continue this struggle to support my colleagues who are still there,” she was quoted by the Atlantic Council as saying. “It is important for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to understand he has no chance of keeping any of the Ukrainian prisoners currently being held – illegally – by him.” She also pressed the case for targeted sanctions against Russian kleptocrats, criticized the “underperformance” of Ukraine’s current government and explained that “The Kremlin is guided by a sick idea of restoring the territories of the USSR.”
Yaro Bihun
Ukraine’s first president after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Leonid Kravchuk (right), analyzes the country’s conflicts along its border with Russia and Moscow’s annexation of Crimea during a panel discussion on November 18 at the Atlantic Council with two other post-Soviet leaders, Russia’s first deputy prime minister, Gennady Burbulis (left), and the first Belarusian president, Stanislau Shushkevich (center).
Mr. Kravchuk, the first president of the independent Ukrainian state established 25 years ago after the break-up of the Soviet Union, also spoke at the Atlantic Council. He appeared on November 18 alongside two other post-Soviet leaders – the first president of Belarus, Stanislau Shushkevich, and the first deputy prime minister of Russia, Gennady Burbulis – to discuss the “Soviet dissolution, the birth of nations and the successes and challenges 25 years later.” Mr. Kravchuk stressed that “Ukraine is growing and doing so in a democratic way, in a European way, and now Ukraine cannot be pushed off this path.” Questions about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s expressed positions on Russia, President Putin and Crimea also came up during the discussion.
“I cannot fathom the world reaction if the president of the United States is going to recognize the annexation of Crimea,” Mr. Kravchuk said. “Neither can I fathom some of the reported statements that Trump made during the election campaign.” He noted, however, that Mr. Trump did not make those comments as president, adding that he understands that being a president in the White House changes the way a candidate may have thought about an issue before being elected. “If he expresses it after his January 20 inauguration, then I will express my far negative reaction,” Mr. Kravchuk added.
At the end of the year, President Obama signed into law the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, which contains a Ukraine security assistance package. The NDAA authorizes $350 million in security assistance, including lethal and non-lethal equipment, training and technical assistance. Half, or $175 million, of this money is linked to Ukraine’s implementation of critical defense reforms, such as instituting civilian control of the military, cooperation and coordination with Ukrainian parliamentary efforts to exercise oversight of the Ministry of Defense and military forces, increased transparency and accountability in defense procurement, and improvement in transparency, accountability and potential opportunities for privatization. Also part of the NDAA is the Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act – legislation designed to help American allies counter foreign government propaganda from Russia, China, and other nations.
What will 2017 bring?
As 2016 came to a close, our editorial wondered what the incoming Trump administration would bring. Ukrainian Americans who love both the United States and their ancestral homeland had repeatedly expressed their concerns, as did citizens of Ukraine who feared that their country could be abandoned to Russia’s sphere of influence. Things became even more worrying when The Times of the United Kingdom reported on December 28 that there was talk of the Trump administration deploying Henry Kissinger to reset U.S. relations with Russia, and that the Kremlin had reacted favorably to the idea. The Times reported: “Mr. Kissinger is already said to have advised Mr. Trump to roll out a plan to end sanctions on Moscow that would ‘recognize Russia’s dominance’ in the former Soviet states of Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia and Kazakhstan.” What’s more, there are reports that Mr. Kissinger’s strategy might include accepting the annexation of Crimea in exchange for Moscow withdrawing from eastern Ukraine.
But there were pledges from Ukraine’s supporters in Congress to continue or even increase sanctions against Russia.
Sens. Portman and Durbin, co-chairs of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, on December 8 led a bipartisan group of 27 senators to call on President-elect Trump to continue America’s tradition of support for the people of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. “In light of Russia’s continued aggression and repeated refusal to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereign right to choose its own destiny, we also renew our call for the United States to increase political, economic and military support for Ukraine,” the senators wrote. “This includes defensive lethal assistance as part of a broader effort to help Ukrainians better defend themselves, deter future aggression and implement key structural reforms. Similarly, we believe that Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea should never be accepted, nor should we lift sanctions imposed on Russia for its behavior in eastern Ukraine until key provisions of the Minsk agreement are met.”
Mikhail Palinchak/UNIAN
A delegation of the U.S. Senate on December 31 joined Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on a working trip to the Donetsk region. The delegation included Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Amy Klobuchar, and was accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. “I send the message from the American people – we are with you, your fight is our fight, and we will win together,” Sen. McCain was quoted as saying by Ukrainian president’s press service.
While visiting Kyiv at the end of December, Sen. McCain told RFE/RL that the United States will not strike a “Faustian bargain” with President Putin, amid speculation that President-elect Trump could scrap sanctions. Speaking in an exclusive interview with RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service on December 30 along with Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sen. McCain said any possible deal with Mr. Putin “would interfere with and undermine the freedom and democracies that exist today.” Sen. Graham said Congress in 2017 would pursue more sanctions against Russia, targeting the energy and banking sectors, as well as “Putin and his inner circle.” While they were in Kyiv, President Poroshenko awarded Sen. McCain the Order of Freedom and Sen. Graham the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise for their significant personal contributions to the enhancement of relations between Ukraine and the United States. All three senators underscored that there is strong support in Congress to provide Ukraine with “lethal defensive weapons” to help Kyiv in its fight against combined Russia-separatist forces.