Month: December 24, 2020 9:48 am

The head of the Belarusian Press Club, Yulia Slutskaya, has been detained by police in Minsk. Authorities have also searched the offices of the independent journalistic organization and the homes of some of its members.

Ms. Slutskaya’s relatives said on December 22 that she was detained when she arrived back in Belarus after a holiday abroad where she had spent time with her daughter and grandchildren. The relatives said they do not know Ms. Slutskaya’s current whereabouts.

Meanwhile, the program director of the Belarusian Press Club, Ala Sharko, informed the Belarusian Journalists’ Association that police stormed into her apartment on December 22.

The Fall 2020 issue of Sports Illustrated featured Ukrainian Daniel Romanchuk in its Scorecard’s Faces in the Crowd section. The 22-year-old Paralympian, who has spina bifida, was acknowledged for setting an unofficial world record for a wheelchair racer with his time of 1:13:57 seconds, covering 26.2 miles at the virtual New York City Marathon in October 2020. This achievement came on the heels of his becoming the youngest winner of the Boston Marathon’s wheelchair division in 2019, which he followed up with additional victories in London, Chicago and New York.

Romanchuk was using the virtual race as a training run, but unexpectedly went off on a record pace on a straight, flat surface. The official world record was 1:20:14 seconds, set by Swiss Heinz Frei in 1999.

BOXING

Wladimir Klitschko elected to Hall of Fame

“Thank you for the great news. It is an honor to be a Hall of Famer. I’m so impressed with the dedication and passion the Village of Canastota (New York home of the Int’l Boxing Hall of Fame) has for boxing. All of the champions feel so honored and blessed to be in the Hall of Fame. It’s amazing.” This was Wladimir Klitschko’s official response on December 15 upon getting the news of his election to the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021. The former heavyweight champion of the world capped a (134-6, 65 KO) amateur career by winning super heavyweight gold at the 1996 Olympic Games. He turned pro the same year in Germany and won his first 24 bouts before losing to Ross Purrity.

KYIV – Ukraine reached another legal breakthrough on the world arena in its efforts to hold Russia accountable for war mongering and human rights abuses in the country when the International Criminal Court (ICC) on December 11 decided to recommend a full-fledged probe.

ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said there was enough evidence to “believe that a broad range of conduct constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity” have occurred and, therefore, warrant further investigation by the court.

KYIV – The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has adopted a new resolution to implement strict “lockdown” measures in Ukraine for January 8-24 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The resolution came during an extraordinary meeting of Ukraine’s government on December 9, and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that this decision was made following discussions with business representatives, local authorities, and epidemiologists.

The new “lockdown” measures will not begin until after New Year’s and Christmas celebrations have concluded. Critics of the new measure have pointed out that, in waiting to implement the new restrictions until after the holidays, Ukraine might see an additional spike in COVID-19 cases.

KYIV – Ukrainian soccer’s governing body, the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF), has taken legal action for reprieve over a game against Switzerland in Europe’s Nations League tournament that was cancelled last month as a result of players testing positive for COVID-19 prior to the match.

The Lausanne-based Court of Arbitrat­ion for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland announced on December 11 that it had registered UAF’s appeal. It is usually considered the final judicial body for sport-related disputes, although a final appeal can be made to the Swiss Supreme Court.

On October 7, in the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was paying an official visit to the United Kingdom, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Andriy Taran and the UK’s Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace signed a memorandum on enhancing bilateral cooperation in the military and military-technical spheres (President.gov.ua, October 7; see EDM, October 29). An important aspect of this document was a funding pledge from the UK’s export credit agency in the amount of 1.25 billion pounds ($1.68 billion) for the construction of missile boats and new naval infrastructure in Ukraine.

Anti-corruption agency’s powers restored

The Ukrainian Parliament has voted to restore the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Agency (NAZK) as Kyiv is seeking to secure new loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to fight a sharp economic slump triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. NAZK’s chief Oleksandr Novikov hailed the December 15 vote at the Verkhovna Rada, saying it would allow the agency to “tackle corruption.”  Mr. Novikov said that “NAZK resumes all its operations in all major directions now.” In October, Ukraine’s Constitutional Court struck down some anti-corruption legislation and curbed the powers of the NAZK, sparking tensions between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the opposition, and members of the court.

PRESTO, Pa. – George A. Nestor was posthumously presented with the Writer’s Award of the Ukrainian Technological Society of Pittsburgh (UTS) in ceremonies at a formal dinner on Sunday, November 8, at The Club at Nevillewood located in Presto, Pa., near Pittsburgh. Mr. Nestor passed away on November 25, 2019.

UTS members and guests were welcomed by UTS President George Honchar, who called upon Father Deacon Christopher Bellock to offer an invocation. Deacon Christopher serves Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Northern Cambria, Pa., and Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Revloc, Pa. Protopresbyter George Hnatko, pastor of the Nestor family’s parish, Holy Ascension Ukrainian Orthodox Parish in Nanty Glo, Pa., was unable to attend.

I am pleased the FY 2021 NDAA [National Defense Authorization Act] conference report sends the clear message that America stands with the Ukrainian people in their struggle to secure a democratic, prosperous, and independent future in the face of Russian aggression. The Ukrainian military has fought bravely against Russian aggression in the Donbas and has made tremendous strides. I have long advocated for the development of a comprehensive, multiyear security assistance plan and I am glad to see that the FY 2021 NDAA conference report directs DoD [Department of Defense] and DoS [Department of State] to look for ways to help the Ukrainian military continue their upward trajectory in proficiency. I have encouraged the Ukrainian government to sustain their efforts on eliminating corruption, and have authored past legislation tying assistance to continued anti-corruption reform.

BERKELEY, Calif. – At its annual convention in early November, the American Musicological Society awarded the prestigious Lewis Lockwood Award to Dr. Maria Sonevytsky for her book “Wild Music: Sound and Sovereignty in Ukraine,” published in October 2019 by Wesleyan University Press as part of its Music/Culture series.

The Lockwood Award “honors each year a musicological book of exceptional merit published during the previous year in any language and in any country by a scholar in the early stages of his or her career who is a member of the AMS or a citizen or permanent resident of Canada or the United States.” Dr. Sonevytsky is currently an assistant professor of music (ethnomusicology) at the University of California, Berkeley.

Following the conclusion of a preliminary investigation that has taken more than six years to complete, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor said on December 11 that there is enough evidence for the court to open a full investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated throughout the course of the war in eastern Ukraine.

The court’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, noted that the preliminary investigation, which began on April 24, 2014, was thorough, independent, and had found enough evidence for the court to open a full investigation.  “My office has concluded that there is a reasonable basis at this time to believe that a broad range of conduct constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity within the jurisdiction of the court have been committed in the context of the situation in Ukraine,” Ms. Bensouda said in her statement, referring to the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine that has now claimed more than 13,000 lives since the conflict began in 2014.