Month: April 26, 2019 7:57 am

KYIV – President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky is already facing his first challenge just three days after he trounced incumbent Petro Poroshenko in an April 21 election for the nation’s highest post. 

KYIV – Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said he will take part in the October parliamentary elections with a party other than that of incumbent President Petro Poroshenko, who was defeated by comic and political newcomer Volodymyr Zelensky in the presidential election’s runoff on April 21.

Chief of Canada’s election observers says election was “free and fair”

OTTAWA – Despite Russian attempts to interfere with Ukraine’s presidential election, the two rounds of voting were held under a “free and fair” democratic process and resulted in Ukrainians choosing as their head of state political neophyte Volodymyr Zelensky, “a riddle wrapped up in an enigma,” according to the head of Canada’s election observation mission to Ukraine. 

Ukraine’s military and political authorities continue to seek an adequate deterrent to contain and deter Russian aggression, particularly in light of the breakdown of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. In response to Washington’s and Moscow’s stated intention, earlier this year, to withdraw from the INF (see Eurasia Daily Monitor, February 4; Kremlin.ru, March 4), the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that Kyiv “reserves the right to develop weapons systems deemed necessary to defend itself, including, inter alia, missiles and associated launcher systems” (Mfa.gov.uaMarch 7).

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron each conferred with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Berlin and Paris, respectively, on the same day, April 12, between the two rounds of Ukraine’s presidential election. With challenger Volodymyr Zelensky far ahead in the opinion polls, both Berlin and Paris are already planning for a post-Poroshenko Ukraine. Moreover, President Macron received Mr. Zelensky in Paris, also on April 12, separately from President Poroshenko.

OTTAWA – The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) on April 22 congratulated Ukraine’s President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky on his victory in the presidential election. International observers recognized the election as free and fair, and the results of the election reflect the will of the Ukrainian people, the UCC noted.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada on April 22 issued the following statement on the results of the Ukrainian presidential election.On behalf of the government of Canada, I congratulate Ukrainian President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy on his election victory.

The following press statement was made by U.S. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus on April 22.The United States congratulates President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky on his victory in the Ukrainian presidential elections. We also congratulate the Ukrainian people on holding elections that reflect Ukraine’s vibrant democracy five years after the 2014 Revolution of Dignity and after five years of unrelenting Russian aggression. The elections were peaceful, competitive, and the outcome represented the will of the people. We welcome the OSCE’s preliminary report on the elections.

The UNA General Assembly elected at the 36th Regular Convention in May 2006 held its first meeting at Soyuzivka on…

It’s pretty incredible all right: a fictional teacher-turned-accidental president in a TV comedy becomes the president in real life. And with over 73 percent voter support. That, in a nutshell, is what happened in Ukraine on election day, April 21.

Forty years ago, on April 30, 1979, Soviet political prisoner Valentyn Moroz spoke at a press conference at the Ukrainian National Association in Jersey City, N.J. He was one of five prisoners – Alexander Ginzburg, Georgi Vins (a Baptist Ukrainian minister) and two Jewish dissidents (Eduard Kuzentsov and Mark Dymshits) who had sought refuge in Israel – who were exchanged with the West for two Soviet employees (Valadik A. Enger and Rudolf Chernyayev) who were found guilty of espionage in the U.S. Moroz arrived in the U.S. on Friday, April 27.

Most Reverend Archbishops and Bishops, Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers, Venerable Brothers and Sisters in Monastic and Religious Life, Dearly Beloved Laity in Christ of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church: Christ is risen!