Beyonce forced out of plush suite by Ukrainian politician Viktor Yanukovych The Sun • Stirring Up the Past New York Times • Chabad Info Ukraine mayor accused of anti-Semitism The Associated Press • UN slams Ukraine deportation of Congolese migrants eTaiwan • Feds act to deport Troy man accused of helping Nazis Detroit Free Press • Israeli surgeon jailed for organ trafficking to be extradited from Ukraine Ynetnews • Social ills still plague Ukraine’s fields of dreams Gulf Times • Ukraine looks to the young for leadership New Europe • RP hails Ukraine Cebu Daily News MANILA, Philippines • Area families give Ukraine orphans a carefree Texas vacation San Antonio Express • Ukraine Festival Revives Table Games for Children NTDTV • Remains Of Journalist Gongadze Identified In Ukraine RadioFreeEurope

Russian Relations

Ukraine splinter church seeks independence The Associated Press • Ukraine, Russia pms resolve gas dispute: Tymoshenko Washington Post • Ukraine: A gift without a price? Christian Science Monitor They’ve abandoned their pledge to use Kyiv • Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev changes tack over Ukraine Telegraph.co.uk • Medvedev blasts Ukraine, Baltic states over WWII Daily Times

Economy

Gazprom sees 51-59 pct rise in Ukraine gas fee Reuters • Ukraine gas storage should avert winter cuts-Gazprom Reuters India • Ukraine Naftogaz to pay $667 mln for Russian gas Forbes • Ukraine’s Naftogaz struggles with debt amid losses BusinessWeek • IMF may end cooperation if Ukraine boosts deficit, says official Ukrainian Journal

Sports

Ukraine seek goals and glory Fifa.com • US Tennis Open 2009 Upset Alert: Ivanovic loses to Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko Examiner.com • Soviet Union star Blokhin set to be honoured ESPN • Spectacular opening for FC Shakhtar Donetsk’s new Euro 2012 stadium World Football Insider • Shevchenko rejoins Ukraine’s Dynamo Kiev CBC.ca • Kutsev delighted with Ukraine display UEFA.com • Ukraine plunder parting victory UEFA.com

Politics

Ukrainians Disillusioned with ‘Orange Revolution’ Voice of America ● Kyiv Hosting Ukraine-EU Summit In December Kyiv Post ● Is Ukraine Fit for the EU? Wall Street Journal ● Ukraine MPs tackle central bank for Euro-2012 cash Reuters India ● PM met with representatives of World Congress of Ukrainians ForUm

Sports

Cornley signs deal to play in Ukraine Centre Daily Times ● Kiev mayor: Euro 2012 final in Ukraine is "matter of honour" Monsters and Critics.com ● Ukraine – Yulia Tymoshenko: Ukraine will be conquering hearts and souls of people all around the world with its talents ISRIA ● Barca poised to sign Ukraine defender Chygrynskiy Reuters India ● Women’s Quadruple Sculls — Day Could Ukraine lose Euro 2012? GlobalPostTwo Universal Sports

Other Ukrainian news

Continue reading Ukrainian news round-up – August 26, 2009 →

Politics

Russian President Launches Flame War vs. Ukraine Wired News • Medvedev attacks Ukraine leadership Financial Times • Glowering at Ukraine Globe and Mail • Russia and Ukraine Trade Barbs New York Times • Putin’s Reset Button: Pressing Ukraine American Thinker • Is the Mayor Fit for Office? Some Say Yes, Some Say No New York Times • Europe´s Share in the Ukrainian Malaise American Chronicle

Russian Relations

Kirill’s Visit Exposes Dangers in Moscow-Kiev Ties New York Times • For Ukrainians, ‘Ukraine is Ukraine;’ for Russians, ‘Russia is Russia plus Ukraine” Georgiandaily • Ukraine Has Nearly 3000 Russian-Language Schools, but Russia has None of Ukrainian language schools Georgiandaily • Ukraine says Russian navy pollutes Black Sea: report AFP • Eight Reasons to Become Ukrainian The Moscow Times

Continue reading Ukrainian news round-up – August 18, 2009 →

A lot of news can happen in a few weeks, here are some more notable stories that have occured while I was away:

“Bruno“ Banned in Ukraine

It only takes one of these ‘bans’ for the movie producers to get the free exposure they need for the movie’s success. Unfortunately Ukraine’s culture ministry took the bait

From Celebrity Cafe:

Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest box office hit was too much for Ukraine’s officials.
Sacha Baron Cohen’s new comedy, “Bruno.” has been banned in Ukraine, reports Reuters.
The film depicts a gay Austrian fashion reporter trying to make it famous in the United States after being fired and blacklisted in his homeland.
Officials said Wednesday that the motion picture could have damaging effect on Ukrainians’ moral health due to its scenes of nudity and homosexual sex, says Agence France-Presse.

Google Translator adds Ukrainian

I tried it out yesterday for Ukrainian Pravda and the results weren’t too bad, now English speakers have access to more Ukrainian media.

Continue reading More Ukrainian news round-up while I’ve been away →

I’m back from vacation, and boy have I missed a lot of news. While I can’t recap it all, I will try and highlight some of the more notable stories that have been published in July:

Obama: Russia must respect borders of Georgia and Ukraine

From the Telegraph:

Mr Obama struck a conciliatory tone for much of his wide-ranging and televised speech to students at the New Economic School.

But he pointedly mentioned Georgia and Ukraine by name.

"State sovereignty must be a cornerstone of international order," said Mr Obama.

"Just as all states should have the right to choose their leaders, states must have the right to borders that are secure, and to their own foreign policies.

"Any system that cedes those rights will lead to anarchy. That is why this principle must apply to all nations – including Georgia and Ukraine."

Ukrainiana points out this was a much different tune than the more NATO friendly speeches Obama was giving on Ukraine during his election campaign.

Holodomor denial back like it’s in style

From the History News Network, economics professor Cormac Ó Gráda:

People born in countries with relatively recent histories of famine—such as Ireland or Ukraine—sometimes like to see themselves as vicarious victims, but many of the ‘victims’ must also be—and this is the part that is difficult to accept—vicarious child abandoners, thieves, land-grabbers, black marketeers, and worse.

…

Demographers nowadays reckon the Soviet famines of 1931-33 to have cost up to six million lives in total, including one million in Kazakhstan.  Yet a joint statement adopted by sixty-five UN member-states in 2003 refers to "the Great Famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine (Holodomor), which took from seven million to ten million innocent lives and became a national tragedy for the Ukrainian people."  It must be said that no serious historian, even in Ukraine, accepts this propagandistic toll, which incidentally exceeds the six million usually associated with the Jewish holocaust.

You can barely find Communist apologetics still denying the Holodomor these days (now they just claim it’s not genocide). Only one (sympathetic) comment was ever published on the website which makes me wonder why the author of ‘Jewish Ireland’ is so quick to denounce any catastrophe other than the ‘Jewish Holocaust’.

Monument to Lenin is damaged in Kyiv

From BBC Ukrainian:

The recent damage caused to Lenin’s monument in Kiev has provoked a debate about the future of the capital’s only public monument to the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution.

The Ukrainian Nationalist Congress party is proud to proclaim that it smashed the statue’s nose and left hand.

Kiev police have arrested a number of men suspected of causing the damage.

After 19 years of Ukrainian independence, statues of Lenin are still quite common, particularly in the eastern part of the country.

Continue reading Ukrainian news round-up while I’ve been away →