Month: June 24, 2021 9:45 pm

KYIV – The National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine on June 18 announced sanctions against Dmytro Firtash, a Ukrainian oligarch who has been indicted by the United States for corruption. Mr. Firtash is currently living in Vienna and fighting extradition to the U.S.

European Union leaders gathered in Brussels on June 24 for a two-day summit during which they were scheduled to discuss a new strategy to manage relations with Russia amid signs of a split with some members pushing for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, and others opposed given their deep-seated distrust of Russia’s head of state.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted the U.K. Navy was “entirely right” to defend freedom of navigation following an incident with Russia in the Black Sea, while Moscow warned it was prepared to fire on warships entering territorial waters it claims around Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.

United States President Joseph Biden and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, met in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 16 for their first summit since Mr. Biden took office. Both countries have been stuck in a vicious spiral of diplomatic, military, political and economic confrontation. Most predictions ahead of the Geneva summit were, thus, restrained, downbeat or dismal, with both the Kremlin and the White House warning the public not to expect too much. Initial low expectations allowed both presidents and their teams to spin the summit results post factum as a significant success, with Mr. Putin talking of “glimmers of hope” and Mr. Biden projecting optimism.

Congressional lawmakers are ratcheting up the pressure on the White House, demanding more be done to force the extradition of a powerful Ukrainian tycoon from Austria to the United States.

The idea that we have held back security assistance to Ukraine is nonsense. Just last week – in the run-up to the U.S.-Russia Summit – we provided a $150 million package of security assistance, including lethal assistance. We have now provided the entire amount appropriated by Congress through the Ukraine security assistance initiative.

STAMFORD, Conn. – On May 25 clergy and religious of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Stamford and close friends, including Metropolitan-Archbishop Borys Gudziak and Bishop Paul Chomnycky, OSBM, gathered in St. Basil Seminary to celebrate the golden anniversary of the consecration of Bishop Basil H. Losten. On that day, 50 years ago, Msgr. Basil H. Losten was elevated to the episcopacy through the imposition of hands by Metropolitan-Archbishop Ambrose Senyshyn of Philadelphia (1961-1977).

The following statement was issued by Metropolitan-Archbishop Borys Gudziak.
On behalf of Bishops Andriy Rabiy and Ivan Bura, the clergy, religious and faithful of the Philadelphia Archeparchy, I greet Bishop Basil Losten and celebrate the 50th anniversary of his episcopal service.

In a strange case of he said, she said, the Russian military claimed that it fired warning shots at the British destroyer HMS Defender on June 23. In addition to firing warning shots at the British naval vessel, Moscow said that an Su-24 aircraft dropped four bombs in the HMS Defender’s path in an effort to force it to change course.

Eighty years ago, on June 29, 1941, thousands of Ukrainian nationalists were massacred in western Ukraine by the retreating Soviet army as the German Nazis were preparing to capture Lviv. The Soviets were putting into practice the scorched-earth policy of destroying anything of value to the advancing Nazis.

Thirty years ago, on August 1, 1991, former U.S. President George H.W. Bush spoke in Kyiv. It was later dubbed the Chicken Kiev speech. In his speech, Mr. Bush said that, “Some people have urged the United States to choose between supporting President Gorbachev and supporting independence-minded leaders throughout the USSR I consider this a false choice.

Dear Editor:
Thank you very much for publishing the incisive story by Askold Lozynskyj, “What time is it?” (June 13). I do strongly believe that his recommendation should be vigorously pursued and recommend that a select group of Ukrainian Americans for Biden should be promptly created to immediately request a meeting with the president and demand an explanation for why he abandoned Ukraine (and Poland) by approving Nord Stream 2 and somehow forgot to recommend Ukraine’s acceptance into NATO.