News

Plast celebrates 109th anniversary with events in parliament and throughout Ukraine

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KYIV – For the second year in a row, the Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organizat­ion marked the anniversary of its founding on April 12 online due to pandemic restrictions. While many of the commemorations took place virtually, members of the Ukrainian parliament from the inter-factional caucus “Plast” gathered in the Verkhovna Rada to congratulate the organization on its 109th anniversary during a plenary session the following day.

For the record

G-7 statement on Russian military buildup

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The text of the following statement was released by the G-7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union on April 12.

We, the G-7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union are deeply concerned by the large ongoing build-up of Russian military forces on Ukraine’s borders and in illegally-annexed Crimea.

Analysis

Penned in on multiple international issues, Putin strives to show resolve on Ukraine

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Putting military pressure on Ukraine could have seemed to the Russian leadership to be the most practical way to assert Moscow’s central role in international affairs. The standard working assumption in the Kremlin is that facing a risk of violent conflict, the disunited West would become attentive to Russian grievances and demands and opt for a compromise.

For the record

UCCA Letter to President Joe Biden

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The following is the full text of a letter sent by the UCCA on April 12 to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Dear Mr. President:
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the representative organization of the over 1.5 million Americans of Ukrainian descent, is deeply troubled and concerned with the reported potential appointment of Matthew Rojansky as Russia Director at the National Security Council. This appointment is fraught with many problems – not least of which is his belief that Ukraine is expendable to secure closer U.S.-Russia relations.

For the record

UCCA statement on Rojansky

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The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) released the following statement on April 12.

On Saturday, April 10, the website Axios.com, citing an anonymous source, reported that Matthew Rojansky, head of the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute, was being considered for appointment as the new Russia director on the White House National Security Council (NSC).

For the record

UCCA-Ill letter to Biden

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The following is the full text of a letter sent by the UCCA-Illinois Division on April 12 to President Joe Biden.

Dear Mr. President:
On behalf of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America-Illinois Division, representing hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian-Americans in the state of Illinois, we write this letter to express our alarm about your possible appointment of Matthew Rojansky to the position of Russia director on the National Security Council.

For the record

UCCA-Illinois Division concerned with appointment under consideration to the National Security Council

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The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America-Illinois Division released the following statement on April 12.

The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America-Illinois Division strongly reacted to the news that President Joe Biden is considering appointing Matthew Rojansky, head of the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute, as Russia director on the National Security Council.

Analysis

Moscow moving 15 warships from Caspian Sea to waters off Ukraine

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The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on April 13 that Moscow is sending 15 naval vessels from its Caspian Flotilla to waters off Ukraine to take part in military exercises there. Earlier, Russian and Ukrainian media had reported stories about a smaller number. Although the vessels must pass through a 100-kilometer-long canal with more than 13 locks, they will likely be able to arrive before other ships, sent from Russia’s Baltic Fleet, make it to the Black Sea basin.

Ukraine

Supreme Court of Ukraine rules in favor of transferring UOC-MP parish to the OCU

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PARSIPPANY, N.J. — On April 6, a court session of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court of Ukraine was held to consider case No. 910/ 10011/19 on the legality of the change by the religious community of the village of Sutkivtsiy, Khmelnytskyi region, of its subordination-withdrawal from the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) and entry into the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).

Editorials

A COVID-19 spike in Ukraine

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While there is a growing sense in North America that we may have begun to turn a corner in the fight against the ongoing pandemic, the situation in Ukraine appears to be moving in the opposite direction. There has been a surge in COVID-19 infections, and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko recently announced that the capital will remain in a lockdown until at least April 30.