Commentary

Prior to almost every great historical change in Europe there was a period of exhaustion. A tiredness of being conscientious. This rule was especially profound in the 20th century. This tragic pattern takes away the right to be silent now, when that uncertainty and insecurity once again dominate in Europe. The optimistic prospects for the European Union are surrounded by clouds foretelling of economic difficulties and social anxiety. Hundreds of thousands refugees have appeared. Terrorism has undermined the peace of the previously safest locations. For many collective issues have become annoying irritants. The exhaustion from the incessant stream of threats could have been predicted. But now that exhaustion has become a danger: it provokes a moral alienation, allowing us to compromise with truthfulness. That is why Europe is being overwhelmed by populism with its very simple responses to complex issues. This is why xenophobia and chauvinism emerge as a defense mechanism against foreigners. This is why it becomes easier to hide from problems, to avoid the additional responsibilities, to look inward. This turns to self-isolation...

The Trudeau government has cut off the Ukrainian military from accessing Canadian satellite imagery used for high-resolution surveillance, which one expert says is a sign of a possible shift in Canada-Ukraine relations. In 2015, the Harper government revealed it was sharing information from Canada’s RADARSAT-2 with the Ukra­inian Armed Forces in the fight against Russian-backed rebels, a decision it said it had made in December 2014...

James Bezan, Official Opposition Critic for National Defence, issued the following statement in response to the government’s announcements at the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland and from the Prime Minister’s trip to Ukraine: “We support the signing of the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement which was negotiated and concluded by the previous Conservative government. This deal will continue to strengthen the Canada-Ukraine partnership in peace and prosperity. The Ukrainian people continue to face enormous security and economic challenges, and Canada must remain a trusted and steadfast partner during Ukraine’s time of need, instead of moving to normalize and improve relations with Vladimir Putin...

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) congratulates the Prime Minister of Canada, The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, on his historic visit to Ukraine, which took place July 10-12, and welcomes the announcement of additional Canadian support for Ukraine. Prime Minister Trudeau was accompanied by Canada's Minister of International Trade, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj (Chair of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group) and a delegation of community leaders from the UCC led by UCC National President Paul Grod. The UCC delegation was comprised of Renata Roman (UCC National Vice-President); Zenon Potichnyj (President, Canada-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce); Olena Koszarny (Chair, UCC Ukraine Advisory Council); Jaroslaw Balan (Chair, UCC Canada Ukraine Committee); Marc Shwec (Chair, Euromaidan Canada); Alexandra Chyczij (Ukrainian Canadian Bar Association); Cassian Soltykevych (President, Ukrainian Canadian Students Union); Gerald Luciuk (Chair, Saskatchewan-Ukraine Advisory Committee); Oksana Bondarchuk (President, UCC Manitoba Provincial Council), and Orest Gawdyda (President, UCC Regina)...

On 1-5 July 2016 in Tbilisi, Georgia, Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij participated in the 25th Annual Session of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly. On 2 July 2016, the UWC President addressed a Side Event of this Session on the topic Violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Crimea, organized jointly by the Permanent Delegation of Ukraine to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the UWC...

You could say that Serhiy Kvit is a man on a mission. The soft-spoken 50-year-old former journalist may no longer be Ukraine's minister of education and science, having stepped down from that post back in April as part of a governmental reshuffle that accompanied the resignation of controversial Prime Minister Arsenii Yatsenyuk. But he nonetheless remains at the forefront of the fight for the intellectual future of his country. That was obvious during Kvit's visit to Washington, D.C. in late May. In public appearances at several prominent policy institutions, including the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the American Foreign Policy Council, the former minister communicated a clear and unequivocal message...

Few foreign leaders seem enthusiastic about the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency. But there is one who should be pleased: Vladimir Putin. Or so Trump seems to think. Most prominent Republicans criticize President Obama for reacting too feebly to Russian domestic oppression, the Russian invasion of southern and southeastern Ukraine, and Russia’s growing threat to NATO in Eastern Europe. Trump, on the other hand, has praised Putin’s “strong” leadership at home, called NATO “obsolete and expensive,” and made a point of describing his friendship with Putin—though it seems to be entirely imaginary...

The Guardian Angels Ukraine veterans’ rehabilitation project, initiated by the LUCW, under the auspices of the International Council in Support of Ukraine, has announced the newest phase of its ongoing activities in the area of veterans health services, knowledge-exchange and educational reform. Launched in December 2014, the Canadian project began as a response to the urgent need to provide treatment for injured Ukrainian soldiers wounded as result of Russia's massive military incursion into eastern Ukraine. The project works with various levels of the Ukrainian and Canadian governments, academic institutions, NGO's, military and civilian facilities, and charitable foundations. The rehabilitation project collaborates with international experts from this multidisciplinary field of health care, including physiatrists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, academics, rehabilitation centre managers, and many others...

A little more than one year has elapsed since Ukraine's President Poroshenko signed into law the so called decommunization laws of Ukraine. Since then and in accordance with the laws, names of cities and streets have been changed and the Communist party of Ukraine was prevented from participating in local elections. Lawsuits have banned communist the party and the party has appealed to the European Court in Strasbourg. The process is playing itself out...

In the six years since my lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was murdered by the Putin regime for uncovering a massive government corruption scheme, I have been on a worldwide campaign to get justice for him. At first I tried to find justice in Russia, but Mr. Putin circled the wagons and exonerated those involved. My next step was to look for justice outside of Russia. That proved to be equally fruitless. I quickly realized that there are no instruments of justice in the West for crimes committed in authoritarian regimes like Russia...