1. What do you see as the most memorable events of 2015? How would you summarize geopolitical developments of the year and Ukraine’s place in this international picture?
2. What special personal experiences did you have in 2015?
3. Who do you see as the hero and the antihero of the year?
4. Our publication celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2016. Tell us more about your relationship with Den/The Day, please.
Lesia SHYMKO, Canadian Political Analyst; Chair, Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Centre; President, League of Ukrainian Canadian Women:
1 “2015 is memorable, but not merely because of one event. I view the past year through the prism of a cumulative series of events that will have long-term consequences for the international community.
“Here in North America, I have noted a tangible shift in public focus that has taken place over the last few months of 2015.
“The mysterious explosion of the Egyptian airline and the Paris attacks have unfortunately changed the focus of the international media and Western political leaders away from ‘the Putin menace’ to ‘the Islamist terrorist threat.’
“This is very dangerous for both Ukraine and the international order. This worldview is related to the inadequate reaction of the US to build a strong coalition to challenge Putin’s aggressive intervention in Syria and Iran.
“It also demonstrates the failure of Western journalists and democratic intelligence circles to do their homework to show the world the Kremlin’s longstanding history of promoting terrorism in the Middle East to weaken the role of the US and its allies. Western journalists must devote more attention to uncover Moscow’s ties to ISIS and Putin’s efforts to undermine stability in Europe and Ukraine.
“I am concerned by the continuing rise of new ‘hybrid right-wing’ organizations and political parties, not only in Europe, but in the US, and potentially in Ukraine.
“I call them hybrid, because they no longer resemble the moderate right which was founded on a democratic ideology absent of xenophobic extremes – parties that could not be bought with money, whose values were not for sale. For decades, traditional ‘right-wing’ parties in Europe and North America were anti-communist and opposed Russian military and political domination. These right-leaning parties stood up to the Kremlin and defended the right of nations to be independent states, rather than colonies of Russia.
“Today, thanks to Russian financing and Kremlin-run media and lobbyists, Moscow is facilitating the emergence of hybrid right-wing parties that use patriotic, nationalist slogans to gain populist support while simultaneously aligning themselves with Putin, ‘the anti-terrorist hero and anti-gay defender of Christian values.’
“The failure of the US and its allies to stop Assad’s killing machine helped fuel ISIS even further, which, in turn led to the humanitarian catastrophe and refugee flood into Europe. This has not only strengthened nationalist right-wing parties on the European continent, but also fuelled the same right-wing populism in the US. Sadly, there is a danger that the beneficiary of this will be Putin. Ukraine will not be immune to this phenomenon as well.
“Unless Ukraine’s President and Prime Minister take severe and immediate steps to clean up corruption, much of which has roots in Russia, Ukrainian society will be ripe for destabilization. Pursuing an oligarch such as Kolomoisky, without any action vis-a-vis Akhmetov, Liovochkin, Pinchuk, Firtash, and many others, whose activities threaten Ukraine’s economic and security interests, will undermine the very principles for which millions protested and died on the Maidan. Such a failure would provide fertile ground for a populist backlash against the current government – an upheaval that Ukraine cannot afford to risk.
“On the international stage, it is essential that Ukraine build strategic partnerships in Europe and the world. If we have evidence of Moscow’s links to terrorist operatives in the Middle East, we should be reporting this and providing the information to every one of our allies. Ukraine must also develop and implement an effective strategy for its new role on the UN Security Council. Where is our strategy for our domestic information sphere? Will we find the legal means to remove the stranglehold that agents of Russia have over our television sphere? What is our strategy for both the Ukrainianization and Europeanization of eastern Ukraine? What is our strategy for promoting NATO in Ukraine in advance of a national referendum?
“Most importantly, is the government of Ukraine currently sending competent representatives to meet with all of the presidential candidates in advance of the elections in the US?”
2 “Two issues stand out for me. The first is my ongoing involvement to improve medical rehabilitation services for Ukraine’s wounded soldiers. As President of the League of Ukrainian Canadian Women I am honored to head the ‘Guardian Angels Ukraine’ humanitarian Project. This year, thanks to the financial support of our diaspora in Canada and the dedicated work of our partner in Ukraine, Colonel Doctor Vsevolod Stebliuk, we were able to create the first Center for the Psychological and Physical Rehabilitation of Ukrainian Soldiers at the Irpin Military Hospital near Kyiv. Together with Dr. Stebliuk, a National Hero of Ukraine who saved many soldiers during the Ilovaisk massacre, we are also helping to change Ukraine’s educational system, so that Kyiv will have the first Master’s level program for Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy. Sadly, it took a war and a high number of injured soldiers to force Ukraine’s elected officials to listen to its voluntary sector and non-governmental organizations, and finally take action.
A MEETING OF STATESMEN IN TORONTO. YEVHEN MARCHUK AND WESLEY CLARK BOTH HAVE TREMENDOUS EXPERIENCE OF SERVING IN SENIOR PUBLIC POSITIONS. AND SO THEY INDEED HAVE SOMETHING TO OFFER FOR THE SOLUTION OF IMMINENT CHALLENGES EMERGING BEFORE UKRAINE, USA, AND THE WORLD AS A WHOLE DUE TO RISING AGGRESSIVENESS OF THE RUSSIAN REGIME / Photo courtesy of Lesia SHYMKO
“The second moment that stands out for me is the December 2015 visit to Canada of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yevhen Marchuk and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Wesley Clark. These two high-profile statesmen were invited to Canada by the International Council in Support of Ukraine, a non-governmental organization that works to strengthen and protect Ukraine’s democracy, security, and independence by enhancing Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic political, economic, and military integration. Both men were honored at a gala event attended by Canadian politicians, journalists, military officers, and community leaders.
“Yevhen Marchuk was presented with the ‘Nation-Builder Award’ in recognition of his exceptional leadership, both in Ukraine and on the international stage, in efforts to build, consolidate, protect, and develop a secure and democratic Ukrainian state.
“As the President of the International Council in Support of Ukraine said in his speech at the gala award presentation, had Yevhen Marchuk been elected President of Ukraine in 1999, the course of Ukrainian and European history would have been quite different. Ukraine would no doubt have been a member of NATO by now.”
3 “Our heroes reside in Ukraine and around the world. Every man, woman, and child that has made sacrifices to defend and protect Ukraine’s independence, freedom, and territorial integrity is a hero. This includes our soldiers, living and deceased, as well as their families. These heroes also include the countless volunteers who continue to work to help our military personnel, our wounded soldiers, and their families. On another level, there is a degree of heroism in the work of individuals who influence parliamentarians and governments around the world to stand up for Ukraine’s liberty and security. They do not risk their lives, the way a soldier does in the line of fire, but they too carry a weapon – the weapon of truth. They work to ensure that the sacrifices made by our soldiers in defense of our shared values are not forgotten.
“Naturally, Putin remains the greatest menace to both Ukraine and international stability. However, I also believe that any international leader that supports normal relations with Russia poses a danger equal to Putin.
“Unless he changes his ‘business as usual’ view of Putin, I view Donald Trump, the leading candidate for the leadership of the Republican Party in the US, to be one of the greatest threats to Ukraine. Trump, like Marine Le Pen, has ridden a wave of American nationalist fervor. On the surface, this would seem to complement Ukraine’s patriotic atmosphere. But that is not the case. Like the European far-right, Trump has used anti-Muslim sentiment to promote an isolationist foreign policy that views Crimea as a problem for Europe to resolve, rather than the US. Trump sees Putin as a potential ally against ISIS and has declared that, if elected President of the US, he will have no problems getting along with Putin. What’s worse, Trump has said that he’s unaware of any evidence that proves that Putin is guilty of human rights violations or political assassinations, including the shooting down of MH17. Among Trumps political advisers, are representatives of Moscow’s propaganda channel Russia Today and businessmen affiliated with Putin’s inner circle.
“Should Trump win the Republican Party’s nomination, he will be in a position to defeat Hillary Clinton, and become President of the United States. It is therefore essential that the Ukrainian government and members of the Ukrainian diaspora meet directly with Trump to convince him to pursue a pro-Ukrainian policy. We must also raise these issues publicly, because most American voters are unaware of Trump’s weak position vis-a-vis Russia. Most Americans don’t want a president that is endorsed by Putin, and it is our responsibility to get the message to the American public.”
4 “I have been reading Den from its early years. Over the decades, I have watched it evolve, both in print and in its digital format. It is unique because it offers readers articles on a wide array of subjects, written by authoritative authors who view Ukraine as a mature, democracy-loving nation with deep European roots.
“The paper’s editor-in-chief, Larysa Ivshyna, is a visionary who understands the importance of engaging younger generations in developing Ukraine’s information sphere. She motivates youth to feed their brains through a simple but effective message: ‘it’s sexy to be smart,’ a slogan exemplified by the popular T-shirt ‘Nice girls read Den.’
“The newspaper and its related publications are not only important tools of nation building, they are also effective instruments of public relations for Ukraine. In fact, this relates to my first memory of promoting the newspaper to a non-Ukrainian.
“It was May of 1999. I and my father, Yuri Shymko, a former Canadian Member of Parliament, were staying at the Natsionalny hotel in Kyiv. During our visit, we had the opportunity to meet Jose Carreras, one of Europe’s most famous tenors, who, was staying at the same hotel. Carreras had just arrived in Ukraine and, despite suffering from the flu, was to give a concert the next day at the National Palace of Arts ‘Ukraina.’ Except for his concert promoter, Carreras had few acquaintances in Kyiv, so when he asked what he could read in English to better understand the country he was visiting, we immediately brought him a copy of Den’s weekly English digest, The Day, which was readily available in the hotel lobby. Seeing the world-famous tenor carrying his copy of The Day to read as he nursed his sore throat with a cup of green tea was a historic sight.
“The next day, we went to hear Carreras perform together with the fabulous Ukrainian soprano, Olha Mykytenko. I still have the photographs of myself with Carreras, and almost seventeen years later, I fondly recall that when a European celebrity visited Ukraine, there was a quality newspaper called ‘The Day’ in existence for him to read.”
