New chargé d’affaires at U.S. Embassy
Kristina Kvien, deputy chief of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Ukraine, has been appointed as the interim charge d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv. In a video posted on Facebook on January 2, Ms. Kvien said that the U.S. “policy of strong support for Ukraine remains steady.” She noted: “Our Embassy team will continue to partner closely with the Ukrainian government and civil society and support Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, and support reforms that will help Ukraine build its prosperous European future.” Ms. Kvien replaced William Taylor, who stepped aside earlier on January 2 after serving in the post since May 18, 2019. Ambassador Taylor said good-bye to Ukrainians in a video statement on December 31, saying he was “very optimistic” about Ukraine’s future. Mr. Taylor was launched into the forefront of the impeachment hearings against U.S. President Donald Trump in November when he testified that one of his staffers overheard Trump ask U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland about “investigations” against Joe Biden, one of the president’s main political rivals. During his testimony, Mr. Taylor also criticized Mr. Trump’s decision to delay military aid to Ukraine and a White House invitation to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying it ran counter to U.S. foreign policy goals in the region and damaged Washington’s relationship with Kyiv. Mr. Taylor’s appointment was set to expire in early January but the State Department did not extend his stay. (RFE/RL)
600 UOC-MP parishes convert to OCU
Some 600 parishes in Ukraine belonging to the Orthodox Church aligned with the Moscow Patriarchate have in one year switched over to the newly formed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), the new Church’s leader says. Metropolitan Epifaniy told RFE/RL in an interview over the weekend that he foresaw another “wave” in the future of “such massive conversions.” However, “we want them to continue to be peaceful, calm, and voluntary… we do not need confrontation,” he said. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) doesn’t recognize and opposes the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was granted independence in January 2019 by the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Istanbul. Epifaniy was installed as the new church’s metropolitan on February 3 after an election by high-ranking clergy in Kyiv. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Two Ukrainian soldiers killed in Donbas
Ukraine’s military has said that two of its soldiers were killed during the previous 24 hours while on a combat mission in the country’s eastern Donbas region. According to a post on Facebook by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, one of its soldiers was killed as Russia-backed separatists violated a ceasefire deal four times since January 5. Another soldier was killed inside a military truck that ran over an explosive device near the frontline town of Khutir Vilnyi in the eastern Luhansk region. Another soldier traveling in the vehicle also was seriously wounded, the statement said. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said ceasefire violations by separatists also included the firing of 82-millimeter mortar rockets, grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and different types of firearms at Ukrainian positions in the conflict zone. Ukrainian forces liberated the town of Khutir Vilnyi, also known as Zolote-5, in late September 2018 in the Luhansk region. Russian-backed forces had often fired on Ukrainian positions from the town, Kyiv had said. It currently has less than 20 civilian residents. Nearly 14,000 people have been killed in the conflict and 1.5 million more have been displaced. (RFE/RL)
Languages being squeezed in Crimea
The last remaining Ukrainian-language school in Russian-occupied Crimea doesn’t provide instruction in the eastern Slavic language, Eskender Bariyev, head of the Crimean-Tatar Resource Center, told RFE/RL in a radio interview on January 1. Seven Ukrainian schools functioned on the peninsula before Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an order to send troops in early 2014 to seize the Ukrainian territory. The school is registered in the southeastern coastal town of Feodosiya and, according to Mr. Bariyev, local residents say the Ukrainian language isn’t taught there. According to Article 10 of the Russian-imposed constitution on the peninsula, there are three official languages in Crimea: Crimean Tatar, Ukrainian and Russian. About 3 percent of 200,700 schoolchildren there were taught in the Crimean Tatar language in 2018-2019, the peninsula’s education authority reports. Mr. Bariyev noted that the status of 16 Crimean Tatar language schools have also been altered since annexation. Seven preserved instruction in Crimean Tatar, while five have been transformed to instill instruction in Russian. Four have been designated schools that offer a “general education.” Only 249 schoolchildren, or 0.2 percent of pupils, formally learned Ukrainian in 2018-2019. Twenty-seven schools offer 126 classes with Crimean Tatar instruction and five schools provide teaching in Ukrainian in eight classes. As recently as December 30, 2019, Russia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement on Crimea: “The [Foreign] Ministry’s official position, which has been voiced many times, is that the proclamation of the independence of the Republic of Crimea and its unification with the Russian Federation was a legitimate exercise of the right of the people of Crimea to self-determination following an armed coup in Ukraine with foreign support.” (Crimea Desk, REF/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Putin, Zelenskyy discuss another prisoner swap
Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss another prisoner swap as tensions ease between the two neighbors. The two leaders also exchanged holiday greetings, according to a statement by Mr. Zelenskyy’s press service that was later confirmed by the Kremlin. The call was initiated by Mr. Zelenskyy, according to the Kremlin’s readout. Marking the first time in six years that Mr. Putin has exchanged holiday greetings with his Ukrainian counterpart, the conversation testifies to a gradual thaw in relations between the two adversaries. Mr. Putin expressed a positive opinion about Mr. Zelenskyy during a meeting with business leaders last week, saying the Ukrainian leader was trying to build dialogue with Russia, Forbes reported, citing one of the participants. However, the Russian president said he did not expect a breakthrough, the business news magazine added. During their December 31 call, the two leaders agreed “to immediately proceed” to approve lists for the release of Ukrainians, including Crimeans, held in Crimea and Russia, and Russians held in Ukraine, Mr. Zelenskyy’s press service said in a statement. The Kremlin readout made no mention of a new prisoner exchange. Ukraine has confirmation that 100 Ukrainians are still being held captive in the nongovernment-controlled parts of the Donbas, according to Valeriya Lutkovska, Ukraine’s envoy to a humanitarian negotiation group attached to the peace process. Kyiv believes another 200 Ukrainians are held in captivity but no documentation is available for them, she said. Presidents Putin and Zelenskyy also expressed hope to complete the ceasefire agreement reached in Paris “in the near future,” the Ukrainian president’s statement said. (RFE/RL)