TORONTO – The president of the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) Eugene Czolij made his latest visit to Kyiv on June 6-9, meeting with the hierarchs of Ukrainian Churches, the president, the speaker of the Parliament, the prime minister and other high-ranking officials of Ukraine, as well as representatives of the international community and civil society.
In the course of his meetings, Mr. Czolij raised a number of important issues, including the prospective issuance by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of a Tomos of Autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine; actions by the international community in response to the hybrid aggression of the Russian Federation and further steps to protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine; the possible deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping mission to the Donbas and a monitoring mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to temporarily occupied Crimea; the condition of Ukrainian hostages in the Donbas, and political prisoners in Crimea and the Russian Federation; reforms in Ukraine and the law “On the Establishment of a High Anti-Corruption Court”; the G-7 summit in Canada; the European integration and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine; and the FIFA World Cup in the Russian Federation.
Mr. Czolij assured all parties that the UWC has consistently raised these issues in meetings with high-ranking officials of various countries. He also spoke of the international events, conferences and other events held by the UWC and the Ukrainian diaspora with the goal of advancing Ukraine’s interests in the international arena.
On June 7, the UWC president participated in a panel discussion on “The price of Kremlin aggression in Ukraine: the material dimension,” held at the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center. During his speech, he analyzed the legal avenues and mechanisms for recovering compensation from the Russian Federation for damages inflicted as the result of the illegal occupation of Crimea and the continuing armed aggression in eastern Ukraine.
On June 9, he delivered a thematic presentation during the special expert discussion on “Building a Regional Resilience to Disinformation” during the Inter‑Parliamentary Conference “Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine: Strengthening the Interparliamentary Component of Regional and Security Cooperation, while Developing Interaction with the EU and NATO.” In his speech, Mr. Czolij emphasized the magnitude and destructive influence of Russian disinformation in different countries around the world and called for a strategic and comprehensive response to counter it effectively.
The UWC president was accompanied to his meetings and various events by the director of the UWC Mission to Ukraine, Serhiy Kasyanchuk, and the director of the UWC Mission to International Organi-zations in Brussels, Maryna Iaroshevych. The UWC leader was аlso accompanied to some meetings by the chair of the UWC International Educational Coordinating Council, Oksana Wynnyckyj-Yusypovych, and Deputy Director of the UWC Mission to Ukraine Volodymyr Kistianyk.
With Ukrainians in Poland
On the invitation of the UWC member organization Association of Ukrainians in Poland, Mr. Czolij visited Przemysl on June 3 and Warsaw on June 4-5, meeting with governing authorities, academics and the Ukrainian community.
On June 3, Mr. Czolij participated in a divine liturgy, a traditional religious procession, a memorial service and a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument to the soldiers of the Ukrainian and Western Ukrainian National Republics buried in the Ukrainian military cemetery in the village of Pikulice, near Przemysl. Over 1,000 guests from Ukraine, Poland and other countries joined the commemorative activities.
In his speech, the UWC president stressed that, as was the case almost one century earlier, Ukrainian soldiers today are defending Ukraine from Russian aggression. Among the special guests were Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church Archbishop and Metropolitan of Lviv Ihor Voznyak; Bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Eparchy of Sokal-Zhovkva and chaplain of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Mykhaylo Koltun; Lviv Oblast Administration Head Oleh Syniutka; Lviv Oblast Council Chair Oleksandr Hanushchyn; and Association of Ukrainians in Poland President Petro Tyma.
During a meeting with the Ukrainian community of Przemysl, Mr. Czolij received a certificate of recognition from the Association of Ukrainians in Poland and the Civic Committee for the Restoration of the Narodnyi Dim (People’s Home) for his comprehensive assistance in furthering the process of restoring the Narodnyi Dim. The UWC president presented the Civic Committee for the Restoration of the Narodnyi Dim with a generous donation from the families of Petro and Halina Krzywucki, Iwan and Anna Iwaniura, Bohdan and Miroslawa Workun, and Stefan and Miroslawa Merena, as well as the Association of Ukrainians Zakerzonnia and the Lemko Foundation.
In meetings with high-ranking Polish officials in Warsaw, the UWC president thanked Poland for its support of Ukraine in the defense of its territorial integrity from Russian aggression. He called on Poland to maintain a firm position in support of Ukraine and strengthening of European Union sanctions against the Russian Federation until it fully withdraws its armed forces from eastern Ukraine and de-occupies Crimea.
The UWC President also thanked Poland for recognizing the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people. In addition, he called for a constructive dialogue and historical reconciliation between the Ukrainian and Polish people.
A visit to Malta
On May 31 to June 1, Mr. Czolij was in Valletta, Malta, with the goal of furthering current Ukrainian issues with the country’s governing authorities and civil society.
The UWC president reminded the Maltese authorities about the hybrid aggression of the Russian Federation that has occupied the Crimean peninsula and continues its military action in eastern Ukraine. He called upon Malta, as a member of the European Union, to work for the support and strengthening of sanctions against the Russian Federation for violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine and abusing the human rights of Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars.
During a meeting with members of the Association of Ukrainians in Malta, the UWC president familiarized himself with the aspirations and needs of Ukrainians in Malta, and discussed opportunities for continued cooperation with the UWC.
The president of the Ukrainian World Congress with representatives of Association of Ukrainians in Malta. In the center are Eugene Czolij and Maryna Iaroshevych.
Working visit to Lithuania
Mr. Czolij was on a working visit to Vilnius, Lithuania, on May 30-31. During meetings with high-ranking government officials, the UWC president expressed gratitude to Lithuania for the consistent and unwavering support for the territorial integrity and European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations of Ukraine. He discussed the constant shelling by the armed forces of the Russian Federation in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in violation of the Minsk agreements. The UWC president called on Lithuanians to promote targeted sanctions against the Russian Federation until it withdraws its forces from Donbas and de-occupies Crimea.
In addition, Mr. Czolij focused attention on the global threats posed by the Russian Federation, such as cyberattacks, mass disinformation, meddling in the democratic processes of other countries and other destabilizing actions in Europe and the world.
The UWC president discussed with Lithuanian government officials the latest positive reforms in Ukraine and expressed gratitude to Lithuania for recognizing the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people.
On May 30, during a meeting with the Community Council at the Embassy of Ukraine in Lithuania, Mr. Czolij thanked the Ukrainian community of Lithuania for its dedicated work for the benefit of Ukraine in the process of reforming the state and in withstanding the ongoing hybrid aggression of the Russian Federation. He also familiarized himself with the issues facing the community and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation with the UWC.
That day, the UWC leader participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument to Taras Shevchenko in Vilnius attended by the parish priest of Holy Trinity Church in Vilnius, Father Vincentii Pelykh, Ambassador of Ukraine in Lithuania Volodymyr Yatsenkivskyi, Ukrainian students from the Donbas region and representatives of the Ukrainian community in Lithuania. Afterwards the delegation visited the monastery complex and Holy Trinity Church in Vilnius.
On May 31, during a meeting with the president of the Constitutional Court of Lithuania, Dainius Žalimas, Mr. Czolij discussed Ukrainian judicial reform.
At a meeting at the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity in Vilnius, in the center (from left) are: Father Vincentii Pelykh, Eugene Czolij and Maryna Iaroshevych.
Portugal’s Ukrainians
On 28-29 May 2018, on the invitation of the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) member organization, The Association of Ukrainians in Portugal, a UWC member organization, invited UWC President Czolij to visit Lisbon. He did so on May 28-29, discussing current Ukrainian issues in meetings with high-ranking government officials and the Ukrainian community in Portugal.
Mr. Czolij expressed gratitude to Portugal for recognizing the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people and for supporting the Еuro-integration of Ukraine. He called on Portugal to support the extension and strengthening of sanctions against the Russian Federation as an aggressor state.
He also emphasized the importance of preventing, on European territory, questionable actions that attempt to justify Russian aggression and the illegal military formations of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics.” At a meeting at the High Commission for Migration in Portugal, the UWC president underscored that organizations promoting the “Russkyi mir” (Russian world) ideology cannot be considered as representatives of the Ukrainian community.
While in Lisbon, Mr. Czolij attended a divine liturgy at the Mother of God from Nazareth Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church and met with the local Ukrainian community, which he informed about the work of the UWC.
The UWC president was accompanied to certain meetings by Ambassador of Ukraine in Portugal Inna Ohnivets and the president of the Association of Ukrainians in Portugal, Pavlo Sadokha.
Greece on the itinerary
On the invitation of yet another UWC member organization, the Association of the Ukrainian Diaspora in Greece, which is called Ukrainian-Hellenic Thought, Mr. Czolij fulfilled a visited to Athens and Piraeus on April 14-16. He delivered an address during a commemorative event on April 14 marking the 20th anniversary of the Ukrainian-Hellenic Thought association, which is chaired by Halyna Masliuk, and the 15th anniversary of association’s Sunday school.
He presented UWC certificates of recognition to the president of the association and editor-in-chief of the association’s publication, the Ukrainian-Hellenic Almanac Visnyk – Angeliaphoros, Ms. Masliuk; to the association; and to the Ukrainian Sunday school, whose director is Hanna Pavlyuk.
The UWC leader attended a divine liturgy at St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church, as well as a liturgy at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Parish celebrated by Bishop Borys Gudziak, eparch of St. Volodymyr the Great Eparchy in Paris (which serves Ukrainian Catholics in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland), and the parish priest, Father Andriy Tverdokhlib.
Mr. Czolij met with the leadership of the Ukrainian association, familiarized himself with the specifics of Ukrainian community life in Greece and discussed ways to strengthen future cooperation with the UWC.
During meetings on April 16 with high-ranking governing officials and civil society of Greece, the UWC president focused attention on the hybrid aggression of the Russian Federation and highlighted the serious threat of the Russian Federation for the international community,
Mr. Czolij called upon Greece, a member of both the EU and NATO, to support the extension and strengthening of sanctions against the Russian Federation.
Mr. Czolij and Ms. Masliuk presented the diplomatic representative of the chair of the Parliament of Greece, Athanasios Theocharopoulos, with an appeal from Ukrainian organizations in Greece to the Greek Parliament to recognize the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people.
With representatives of business in Greece, Mr. Czolij discussed the tremendous economic potential of Ukraine and encouraged them to invest in Ukraine. Ukraine’s Chargé d’Affaires in Greece Natalie Kosenko participated in some of the UWC president’s meetings.
A trip to Cyprus
On April 17-18, Cyprus was the destination of UWC President Czolij. While in Nicosia, he met with high-ranking government officials and representatives of civil society to present the importance of supporting Ukraine in the defense of its territorial integrity and promoting its Euro-integrational processes.
Mr. Czolij also drew attention to Russia’s recent chemical attacks as well as mass disinformation and a series of destabilizing processes, including the dissemination of the NotPetya virus and meddling in elections, specifically in the U.S.A. and France. To stop this Russian hybrid aggression, the UWC president called on Cyprus to support EU continuing sanctions against the Russian Federation.
Citing successful reform efforts, Mr. Czolij called for the strengthening of Ukrainian-Cypriot trade relations. He also urged Cyprus to recognize the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people.
While in Nicosia, the UWC President had a meeting with the leaders of the Society of Ukrainian-Cypriot Friendship, during which he familiarized himself with their activities and discussed further cooperation with the UWC.
Ukraine’s Ambassador to Cyprus Borys Humeniuk also participated in some of Mr. Czolij’s meetings.
A visit to Turkey
Mr. Czolij was in Ankara and Izmir, Turkey, on April 19-21 to address important Ukrainian issues during meetings with its high-ranking government officials, representatives of civil society and the Ukrainian community.
The UWC president thanked Turkey for supporting Ukraine in the defense of its territorial integrity, including the introduction of restrictive measures with respect to Crimea, and the humanitarian assistance, primarily in the form of medical treatment and health care for children and widows of the defenders of Ukraine’s eastern borders.
Mr. Czolij also noted the high level of Turkish-Ukrainian trade relations and acknowledged the government’s contribution to the development of Ukrainian cultural life in Turkey, particularly Ukrainian schools and the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Ankara, as well as the Chair of Ukrainian Language in Istanbul.
Mr. Czolij called upon Turkey, a NATO member, to support the strengthening of ties between NATO and Ukraine, and the furthering of Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations. The UWC president also urged Turkey to abandon the Turkish Stream pipeline, taking into account the repeated use of gas by the Russian Federation as a political weapon. He also emphasized the importance of the issuance of a Tomos of Autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
UWC
Seen in the center are: UWC President Eugene Czolij with the president of the Association for Culture and Mutual Assistance of Crimean Turks, Mükremin Şahin.
Mr. Czolij appealed to the governing authorities of Turkey to include Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar programming on the main TRT television channel, and to facilitate the broadcasting of Ukrainian television channels. In addition, he urged Turkey to recognize the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people.
On April 19, the UWC president met with representatives of the Ukrainian Solidarity Union in Izmir, chaired by Svitlana Eralp. He familiarized himself with the specifics of the organization’s work and discussed how to increase cooperation with the UWC.
In separate meetings with Deputy Mayor of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Sirri Aydoğan and Mayor of the Balçova Municipality in Izmir Mehmet Ali Çalkaya, Mr. Czolij expressed gratitude for their support of the development of Ukrainian community life.
On April 20, in Ankara, Mr. Czolij met with the leadership of the Ukrainian Union in Ankara, chaired by Yuliya Mimaroğlu Biletska. During this meeting attention was focused on continued joint activities in furthering current Ukrainian issues. He also met with Ukraine’s Ambassador to Turkey Andrii Sybiha, and discussed current important issues, including the UWC appeal to the Ecumenical Patriarch to issue a Tomos of Autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
A range of important issues related to the illegal occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and the gross violations of the human rights of the Crimean Tatar population was discussed by Mr. Czolij discussed with the leadership of the Association for Culture and Mutual Assistance of Crimean Turks, which is headed by Mükremin Şahin.
Ukraine’s deputy chief of mission, Minister-Counselor Natalia Lopatina, and the first secretary for cultural affairs of the Embassy of Ukraine in Turkey, Oresta Starak, attended meetings in Ankara, while Consul General of Ukraine in Istanbul Oleksandr Gaman attended meetings in Izmir.
Azerbaijan’s Ukrainian community
The UWC president’s visit to Baku, Azerbaijan, came on April 22-23. On the agenda was discussing Ukrainian issues with government authorities and civil society of Azerbaijan, as well as strengthening ties with the Ukrainian community.
Mr. Czolij thanked Azerbaijan for its support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. In this context, he recognized hero of Ukraine Capt. Alihar Babayev who was of Azerbaijani descent, who was killed in the war zone of eastern Ukraine, and Ukrainians Viktor Seriohin, Ruslan Polovynko and Oleh Babak who defended Nagorno-Karabakh as part of the territory of Azerbaijan.
The UWC President called on Azerbaijan to include Ukraine in the building of new gas supply systems and presented the positive results of reform in Ukraine. He called upon Azerbaijan to recognize the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people and to introduce this topic into the country’s education curriculum.
Near the plaque commemorating the Special Diplomatic Mission of the Ukrainian People’s Republic in Azerbaijan in the years 1919-1920 (from left) are: Yuri Osadchenko of the Ukrainian Congress of Azerbaijan, and Eugene Czolij and Maryna Iaroshevych of the Ukrainian World Congress.
Mr. Czolij also appealed to the government authorities of Azerbaijan to participate in resolving important issues related to Ukrainian religious and cultural-educational life, including the provision of premises for Ukrainian community activities.
On April 22, he attended a divine liturgy at the Roman Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. In addition, together with Ambassador of Ukraine in Azerbaijan Olexandr Mischenko, staff of the Embassy of Ukraine and representatives of municipal governing authorities and the Ukrainian community, Mr. Czolij laid flowers at the monument to Taras Shevchenko.
The next day Mr. Czolij paid tribute at the memorial plaque dedicated to the Special Diplomatic Mission of the Ukrainian National Republic in Azerbaijan in 1919-1920.
The UWC president held a community meeting at the Embassy of Ukraine with members of the organizations Ukrainian Congress of Azerbaijan, chaired by Yuri Osadchenko, and Ivan Franko Ukrainian Community in the city of Sumqayit, chaired by Tamilla Musayeva. Meeting participants discussed continued cooperation with the UWC in support of Ukraine and the role of the UWC in ensuring that the national-cultural needs of the Ukrainian community in Azerbaijan are met.