75th anniversary of UPA is marked
Thousands of Ukrainian nationalists marched through Kyiv on October 14 to mark the 75th anniversary of the creation of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). March organizers said as many as 20,000 people participated in the march. Some 5,000 police were on hand to keep order. President Petro Poroshenko appealed to the Ukrainian people on the occasion of the 75th anniversary. “Today, on October 14, on Ukraine Defender Day and the holiday of the Protection of the Blessed Virgin, we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the creation of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, an army that was truly national from the first days of its creation to the end of the struggle against the inmates of their native lands, since it was fully formed and supported by the local population,” the president said. He noted that the years of Stalin’s terror, the horrors of collectivization and the Holodomor, and subsequently the invasion of the Nazis, had strengthened the Ukrainians in the conviction of the need for an armed struggle for independence. “UPA soldiers set themselves the goal of fighting for the complete liberation of all Ukrainian lands and the Ukrainian people from the invaders and gaining the Ukrainian independent and united state. The best sons and daughters of the Ukrainian people courageously resisted two powerful totalitarian regimes, each of which sought to absorb us, to enslave or destroy Ukrainians. They remained loyal to the Ukrainian cause and did not stop the struggle, even realizing its doom at that time. And finally they won,” Mr. Poroshenko said. The president also noted that members of the national liberation movement were recognized by the state, and their feats would always remain an example for future generations. He added that the memory of the UPA’s victories inspires current Ukrainian defenders who oppose Russian aggression and gives them strength and courage. “And we believe in their victory,” Mr. Poroshenko said. The October 14 anniversary has been marked as the public holiday Defender of Ukraine Day since 2015. The UPA was founded in western Ukraine during the Nazi occupation of the country in World War II and fought against both the Nazis and the Soviet Red Army. When the war ended, many UPA fighters continued to fight a guerrilla campaign against the Soviet authorities into the early 1950s. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, Ukrinform)
Four soldiers killed, four wounded
Ukraine’s military says that two of its soldiers were killed and four were wounded amid multiple ceasefire violations by Russia-backed forces in eastern Ukraine on October 17. Enemy forces violated the ceasefire 44 times in the previous 24 hours in the Donetsk region, and Ukrainian forces returned fire 38 times, the military said in a statement on October 18. The statement also said that militants used 82-120-milimeter mortars, anti-tank grenade launchers and weapons used by infantry fighting vehicles. Two other Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the Donetsk region on October 16. Fighting between Kyiv’s forces and the so-called separatists who hold parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions has killed more than 10,000 people since April 2014. Several ceasefire deals announced as part of the Minsk accords – September 2014 and February 2015 pacts aimed to resolve the conflict – have failed to hold. The latest ceasefire was agreed on August 22 in a phone call among the leaders of Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
McCain, Cardin question delay in sanctions
On October 11, U.S. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Ben Cardin, (D-Md.), released a statement 10 days after the October 1 deadline by which the Trump administration was to announce the implementation of sanctions on Russia’s defense and intelligence sectors, as stipulated in the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. Sens. McCain and Cardin stated: “The delay calls into question the Trump administration’s commitment to the sanctions bill which was signed into law more than two months ago, following months of public debate and negotiations in Congress. They’ve had plenty of time to get their act together. In addition to the administration’s lack of responsiveness on this deadline, there does not appear to be a significant diplomatic effort to engage our allies in Europe and lead an effort to increase pressure on Moscow. Congressional intent was clear, reflected in the overwhelming bipartisan majority in favor of the legislation. We wrote the administration on September 28, strongly urging them to develop a robust and comprehensive implementation plan for all aspects of the law and to work in close consultation with Congress to ensure a fulsome reflection of congressional intent. We again request that the administration respond to our letter, and engage Congress in a serious way moving forward.” (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)
On anniversary of Politkovskaya murder
The spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State, Heather Nauert, on October 6 released a press statement on the 11th anniversary of the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. “Eleven years ago renowned journalist Anna Politkovskaya was shot and killed in her Moscow apartment building. We continue to urge Russian authorities to identify and prosecute the person or persons who ordered, planned, and funded this terrible crime,” the statement read. “Ms. Politkovskaya’s reporting brought to light the violation of human rights in Russia and the suffering of victims of the war in the North Caucasus region. Recent reports of abuses against LGBTI persons and extrajudicial killings in Chechnya leave us deeply concerned that human rights violations are still regularly committed with impunity in this region. The unsolved murders of Ms. Politkovskaya – a dual U.S.-Russian citizen – and other journalists in Russia, as well as threats against journalists exposing more recent abuses in Chechnya, have only worsened an atmosphere of intimidation for the independent press.” (U.S. Department of State)
Russian authorities detain Tatar protesters
Dozens of people have been detained in the Russia-occupied Ukrainian region of Crimea for demonstrating in defense of Crimean Tatars. Lawyer Emil Kurbedinov said on October 14 that more than 100 people had staged one-person protests across Crimea earlier in the day and that at least 34 had been detained, even though one-person protests do not require advance permission from officials. The Russian authorities in Crimea reported that 49 people had been detained, according to the Russian website Meduza. The Russian police statement said all the detainees had been released after “precautionary conversations.” The protesters held signs with slogans including “Stop the arrests, searches and robbery of Muslims” and “Muslims are not terrorists.” Olha Skripnik, head of the Crimean Human Rights Group, told RFE/RL: “The detentions violated the right of peaceful assembly and the right to freedom of speech and the free expression of opinion. This was a peaceful action that did not present any danger. …One-person pickets – which these people have been forced to adopt – are not restricted even by the Russian laws that are de facto operating in Crimea.” On October 11, six Crimean Tatars were arrested in the city of Bakhchysarai and accused of membership in Hizb ut-Tahir, an Islamic organization that is legal in Ukraine, but banned by Russian authorities. The Crimean Solidarity rights group said that several other Crimean Tatars were detained while protesting against those arrests. Rights groups and Western governments have denounced what they call a persistent campaign of oppression targeting members of the indigenous, Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatar minority and other citizens who opposed Moscow’s annexation of their homeland. (Crimean Desk, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Kyiv bans Russia’s Crimean banknote
Ukraine has banned a new Russian banknote that includes images from the annexed Ukrainian region of Crimea. The National Bank of Ukraine announced on October 13 that the new Russian 200-ruble ($3.50 U.S.) bill showing a memorial in Sevastopol, a ruin in Chersonesus and a map of Crimea would be illegal in Ukraine beginning on October 17. Banks and exchanges will not accept them. The bank’s statement said the ban covers any Russian currencies depicting “maps, symbols, buildings, monuments” or other objects “based in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia.” Russia presented the new banknote on October 12. Ukraine and Russia have been locked in a standoff since Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and began offering military, economic, and political support to separatists in parts of eastern Ukraine. (Crimean Desk, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, with reporting by AFP)
Rasmussen on the Donbas war
In an October 16 op-ed in The Globe and Mail, former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen wrote: “I just returned from the contact line in Ukraine’s conflict with Russia, which separates free Ukraine from the Russian-occupied parts of the Donbas region. My conclusion is that Europe, Canada and the United States now have the opportunity to foster a political solution to this war: first, by providing defensive equipment to the Ukrainian soldiers; and second, by deploying a robust United Nations peacekeeping mission to the Donbas region. The question is whether the transatlantic allies have the tenacity to solve this conflict bleeding in the Western world’s heart, or whether their timidity will let the opportunity sail us by.” He also wrote in the Canadian newspaper: “Providing defensive systems in no way diverges from efforts for a peacekeeping mission. The West has already raised the costs to Mr. Putin for his aggression – through sanctions and training of Ukrainian troops. Mr. Putin’s overture to the U.N. shows it is having some effect on his thinking, but his game-playing shows we have not yet reached the tipping point in Moscow’s calculus. Further measures will continue to raise the costs and prompt further reconsideration.” Mr. Rasmussen also observed: “Mr. [Donald] Trump’s administration has accepted that the road to a better relationship with Russia passes through Ukraine. Now it is time for Europeans to get on board. Canada can play a pivotal role as the trans-Atlantic bridge. Nobody is naive about Mr. Putin’s intentions, but a commitment of effort now could uncover a path to end Europe’s deadliest conflict.” (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)
Poroshenko to PACE: no ‘business as usual’
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko urged the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to keep pressure on Moscow over “the Russian aggression in Ukraine,” urging the assembly not to return to “business as usual” with Russia. Speaking at PACE’s plenary session in Strasbourg, France, Mr. Poroshenko said on October 11 that Ukraine is fighting a war on two fronts at the same time – one to counter military aggression and restore its territorial integrity, and the other to implement difficult and complex reforms. Russia seized Ukraine’s Crimea region in March 2014, sending in troops and staging a referendum denounced as illegal by dozens of countries. It also backs separatists in a war that has killed more than 10,000 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014. In the wake of Moscow’s takeover of the Crimean Peninsula, PACE deprived Russian delegates of voting rights. “Systemic repressions have turned the Crimean Peninsula into an island of no freedom and a land of fear,” Mr. Poroshenko told the assembly. “In occupied Crimea, Russia applies the worst practices of the Soviet repressive machine. Anyone who dares to reject the so-called ‘reunification with Russia’ becomes a victim of arbitrary detention, prosecution, torture, extrajudicial execution, and inhuman treatment.” Mr. Poroshenko also strongly rejected any suggestion that Russia’s occupation of Crimea was a fait accompli. “This tribune was not invented for calls for appeasement,” the Ukrainian president said. “Neither was it for appeals to trade in territory for money, oil or gas. It was invented to safeguard our fundamentals, our values, and our principles.” (RFE/RL, with reporting by RFE/RL correspondent Rikard Jozwiak)
PACE criticizes law on education
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has expressed concerns over articles in Ukraine’s new education law relating to teaching in minority languages. Meeting in plenary session in Strasbourg on October 12, PACE voted for a resolution criticizing the new legislation, saying it “does not appear to strike an appropriate balance between the official language and the languages of national minorities.” The resolution noted: “In particular, the new law entails a heavy reduction in the rights previously recognized to ‘national minorities’ concerning their own language of education.” European Union diplomats told RFE/RL that Hungary had threatened to review the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement that entered into force on September 1. Hungary also included the issue in the Eastern Partnership declaration that EU ambassadors agreed to on October 11 and that leaders plan to issue at the Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels on November 24. The draft text says parties should “ensure respect for rights already exercised of persons belonging to national minorities as enshrined in U.N. and Council of Europe conventions and related protocols.” The EU officials also said Budapest would consider pushing for tough language on the matter during an EU-Ukraine association council session in December if the issue remains outstanding. Poland and Romania, which both expressed concerns about Ukraine’s education law, have not joined Hungary in any of the actions, the officials said. The new law does not outlaw instruction in languages other than Ukrainian, and students can still learn their native languages as a separate subject. But the new law’s language requirement overturns a 2012 law that allowed for minorities to introduce their languages in regions where they represented more than 10 percent of the population. PACE said that the new law was adopted without “real consultation with representatives of national minorities.” It also expressed dissatisfaction that Ukrainian authorities submitted the text of the bill to the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission of legal experts for an opinion only after its adoption by lawmakers. The assembly urged the authorities “to fully implement the forthcoming recommendations and conclusions of the Venice Commission and to modify the new education act accordingly.” (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, with reporting by AP and Reuters)
Poroshenko, Klimkin defend law
In signing the bill on education in Ukraine on September 25, President Petro Poroshenko insisted that it was “in harmony with European standards” and “ensures equal opportunities for all,” according to a statement on the presidential website. The new law makes Ukrainian the required language of study in state schools from the fifth grade on. Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Pavlo Klimkin, speaking at a press conference with his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, on October 12 in Budapest, said that not knowing the native language made it hard for minorities to be successful in Ukraine. “Everyone needs the opportunity to fulfill themselves in their country of citizenship,” Mr. Klimkin said. “But this is not possible without knowing the language.” He added that “not a single school” would be closed or “a single teacher” dismissed because of the new language requirement. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, with reporting by AP and Reuters)