Commentary

The U.S. Senate has adopted a resolution recognizing that Soviet dictator Josef Stalin committed genocide against the Ukrainian people in the early 1930s, when millions died in a horrific famine known as the Holodomor. The "simple resolution" passed on October 3 commemorates the 85th anniversary of the famine of 1932-33, saying the event “should serve as a reminder of repressive Soviet policies against the people of Ukraine.”...

In her speech at the United Nations, Ukraine’s Acting Minister of Health Dr. Ulana Suprun underscored an extremely dangerous element of Russia’s hybrid information warfare – aggression against healthcare. The spread of misinformation through traditional media and trolls in social networks targeted anti-vaccination campaigns. These efforts lead to distrust in medicine and directly threaten human life...

On October 30 Amina Okuyeva, a renowned ethnic Chechen who fought as a Ukrainian volunteer sniper and medic in eastern Ukraine was killed (and her husband, Adam Osmayev, injured) in an attack in the countryside just outside of Kyiv. Both Okuyeva and her husband were staunch Putin critics. The assassination, blamed on Russian special services, is the latest in a string of attacks and attempted assassinations in Kyiv and throughout Ukraine. Okuyeva and her husband survived a previous assassination attempt in June of this year. I often get asked "How's Ukraine? How's Kyiv?" upon my returns, and I never really know how to respond. Because on the...

Over the history of the last half milennium Ukrainian Polish relations have been strained, to put it mildly. This included at least three invasions of Ukrainian territory by the Poles and accusations of genocide by both sides. However, in 1991 when the Ukrainians proclaimed a free and independent Ukrainian state, the Republic of Poland was the first country (Canada may have been first) to recognize Ukrainian independence. Poland's early rapprochement with Ukraine despite the history, was not all that surprising given its immediate past Soviet Russian domination and a keen memory of what happened in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968. Independent Ukraine was seen by Poland as a buffer to Russia, a constant source of concern to both. Ukrainian-Polish relations were good or at the very least workable in every sphere including historical issues. And then the Party of Law and Justice came to power in Poland and everything seemed to change...

1. UNSCHOLARLY RESEARCH BY WESTERN APOLOGISTS - Their writing is Ideologically driven with prepared in advance conclusions - They have never visited Ukraine - They have never visited the Donbas frontlines - They only use footnotes from Russian media, including pro-Putin propaganda - They do not interview Ukrainian politicians, journalists and NGO’s...

I often get asked "How's Ukraine? How's Kyiv?" upon my returns, and I never really know how to respond. Because on the one hand the trendy restaurants popping up everywhere, lively night scene, luxury cars parked on street corners, and weekly festivals would indicate that everything is great, and that war is the furthest thing from anyone's mind. But then, lurking behind these facades are the military hospitals and rehabilitation centres, filled with men and women who have been physically and psychologically traumatized by war, often roaming the hallways or sitting in their rooms with blank stares and empty eyes. There are the...

Feigning concern for the efficacy of Ukraine's foreign policy is a good approach to reach an audience that otherwise would not bother to read obvious disinformation. There are serious flaws in Andreas Umland's recent article in “New Eastern Europe”: Misrepresentations ...the ultra-nationalist, ethnically cleansed and monistic one-part state that the Bandera faction envisaged, at least until the early 1940's, would have itself amounted to an illiberal and totalitarian dictatorship. The OUN was a national liberation movement. At its first congress in 1929 it did not adopt any resolution regarding the form of government of a future state. When the OUN began to address the issue of a...

Today, the British House of Commons unanimously passed the UK Magnitsky sanctions legislation. Following the historic vote, Member of Parliament James Bezan issued the following statement: “Today the United Kingdom became the third country to adopt Magnistky sanctions. The U.K., the U.S., and Estonia each passed their respective bills unanimously. In 2015, the Canadian Parliament unanimously passed its own motion calling for Magnitsky sanctions to be applied to corrupt foreign officials. “In May, I tabled Bill C-267 “Justice for Victims of...

With the upcoming elections in the United States, particularly presidential and congressional, Ukrainian American voters should be raising issues of concern with the candidates. The purpose is to both inform the candidates about those issues and to let the Ukrainian-American electorate know the candidates’ positions. It seems to me that the following issues should be of importance to the Ukrainian-American voter: Personal and sectoral sanctions have had a significant effect on the Russian economy, but have not compelled Russia to withdraw. One of the reasons for this tepid success has been that the economic woes have affected the Russian population but not the oligarchs. In particular, Putin's family and inner circle have been shielded by...

Pope Francis met with Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, on February 12. It’s the first time the leaders of the two churches have met since the Great Schism almost 1,000 years ago.* There is much more to this meeting than a push for unity from two church leaders. The Russian Orthodox Church is an essential tool for the Russian government. Kirill is allegedly a former KGB agent. Kirill, wrote Stratfor, “has been deeply involved with Russia’s Federal Security Services (FSB), and he thinks geopolitically. The Kremlin, meanwhile, has used the political nature of the church to consolidate influence at home and reach out for...