Lawmakers decline Zelensky’s proposals
Ukraine’s Parliament has defied new President Volodymyr Zelensky a day after he issued a decree to disband it and hold snap elections in July, declining to discuss his proposed changes in electoral legislation. At an emergency session on May 22, lawmakers in the Verkhovna Rada voted against debating two amendments proposed by Mr. Zelensky, underscoring the challenge he faces early in a five-year term that began with his inauguration two days before. After announcing in his May 20 inaugural address that he would dissolve Parliament, President Zelensky made it official with a decree the following day and declared that a new Verkhovna Rada will be elected on July 21. He has called for that election to be held based entirely on voting for parties, rather than single candidates, arguing that the current system in which some seats are filled in contests between individual candidates favors corruption. But at the emergency session, only 92 lawmakers voted to discuss that proposal – far short of the majority, 226 votes, needed to put it on the agenda. Lawmakers also voted not to put another proposal from Mr. Zelensky, which would change the rules for state purchases during election campaigns, on the agenda. The votes could point to a standoff between lawmakers and the president, a political novice who has no formal support in the current Parliament. The next Parliament session is scheduled for May 28. In a Facebook post on May 21, Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy alleged that President Zelensky’s decree to dissolve Parliament and call snap elections was illegal. He said lawmakers would appeal to the Constitutional Court to overturn it. “It is sad and alarming that the guarantor of the constitution starts his work in the post with a gross violation of the constitution,” Mr. Parubiy said. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Crimean Tatars mark anniversary of Sürgün
Dozens of Crimean Tatars marked the genocidal Stalin-e deportations, known as the Sürgün, from the Black Sea peninsula, with police warning participants that the event was unauthorized but otherwise not interfering. The May 18 event, held in the peninsula’s capital city of Symferopol, took place without incident or any reported detentions, even as some participants argued with law enforcement officials. Around 100 people recited prayers at a city park where a small monument stands to the tens of thousands who died during the 1944 deportations. Some participants dressed in traditional garb, while others carried the flag of the Crimean Tatar community. Several elderly survivors recalled their experiences from the deportations. Тhe Black Sea peninsula was annexed by Russia in March 2014. The Crimean Tatar community has refused to recognize Russia’s assertion of authority over the region, and many activists have been harassed or detained. In May 1944, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin ordered the community deported, accusing them of collaboration with the Nazis. Tens of thousands died during the operation and during the first severe months in Kazakhstan and other remote parts of the Soviet Union. (Crimea Desk, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Vakarchuk sets up political party
Ukrainian rock star Svyatoslav Vakarchuk has announced that he is setting up a political party ahead of parliamentary elections later this year. Mr. Vakarchuk said on May 16 that he will lead the Holos (Voice) party in the elections because Parliament has “turned into a toxic swamp that drains our future.” He told his supporters in Kyiv, “We have to change that,” adding that his team will be united by “zero-tolerance of corruption” and would support a free economy, reject Russia’s meddling in Ukraine’s internal affairs and favor closer Euro-Atlantic integration. General elections are set to be held in late October, six months after a presidential vote in which political novice and comedian Volodymyr Zelensky defeated incumbent President Petro Poroshenko. Mr. Vakarchuk, the vocalist of Ukraine’s most successful rock group, Okean Elzy, and an outspoken political activist, was seen as a potential candidate in the presidential poll, but he said he was more interested in real changes in the country than in the presidency. Mr. Vakarchuk supported the 2004-2005 Orange Revolution, which was sparked by a flawed presidential vote. He became a lawmaker in 2007, but stepped down a year later. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by UNIAN, Reuters and Ukrayinska Pravda)
Oligarch Kolomoisky returns to Ukraine
Ukrainian tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky has returned to the country after spending almost two years in self-exile. Skhemy (Schemes), a joint project by RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service and Ukraine’s UA:Pershy television channel, quoted sources at the international airport in the eastern city of Dnipro as saying that Mr. Kolomoisky had landed there early on May 16. One of Ukraine’s richest men and a former regional governor, Mr. Kolomoisky was on board a private plane coming from Tel Aviv, the sources said. Mr. Kolomoisky has been at odds with outgoing President Petro Poroshenko for years. His return to his home country comes weeks after Volodymyr Zelensky defeated Mr. Poroshenko in an April 21 presidential runoff election. The Babel online newspaper quoted Mr. Kolomoi-sky as saying after landing in Dnipro that he didn’t know about his plans yet. The billionaire had said he was not afraid to come back to Ukraine, saying he expected what he called political pressure on courts to stop under Mr. Zelensky’s presidency. Mr. Zelensky is linked to Mr. Kolomoisky through the oligarch’s ownership of TV station 1+1, which hosts Mr. Zelensky’s comedy programs. Reporters have also found other links between the two, including shared security details and vehicles, as well as possible meetings abroad in the run-up to Mr. Zelensky’s candidacy. Mr. Kolomoisky, who has faced investigations and government pressure in Ukraine, left the country in June 2017 and later split his time between Israel and Switzerland. Mr. Poroshenko has claimed that Mr. Kolomoisky supported Mr. Zelensky’s election campaign financially in order “to take revenge against the state” for the nationalization of PrivatBank. The nationalization occurred in December 2016 with the backing of the International Monetary Fund after risky lending practices left it with a capital shortfall of billions of dollars. Mr. Kolomoisky, one of the bank’s former main shareholders, opposed the move, and a Ukrainian court ruled on April 18 that the nationalization was illegal. Ukraine’s central bank is appealing the ruling. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, with reporting by Babel)
Eight soldiers captured in Donetsk region
Ukrainian authorities say eight military personnel have been captured by Russia-backed fighters in the eastern region of Donetsk. Ukraine’s Joint Forces Operations (OOS) in the country’s east said in a statement that the soldiers were captured on May 22. “According to preliminary information, early in the morning today, eight military personnel of Ukraine’s armed forces from the OOS took a wrong turn while moving aboard a truck near the town of Novotroyitske and found themselves in temporarily occupied territory, where they were captured by fighters of the Russian Federation’s armed forces,” the OOS statement said. The Ukrainian military frequently refers to Russia-backed separatist forces who hold parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as “fighters of the Russian Federation’s armed forces.” It also says that many regular Russian soldiers have fought in the conflict there, a claim that Moscow denies despite what Kyiv and NATO say is incontrovertible evidence. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said earlier in the day that three soldiers were wounded in five ceasefire violations by Russia-backed forces over the previous 24 hours. The militants, in turn, accused government forces of violating the ceasefire twice since May 21. Ceasefire deals announced as part of the Minsk accords – September 2014 and February 2015 pacts aimed at resolving the conflict – have contributed to a decrease in fighting but have failed to hold. A new ceasefire agreement was reached on March 8, but both sides have accused each other of repeated violations since then. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Freeland meets with Ukrainian officials
On May 8, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland arrived in Kyiv to meet with top officials. During her working visit to Ukraine’s capital, Minister Freeland met with President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky, President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Andriy Parubiy. During the meeting with President Poroshenko, the parties discussed Moscow’s latest provocations and strengthening of sanctions against Russia in response to so-called citizenship decrees. Ukraine’s leader stressed the importance of deploying a United Nations peacekeeping mission to the temporarily occupied part of the Donbas, including the uncontrolled section of the state border between Ukraine and Russia and applauded Canada for introducing the Azov package of sanctions in March in coordination with the European Union and the United States. The parties also discussed the release of 24 sailors and all Ukrainian hostages illegally detained by Russia. Mr. Poroshenko recognized Canada’s important role in building the defense capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Canada’s support in obtaining a NATO Membership Action Plan for Ukraine and discussed the ways to deepen security cooperation between Kyiv and Ottawa. Minister Freeland expressed her admiration with free and democratic nature of presidential election in Ukraine. At the meeting with Prime Minister Groysman, Minister Freeland said that Russia’s provocative actions were a part of hybrid warfare and they would be addressed at the level of the world’s leading countries including the G-7 and during top international forums. She noted that Canada doesn’t recognize Russian passports issued in the occupied Crimea and could extend this practice to other occupied territories of Ukraine. The Canadian diplomat has noted that the Third Ukraine Reforms Conference which will be held in July in Toronto is a great forum to discuss top issues as well as promote Ukraine’s cooperation with the whole world. During her meeting with Mr. Parubiy, Ms. Freeland discussed the role that Canadian election monitors played in Ukraine’s presidential elections and will play again in parliamentary elections later this year. (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)
Canada’s defense minister in Ukraine
Canadian Minister of National Defense Harjit Sajjan together with Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine Roman Waschuk represented Canada during the inauguration ceremony of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that took place on May 20. “Good to meet & congratulate President Zelensky! Canada and Ukraine share a strong friendship & defense partnership in the fight for Ukrainian sovereignty. More than a million Ukrainian-Canadians call Canada home, and we look forward to working with you to strengthen our two nations,” Minister Sajjan wrote on Twitter. In addition, Minister Sajjan official visited and laid flowers at the National Museum Holodomor Victims Memorial in Kyiv honoring the memories of the millions of men, women and children who starved to death in Ukraine during the Holodomor genocide. “Canada will always stand with our friends in Ukraine against hatred and injustice,” he wrote. Minister Sajjan also talked to members of the Canadian Forces deployed to Ukraine to help and train locally security forces in the face of Russian aggression. “Good to join our women and men in uniform for a BBQ and thank them for their service,” Minister Sajjan tweeted. (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)
UIA doubles Kyiv-Toronto flights
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) will increase the frequency of flights and the number of passenger seats on the route Kyiv-Toronto-Kyiv during the peak summer season, as reported by the airlines. UIA will operate up to four flights a week between Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and Toronto, the largest city of Canada, using Boeing 777-200ER aircraft. Previously, UIA operated two flights a week. Starting on May 15 the airlines will have flights between Kyiv and Toronto on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. On June 13 UIA will add Thursdays to its flight schedule. In March, the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine allowed UIA to increase the frequency of flights on the Kyiv-Toronto route up to five flights per week. (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)
Rights organizations’ letter to Zelensky
The representatives of three international human rights organizations with representative offices in Kyiv wrote an open letter to President Volodymyr Zelensky requesting that he promote and advance respect for human rights and democracy in Ukraine. “We are writing at the beginning of your presidency to ask that, as you look forward, you ensure that justice, accountability and human rights protections are central to your agenda, particularly in areas where progress has been lacking. Specifically, we call on you to end impunity for hate-based violence and violence against civil society activists and journalists; to enhance accountability of law enforcement and security service agencies through greater civilian oversight; and to uphold the rights of people in eastern Ukraine affected by the armed conflict, particularly older people,” reads the letter signed by Hugh Williamson, director of Europe and Central Asia Division, Human Rights Watch; Marie Struthers, director of Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Office, Amnesty International; and Marc Behrendt, director of Europe and Eurasia Programs, Freedom House. (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)
Saakashvili seeks citizenship’s reinstatement
Mikheil Saakashvili, the former Georgian president who served as governor of Ukraine’s Odesa Oblast, has asked Ukraine’s new president to reinstate his Ukrainian citizenship. Mr. Saakashvili’s lawyer, Ruslan Chornolutskiy, announced on Facebook on May 22 that he has formally filed a request with President Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration for the restoration of Mr. Saakashvili’s citizenship. Mr. Saakashvili was granted Ukrainian citizenship and appointed to the Odesa governor’s post in 2015 by President Petro Poroshenko. Authorities in Tbilisi stripped Mr. Saakashvili of his Georgian citizenship in December 2015 on the grounds that Georgia does not allow dual citizenship. Then, when relations between Messrs. Poroshenko and Saakashvili had soured over corruption allegations, President Poroshenko in November 2016 sacked Mr. Saakashvili from the Odesa governor’s post. In July 2017, after Mr. Saakashvili created an opposition party called Movement of New Forces, President Poroshenko issued a decree that stripped Mr. Saakashvili of his Ukrainian citizenship. Mr. Chornolutskiy on May 22 also posted Mr. Saakashvili’s letter to President Zelensky online. In it, Mr. Saakashvili says Mr. Poroshenko’s decision to strip him of his Ukrainian citizenship was “illegal” because it violated the Ukrainian Constitution and international laws by leaving him stateless. Mr. Saakashvili’s letter also referred to Mr. Zelensky’s May 20 inaugural speech in which the new president said he was ready to grant citizenship to anyone who was ready to work for Ukraine’s future. “I would like to remind you that I not only consider myself a Ukrainian, I am a person who is ready to lay my life down to make Ukraine successful and strong,” Mr. Saakashvili wrote, adding that he does not require an official government post in Ukraine. Mr. Saakashvili’s letter also asks Mr. Zelensky to at least lift a ban on his entry into Ukraine so he can defend himself in court if the new president does not consider it appropriate to reinstate his Ukrainian citizenship. Mr. Saakashvili currently resides in the Netherlands, his wife’s native country. (RFE/RL)
Zelensky’s decree enters into force
A decree issued by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on disbanding the Verkhovna Rada and holding snap elections in July has taken effect. The decree was published on May 23 in the Uriadovyi Kurier (Government Courier) newspaper, which under Ukrainian law means the decree has entered into force. After announcing in his May 20 inaugural address that he would dissolve Parliament, Mr. Zelensky made it official with the decree the following day and declared that a new Parliament will be elected on July 21. He has called for that election to be held based entirely on voting for parties, rather than single candidates, arguing that the current system in which some seats are filled in contests between individual candidates favors corruption. But at an emergency session of the Verkhovna Rada on May 22, national deputies did not put the new president’s proposals on the agenda. That could point to a standoff between national deputies and President Zelensky, a political novice who has no formal support in the current Parliament. The next Parliament session is scheduled for May 28. The next parliamentary elections were scheduled for October 27. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)