Ukrainica

Tag: ukraine

  • Stop talking about ifs and asking about whens

    Stop talking about ifs and asking about whens

    Др. Василь Тарас

    To my non-Ukrainian friends about Ukraine

    Expressions “if Russia invades” or “will there be a war?” are nonsense. Russia invaded in 2014, and the war has been going on non-stop for eight years. Russia already occupied parts of southern and eastern Ukraine, a territory that is larger than Switzerland, Denmark, or the Netherlands. Thousands of Ukrainians died fighting Russian armed forces, and millions were forced to flee for their lives. It already happened.

    I don’t know why all the news channels around the world all of a sudden got interested in Ukraine as if something had changed a few weeks ago. No, thousands of Russian troops have been in Ukraine and around Ukraine for years. Ukrainian soldiers have been dying daily for eight years. It was NOT any better a month, a year, or five years ago.

    If you listen to the news these days, it sounds like it was OK before, and now it has gotten worse. No, it was bad for eight years, just like it is today. It’s definitely more in the news now, but it has been just as bad all eight years as it is now. The only new recent development is that yesterday Russia “recognized the independence” of the occupied Ukrainian territories, whatever that means. It had not only “recognized” but also “formally incorporated” a much larger territory in 2014, so I am not sure how yesterday’s “recognition” changes things.

    Stop saying “Russian-speaking regions” of Ukraine. Russian is spoken all around Ukraine, and certainly not more in the currently occupied parts of Ukraine than elsewhere in Ukraine. Stop mentioning “Russian language” as if it justifies Putin’s land grab. You wouldn’t be justifying a German invasion into the “German-speaking” part of Switzerland or a French invasion into the “French-speaking” part of Canada. Or a British invasion into Canada’s “English-speaking” regions. Or a Ukrainian invasion into the Ukrainian-speaking parts of Russia (there are quite a few with sizable ethnic Ukrainian populations)… Or would you?

    Stop saying “Russia-backed separatists”. The correct expression is, “Russian military, with Russia-appointed and imported-from-Russia leaders, backed by a few local sympathizers, while millions of anti-Russian locals had to flee and millions more had to shut up and keep their heads down because if they don’t, they’ll be arrested or killed as thousands others have been.”

    Now that we got the facts right and named things for what they are, we can talk about what could/should have been done but was not done in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and could be or should be done now. Just remember, it’s not any different from when Hiter invaded the Sudetenland. Or Stalin invaded Finland, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In all of those invasions, the cover narrative was the same as it is today in Ukraine: a large militarized country finds a few local sympathizers who allege oppression by the local government, “appoints” and “recognizes” a few local “officials” who “request help” from the large militarized country, invade to “protect” or “rectify historical wrongs”. In 1939-1940, other than Britain, the west chose to do nothing.

    I’ll leave it up to you to decide who’s right and who’s wrong and what needs to be done here, if anything. I just want you to properly understand the background and use the correct terminology.

    Image by brands amon from Pixabay

  • UCCA reached out to President-elect Joe Biden with a letter of congratulations

    UCCA reached out to President-elect Joe Biden with a letter of congratulations

    Український конгресовий Комітет Америки звернувся до ново˗обраного президента Джо Байдена з привітальним листом, закликаючи укріпити відносини з Україною, зміцнити міжнародно визнані принципи суверенітету та територіальної цілісності.

    New York, NY (UCCA) – Following an historic election, with over 150 million combined votes cast for the first time in U.S. history, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the largest grassroots representation of Americans of Ukrainian descent, reached out to President-elect Joe Biden with a letter of congratulations, urging the former Vice President to fortify relations with Ukraine and reinforce internationally recognized principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. With an incoming 117th United States Congress, and a new presidential administration, the United States should look to not only live up to its public and binding security guarantees to Ukraine, but should further develop this important bilateral relationship. A retreat from current sanctions against the Russian Federation and its proxies, or from continued military, political and economic support of Ukraine by the United States, would entail terrifying consequences for Ukraine, our European partners and the global geo-political security structure.

    In the nearly three decades since Ukraine’s independence, the United States and Ukraine have signed numerous bilateral treaties, leading to the formation of the U.S.-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Partnership.

    With overwhelming bi-partisan support, the 2014 Ukraine Freedom Support Act further declared as official state policy that the United States will “assist the government of Ukraine in restoring its sovereignty and territorial integrity in order to deter the government of the Russian Federation from further destabilizing and invading Ukraine and other independent countries.” And in 2018, the United States Department of State formally rejected as a matter of state policy “Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea,” pledging that the United States intends to maintain this policy of refusal to recognize Russia’s illegal assertions “until Ukraine’s territorial integrity is restored.” 

    “In 2021, Ukrainians around the world will celebrate 30 years of Ukrainian Independence. This historic occasion should motivate policy-makers of both national parties in the United States, and their counterparts in Ukraine, to move toward specific goals in the next decade, based on the shared belief that the security of the United States and Ukraine rests with the expansion of democracy and mutual security guarantees. This should include reciprocal state visits arranged in both Kyiv and Washington, D.C., based on the U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership,” stated UCCA President Andriy Futey.

    Ukrainian Americans are united in their support for the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. As Americans, we believe that a democratic and independent Ukraine is in the national security interests of the United States. UCCA remains committed to fostering additional cooperation from elected officials to continue our nation’s proud tradition of bipartisan support for Ukraine.

    Andrij V. Dobriansky,
    Director of Communications and Media
    Ukrainian Congress Committee of America 
    203 Second Avenue
    New York, NY 10003

  • What Ukraine Needs Most?

    What Ukraine Needs Most?

    Short Term Goals for American Leadership

    The Pentagon recently announced that at the request of the Polish government more U.S. troops would be deployed to Poland and at the request of Ukraine’s government more military assistance would be rendered to Ukraine, including missiles, radar equipment as well as more joint military exercises. All of these are positive steps in the European and U.S. Relationship. What is missing in these recent announcements by the currently rudderless Pentagon has been in fact on the table since the Bucharest Summit in 2008.

    During his most recent visit to the United Kingdom, Ukraine’s President Zelensky raised this issue once again. Ukraine need a Membership Action Plan for NATO. In 2008 the U.S. under President George W. Bush was prepared to make that happen. It was stymied by France and Germany, two historically Russia friendly states. Eight months later in Brussels the issue was a mere mention in the final communique. Since then there has been an unnerving quiet.

    A good portion of the blame lies with Ukraine itself which was ruled from February 2010 to February 2014 by a Russian surrogate. NATO MAP was a non-issue. For the remaining two years of President Obama’s administration the matter lay dormant. Ukraine was digging itself out from the Russian quagmire of influence under President Yanukovych and the ensuing active hostilities between the two countries. President Obama decided to lay low without direct involvement in the conflict except through sanctions. President Trump’s administration was at best lost time for Ukraine.

    What does Ukrainian membership in NATO offer the Alliance? Firepower! Of the 29 NATO member states only the following seven have more firepower: U.S., France, U.K., Turkey, Germany, Italy and Poland. Ukraine is considered the 27th most powerful state in the world with a standing military of more than a quarter of a million. Of NATO countries only the United States, Turkey and France have a larger military. Ukraine’s deficiencies are economic which is understandable given its Soviet legacy. NATO’s lack of firepower during the halcyon relationship period with the Trump administration was a genuine cause for concern. European members of NATO began forging a strictly European defense alliance. This period of uncertainty and relative distrust not only emphasized the importance of American leadership but the role that Europe would need to assume under exigent circumstances.

    What does NATO offer Ukraine? It is not an absolute defense, but rather the appearance of security and, certainly, a game changer for Ukraine in its worrisome relationship with a historic enemy. There are hurdles such as defense modernization and ending the current conflict, but MAP would be a tangible step in the right direction. President Elect Joe Biden stressed his desire to engage in the peace process. He also stated that Russia is the number one adversary of the United States. Russia is also the number one adversary of Ukraine. America and Ukraine are natural allies. Furthermore, America’s involvement in the Russia/Ukraine conflict would lend credence to NATO’s mission as a peacekeeping alliance, keeping Europe safe from Russian aggression.

    Similarly to President Zelensky’s inquiry on MAP in London, Ukraine needs to send a message to America’s new leadership as soon as possible that Ukraine wants America at the peace table whether it be in Minsk or, preferably, elsewhere and that it depends upon American’s sponsorship of its Membership Action Plan in NATO. President Zelensky has commenced the dialogue by congratulating President Elect Joe Biden on his electoral victory. The Ukrainian American community could be helpful in this, but at the present time it lacks leadership. Nonetheless, America under President Elect Joe Biden who recognizes both Russia as an adversary and Ukraine as America’s strategic ally would assume the mantle required both by American and Ukrainian interests.

    In essence, these are short term goals which can be addressed in the very near future. The message will be very clear to Russia and America’s allies that America in back as the unquestioned leader of the democratic world community. Ukraine would have an ally it can trust.

    November 11, 2020 Askold S. Lozynskyj