U.S. on suffering of Crimean people
The acting U.S. ambassador to Kyiv, Kristina Kvien, has called on Russia to “stop its legacy of inflicting suffering on the people of Crimea,” as Ukraine commemorated the victims of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s mass deportation of Crimean Tatars from their homeland in 1944. The chargé d’affaires issued a video statement on Twitter on May 18, which since 2016 has been marked in Ukraine as the Day of Commemoration of Victims of the Genocide of the Crimean Tatars. The Crimean Tatars were deported en masse from the Black Sea peninsula in May 1944, after Stalin accused them of collaborating with Nazi Germany. Seventy years later, in March 2014, Russia seized Crimea after sending in troops and staging a referendum boycotted by many Crimean Tatars. In her statement, Ms. Kvien said that the deportation of the Crimean Tatars 76 years ago “caused unimaginable trauma, suffering, and the death of thousands.” She added, “That trauma and suffering is only deepened by Russia’s modern-day occupation of Crimea.” The United States “does not and will not recognize Russia’s purported annexation of Crimea,” and will keep its Crimea-related sanctions in place until Russia returns control of the peninsula to Ukraine, she said. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Razumkov on ‘difficult’ return of Crimea
The chairman of the Verkhovna Rada says efforts to return control of Crimea to Kyiv are part of “a difficult and slow process,” that Ukraine is determined to resolve. Dmytro Razumkov made the remarks in an interview with RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service that was published on May 16. Russia forcibly took over Crimea in March 2014 after Russian forces seized control of strategic sites on the Black Sea peninsula and organized a referendum that was not recognized by the international community. Shortly thereafter, Russia began supporting militants in two eastern Ukrainian regions, Donetsk and Luhansk. The West has sanctioned Russia for its seizure of Crimea and its support for the “separatists” in eastern Ukraine. Moscow denies supplying fighters, weapon, and financing to the separatists, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. It also claims that the referendum in Crimea was legitimate, and has ruled out handing control back to Ukraine. Mr. Razumkov said Kyiv would not abandon efforts to return Crimea to Ukrainian control, nor efforts to regain control of separatist-controlled areas of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, also known as the Donbas. “It is a difficult and slow process, but at the same time we can take this issue off the agenda and [cannot quit] trying to resolve it in all sorts of ways on various levels and neither can we lose means of communication with the occupied territories – both the Donbas and Crimea,” Mr. Razumkov said. Ukrainians in occupied areas of the Donbas who have accepted passports offered by Russia often had no choice, Mr. Razumkov explained. “There are many – very many – people who were, are, and will remain citizens of Ukraine. The conditions they find themselves in force them to take steps you are referring to [taking Russian citizenship]. But, you know, God forbid we ever had to find out what it is like in their shoes,” Mr. Razumkov said. U.S. and other Western officials have condemned Russia’s move to fast-track the granting of citizenship to all residents of Donetsk and Luhansk as running counter to efforts to achieve peace. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Zelenskyy: IMF memorandum will be signed
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says he is certain a memorandum with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be signed by the end of May to bolster the country’s finances. “We have large debts to international entities. We are a serious nation, but we are a poor country. We are paying off billions of U.S. dollars annually to international organizations,” the 42-year-old former comedic actor told a press conference on May 20 to mark his first anniversary in power. “We will sign this memorandum, I am sure that we will sign it in May. It cannot be delayed,” he added. Ukraine has been in talks with the IMF for months about a three-year, $5.5 billion loan tied to reforms to help the country meet a spike in debt repayments this year. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that about $3.5 billion of the total expected from the IMF is intended to go directly into the state budget. Lawmakers approved banking legislation on May 13 that paved the way for billions from the IMF to flow. Though the legislation also has other implications for Ukraine’s banks, analysts say its main purpose is to prevent one of Ukraine’s most powerful tycoons, Ihor Kolomoisky, the former co-owner of PrivatBank, from regaining ownership rights to the bank. The IMF is said to have insisted upon approval of the banking law amid signs the government was considering returning PrivatBank, which is in the midst of a major legal and political fight involving Mr. Kolomoisky. (RFE/RL)
Interviews as evidence in MH17 downing
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) says it will use a journalist’s interviews with former pro-separatist figures as evidence of crimes committed during the war in the east of the country, including the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17). The SBU announcement on May 19 relates to two interviews published by Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Gordon on his YouTube channel in which ex-separatist leader Igor Girkin, also known as Strelkov, and the former top prosecutor in Russian-annexed Crimea, Natalia Poklonskaya, divulge information that prosecutors say could be used against them. “All the information voiced in these interviews is already being analyzed in detail by the [SBU] staff for its use as additional evidence of the Russian Federation’s seizure of Ukrainian territory and the actual beginning of the war in the east of our state,” the SBU said. Mr. Girkin, a former colonel in Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), was the so-called defense minister of a Russia-backed group in the Donetsk region when MH17 was shot down in July 17, 2014, by a Russian-made Buk missile fired from separatist-controlled territory. In the interview published on May 18, Mr. Girkin said that, as the military commander in the area, he felt “indirect responsibility” for the downing of the passenger jet, but that his forces didn’t fire the missile that killed all 298 passengers and crew on board. Dutch investigators have linked Mr. Girkin and two other Russians and one Ukrainian to downing the jet on its way from the Netherlands to Malaysia. In March, a Dutch court began criminal proceedings against the four separatist figures, who are believed to be in Russia. Dutch officials believe the missile was secretly transported across the Russian border into Ukraine. Russia denies any role in the tragedy. Another interview Mr. Gordon published with Ms. Poklonskaya on May 11 may also be used by the SBU to build its case against the ex-prosecutor of annexed Crimea between 2014 and 2016. Ms. Poklonskaya, now a deputy in the Russian State Duma, is wanted in Ukraine for “actions committed with the aim of forcible change or overthrow of the constitutional order or seizure of state power.” Both interviews caused a stir in Ukraine, with some accusing Mr. Gordon of spreading Russian and separatist propaganda. In particular, the European Solidarity Party called on the SBU to launch an investigation into Mr. Gordon “for inciting hostility, supporting terrorism, and undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty.” In a twist to the story, Mr. Gordon said in a video statement on May 19 that he had interviewed Ms. Poklonskaya and Mr. Girkin “in collaboration with the Ukrainian secret services.” The SBU responded that the interviews were conducted at Mr. Gordon’s “initiative.” Mr. Gordon said flash drives of the interviews were sent to The Hague, where the testimonies could be used in international court cases against Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and the war in the east of Ukraine. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, with reporting by UNIAN and Ukrinform)
Occupied regions to use Soviet names
Russia’s proxies keep returning Soviet symbols to the occupied territories in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. On April 24 the leader of the so-called Donetsk people’s republic, Denis Pushylin, signed an “order” that allows to call occupied Donetsk by its old-time name, Stalino, three times a year. The name is to be used on Victory Day on May 9, on June 22 when Germany invaded the Soviet Union, and on September 8 when the city was liberated from Nazi occupation. Donetsk was called Stalino between 1924 and 1941, and between 1943 and 1961. On April 17 the so-called Luhansk people’s republic controlled by Russia said it will call occupied Luhansk Voroshilovgrad on those three days each year. (Ukraine Crisis Media Center)
One soldier killed, 11 wounded
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reported that during the week of May 8-14, one Ukrainian soldier was killed and 11 Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in action. During that week, Russian-terrorist forces opened fire on Ukrainian positions in the Luhansk and Donetsk sectors of the front 74 times in total, including at least 29 times with heavy weapons – mortars and artillery. Returning fire, Ukrainian forces killed five and wounded 25 enemy combatants in the last week, the Ministry of Defense said. (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)
Grand jury investigates Kolomoisky
BuzzFeed News reported it had learned that “One of Ukraine’s wealthiest oligarchs, whose name emerged in the center of the Trump impeachment saga, is under investigation by a U.S. federal grand jury for allegedly laundering hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. real estate.” BuzzFeed News said, “Billionaire Igor Kolomoisky is accused by Ukraine regulators of orchestrating a scheme to siphon money from the country’s largest bank and funnel it into prime properties, including landmark office towers and steel facilities across the U.S. The U.S. grand jury is examining the finances of Kolomoisky, a key supporter of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a probe that has tracked the money from the Ukrainian bank through a maze of offshore companies to the US, according to two sources familiar with the inquiry.” (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)
Senate committee issues subpoena in Biden probe
A Republican-led U.S. Senate committee has voted to subpoena documents for an investigation into Hunter Biden, son of former Vice-President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted on May 20 along party lines to subpoena information from Blue Star Strategies, a lobby firm that worked with Burisma, a gas company in Ukraine that paid Hunter Biden to serve as a board member. President Donald Trump was impeached on abuse-of-power and obstruction charges in the Democratic-led House of Representatives for improperly pressuring Ukraine to investigate the Bidens. The president was acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate. Democrats accuse the Republicans of seeking the investigation in a bid to help Trump’s reelection campaign. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the panel, has said the investigation is not designed to influence the presidential election. His colleague, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said, “We need to get to the truth about the Bidens’ relationship with Burisma. These hearings will provide the Senate with the full picture.” Democrats say that the Republican investigation into Biden and his son will aid Russia’s disinformation campaign ahead of the November election. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the ranking Democrat on the committee, said the probe “risks amplifying efforts of our foreign adversaries to interfere in the 2020 elections.” Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement that Johnson was “running a political errand” for Trump. (RFE/RL, with reporting by AFP, AP, DPA and Reuters)
Russian court rejects Crimean blogger’s appeal
A Russian military court has rejected an appeal by Crimean Tatar blogger Nariman Memedeminov to overturn his conviction on charges of inciting extremism, leaving him to serve the rest of his sentence in prison. The May 14 decision comes as Russia is accused of stepping up pressure on bloggers and independent media critical of the Kremlin’s policies. Rights groups and Western governments have also denounced what they call a campaign of oppression targeting members of the Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatar minority and others who opposed Moscow’s seizure of the Ukrainian peninsula in March 2014. The majority of Crimean Tatars were against the Russian takeover of their historical homeland. Mr. Memedeminov was arrested in Crimea in late March 2018 on charges his YouTube videos dating from 2013 to 2015 incited followers to commit acts of terrorism. In his video blogs, Memedeminov discussed political developments, voiced opinions on Russian holidays, and called on Muslims to observe their religious norms. Most Crimean Tatars are Muslim. In a ruling denounced by human rights and media-freedom watchdogs, a military court in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don in October 2019 sentenced him to two and a half years in prison. During the May 14 hearing at the Moscow region’s military court of appeals, Mr. Memedeminov called on bloggers and journalists to continue to report on human rights abuses in Crimea. “I ask that you continue to pay attention to the persecution on religious, national and professional grounds on the territory of Crimea. I hope soon to meet with you directly and not through the bars,” he said. Ahead of the court ruling, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists called on the court to overturn Mr. Memedeminov’s conviction, saying: “Forcefully transporting a Ukrainian citizen and independent journalist from Crimea to Russia and trying him in a military court on absurd charges is a violation of international legal norms, and the Russian authorities know it.” (Crimea Desk, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)