The Ukrainian Weekly (https://www.ukrweekly.com/uwwp/author/mark/page/6/)
KYIV – President Volodymyr Zelensky is making Brussels the destination of his first foreign trip on June 4-5 to visit European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) institutions.
Meetings are planned with European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
KYIV – A Moscow court on May 27 denied an appeal by eight Ukrainian navy crewmen to be freed despite a United Nations tribunal ruling two days earlier that ordered Russia to free 24 Ukrainian seamen who have been detained for six months.
Moscow will not abide by the ruling, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media.
Dissolves Verkhovna Rada, announces pre-term electionsKYIV – President Volodymyr Zelensky has moved swiftly and controversially since being sworn in as the country’s sixth post-Soviet president on May 20 in the Verkhovna Rada.
KYIV – Ukraine argued during a hearing at the United Nation’s International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, Germany, on May 10 for the release of 24 military crewmen and three vessels that Russia impounded in shared waters six months ago.
KYIV – President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky will get to hold the “bulava,” or mace – a Kozak symbol of authority – on May 20 when the Verkhovna Rada hosts his inauguration as post-Soviet Ukraine’s sixth president.
KYIV – Newly elected President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested he won’t necessarily pursue early parliamentary elections after getting sworn in later this month. His comment came following a May 7 meeting with European Union Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn in Kyiv.
KYIV – Russia continues to test President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky during a transitional power period with further encroachment on Ukraine’s sovereignty. In the span of two weeks, the Kremlin banned oil and coal exports to Ukraine, started expediting the issuance of Russian passports to Ukrainians and continued its creeping annexation of the Azov Sea.
KYIV – The Verkhovna Rada adopted a sweeping language law on April 25 that elevates the status of Ukrainian in nearly every facet of life.A solid majority of 278 lawmakers voted for the bill that makes Ukrainian the sole language in all government activities and for officials while performing official duties. Ukrainian dominance in media, culture and education is also ensured. The bill’s measures don’t apply to private communication or language use in religious ceremonies.
KYIV – President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky is already facing his first challenge just three days after he trounced incumbent Petro Poroshenko in an April 21 election for the nation’s highest post.
KYIV – The race for Ukraine’s presidency has turned into a show, and its chief spectacle is a comedian performer who has not once in nearly five months of campaigning publicly appeared before voters, choosing instead to engage them in the realm of online social media.