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The peak body for Ukrainian-Australians has hit out at the Abbott government for not pushing harder to ban Russian President Vladimir Putin from attending next month's G20 summit in Brisbane. Stefan Romaniw, chairman of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, said G20 members should have "hit hard" by preventing Mr Putin's attendance after the MH17 disaster and "months of warnings and sanctions" over Russia's incursions into Ukraine. The move comes as Opposition Leader Bill Shorten accused Prime Minister Tony Abbott of walking back from the tough language he directed at Russia after the downing of MH17, which killed 298 people, including...

10-14 September 2014 Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij held a series of meetings in Berlin, specifically with Members of the Bundestag (German Parliament) and other high-ranking German officials to whom he appealed for continued support for Ukraine in defense of its independence and sovereignty. On 10 September 2014 the UWC President addressed German polititians, businessmen and representatives of civil society organized in the Bundestag by the German-Ukrainian Society for Policy, Economy and Sciences. On 11 September 2014, on the...

I was asked to write an answer to the following question for Ukraine’s 2014 Independence Day: “Since you’re not Ukrainian, why do you support Ukraine?” I support Ukraine’s people for many reasons other than their obvious physical beauty, creativity, ingenuity, awesome sunflower meadows, and tragic history. Until the Spring of 2014, I was pretty ignorant about Ukraine and called it “The Ukraine” as if it were a mountain or plain. However, when I watched Maidan revolutionaries take a stand to clear their government of corruption, I was humbled by their ideals, bravery, and...

16 September proved to be a pivotal day in Ukraine’s shaky post-revolution history. In addition to the ratification of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, Ukrainian parliament passed three bills, all of which are intimately related to the November protests of last year, sparked by ex-president Yanukovych’s decision to back out of the Association Agreement at the last minute. One of the bills responded to the much-called for demands of lustration of government officials, reflecting the spirit and a core raison d’être of the Euromaidan revolution. The others were more controversial, giving the Donetsk and Luhansk regions (collectively, the Donbass) special status for the next three years, as well as granting “participants in the...

The Ukrainian Australian community is strongly requesting that the Australian Government bring to the UN Security Council, as well as its Western democratic allies, the consideration of logistical and military support forUkraine. Mr Stefan Romaniw OAM, President of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, who is currently contactable inUkraine, said: “Under Prime Minister Abbott and Foreign MinisterBishop,Australiahas taken an international leadership position in defence ofUkraine’s territorial integrity and...

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defense: Ladies and gentlemen, it’s indeed a pleasure to be able to join all of you here. I want to first of all recognize some of our special guests. We have Father Stephen Chmiliar, Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada. We have His Metropolitan Yurij Kalistchuk, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. I know Yurij from Winnipeg, so good to see you. His Excellency Vadym Prystaiko, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Canada. Member of Parliament Ted Opitz. Igor Kozak of the League of Ukrainian Canadians. Lisa Shymko, League of Ukrainian Canadian Women. And Yuri Shymko, President of the International Council in Support of Ukraine and a former Member of Parliament and MPP. Russia’s continued illegal occupation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and...

Today, following a round table with the Ukrainian community of the Etobicoke area in Toronto, James Bezan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, and Ted Opitz, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke Centre, on behalf of Christian Paradis, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, announced a contribution to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The OSCE’s Human Rights Training for Judges project will increase the protection of the human rights of Ukrainian citizens in the courts by training Ukrainian legal professionals on the norms of the European Court of Human Rights. This training program is implemented in partnership with the Ukrainian National School of Judges and the Commercial, Administrative and...

ICSU President and former Canadian Member of Parliament, Yuri Shymko, is continuing to raise a number of hot-topic issues which are of concern to the Ukrainian community, both in Canada and worldwide, during recent public forums, media appearances, and meetings with prominent Canadian politicians. The issues raised by the ICSU have focused on matters impacting both Canadian domestic policies and foreign affairs. The key concerns being raised by the ICSU, and its member organizations, include • the continued violation of Canadian broadcasting standards by RT, Russia's state-funded propaganda channel, known as "Russia Today" and the need to remove it from routine inclusion in Canadian, US, and...

Ukrainians today are once again engaged in a fight against Russian aggression for their right to live as a democratic nation. At Euromaidan and in the current anti-terrorist operation in the east of the country, they have amply demonstrated that they are also ready to die for the very principles upon which our Western civilization rests. The tragic loss of Flight MH17 only underscores the fact that Ukraine’s fight is also the fight of every nation that values these principles. The unfortunate hesitancy, and indeed failure thus far, of some of the countries of the European Union to adequately respond to Moscow’s rogue and predatory behavior has compromised their own...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has imposed retaliatory sanctions on 13 Canadian officials including five members of the Conservative government, two Liberals and one NDP MP, banning them from entering Russia. In a statement issued today, Russia's foreign ministry said the sanctions are being imposed "as a response to the unacceptable actions of the Canadian side." Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, who is in The Hague with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said the sanctions are "a badge of honour." "It's frankly a badge of honour for the...