Section: US & Canada
Far-Right Ukrainian Group Stages Smoky Protest In Kyiv
With smoke bombs and drums, some 3,000 members of Ukraine’s nationalist Azov Civilian Corps marched through the capital, Kyiv. In a show of force, members of the far-right group lit flares outside the parliament building. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service) …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
Jamala triumphs at Eurovision
A victory for Ukraine and Crimean Tatars KYIV – Crimean Tatar R&B/soul-style singer Jamala succeeded in drawing the world’s attention to the Russian government’s persecution of her people by winning the annual Eurovision Song Contest with her song “1944” about Stalin’s mass deportations and genocide. Jamala finished second...
Remembering the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people
UCCA statement on Ukraine’s Day of Remembrance of Victims of the Crimean Tatar Genocide, issued on May 18 by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America. Every 18th of May, communities across the world pause to reflect on the mass murder of over 100,000 Crimean Tatars, a genocide conceived of and perpetrated by Joseph Stalin, in […]...
U.S. Embassy in Ukraine releases statement on Crimean Tatar anniversary
Following is a comment on the anniversary of the Soviet deportation of Crimean Tatars that was released on May 18 by the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. It is attributed to U.S. Embassy spokesperson Jonathan Lalley. We join the Crimean Tatars and all the people of Ukraine in commemorating the solemn anniversary of the forcible deportation […]...
Obama nominates new ambassador to Ukraine
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on May 18 announced his nomination of Marie L. Yovanovitch as ambassador to Ukraine, replacing Ambassador Geoffrey R. Pyatt, whom he nominated to serve as envoy to Greece. Ms. Yovanovitch, a career member of the Foreign Service, class of minister-counselor, currently serves as dean of the School of Language...
A bad case of Savchenkophobia
Vladimir Putin’s regime clearly has a bad case of Savchenkophobia. It’s true. The Kremlin is absolutely terrified of its hostage. The Kremlin is terrified of Nadiya Savchenko in captivity, where she is a potent symbol of the Putin regime’s petty and cruel brutality and of Ukraine’s resistance. But the Kremlin is even more...
Ukraine’s Azov Battalion Stages Smoky Protest in Kyiv
With smoke bombs and drums, some 3,000 members of Ukraine’s nationalist Azov Battalion marched through the capital, Kyiv. In a show of force, they lit flares outside the parliament building. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service) …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
Sweden and Finland Won’t Pursue NATO Membership
The Swedish government is ruling out making a bid to join NATO: Sweden will not make a formal bid to join NATO for fear of escalating further the already tense situation that exists between the West and Russia over the annexation of Crimea and the continued crisis in Ukraine, the country’s defence minister said on 17 May. That’s the...
Moscow using occupied Crimea as testing lab for repressive measures to be applied elsewhere
Moscow’s illegal occupation of Crimea is an even greater threat to the world and to Russia itself than many imagine because, as political commentator Sergey Stelmakh points out, the Kremlin has been using the Ukrainian peninsula as a laboratory for repressive measures it then employs elsewhere. In Radio Liberty’s Krymr.com portal,...
Jamala’s win at Eurovision
Dear Editor: Any bit of good news means a lot for Ukraine currently as its soldiers continue to die in the war against Russia, the pace of reforms moves at a glacial pace, and no significant criminal or corrupt businessman/politician/bureaucrat has been jailed (despite repeated urging from Vice-President Joe Biden). So it’s wonderful that a...
