An American on Euromaidan

Ukrainian media reported the death of Mark Paslawsky, a Ukrainian American, in the vicinity of Ilovaisk. The man had renounced his US citizenship to join the Ukrainian army and was killed in action on August 19, 2015, fighting in the ranks of the volunteer Donbas Battalion. There was another Ukrainian American who fought on the Maidan, ex-VOA journalist Yuri Saevych. He was with the 27th self-defense company and is still devoted to the Maidan ideas. He visited Ukraine recently and shared his plans with The Day. He also described the way US media cover events in Ukraine.

MAIDAN DESERVES NOBEL PRIZE

“I’ll be in Ukraine for two weeks, first, to lay the ground for further work here; I’m planning an extended visit to continue working on a book about the Maidan. Its tentative title is ‘An American on the Maidan. Case of Nobel Peace Prize for the Ukrainian Revolution.’ I’m absolutely convinced that the Maidan deserves this prize. Previously I had no time for this project. Second, I’m going to write a letter to President Obama, although I have no illusions about it changing his stand, even if he reads it. However, this letter could be used in a dialog to give Americans, particularly the US media, an accurate idea about what is happening in Ukraine. The overall picture of these events is distorted; it has to be updated. Third, I’m seriously concerned about the ongoing campaign against the volunteer battalions, especially against Azov and Right Sector. They are accused of fascism and neo-Nazism. That’s not fair. I came to Mariupol to collect data to add to the existing strong evidence of this unfair play.”

Could you enlarge on your letter to President Obama?

“This will be a message to the president from the only American who witnessed and took part in the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and the United States. As an interpreter, I was present during the talks on the surrender of the Ukrainian nuclear arsenal. As a historical witness, I realized the significance of what was taking place. I was also on the Maidan, almost all the time. I saw what was happening on the inside. I will use all this as arguments when addressing the Obama Administration, the American in the street, and our media. I’m planning a promotion campaign of sorts. There is little said and written about Ukraine [across the ocean] and we often watch and hear pro-Kremlin trolls in our talk shows. I want to give a fresh impetus to this dialog. I can e-mail to those who are interested a full and an abridged text of my message.”

We are interested. We can publish it in full, in three languages: Ukrainian, Russian, and English. You say there is little said and written about Ukraine in America. I know that The Washington Post regularly writes about events in Ukraine and urges the Obama Administration to supply lethal [defense] weapons. So, perhaps a distorted picture is a bit of an overstatement?

“The Washington Post is very consistent in carrying editorials that call for such supplies. This is important because this newspaper has a well-deserved liberal reputation. It carries such leads, but it also carries articles that offer a totally distorted picture, whose authors urge the administration not to provide such weapons supplies to Ukraine. Other newspapers have clever and decent journalists on staff, who know what’s going on. They keep members of the president’s administration informed, among them the Secretary of Defense who has been reiterating the need to supply Ukraine with such weapons, that this [Russian aggression] is actually the biggest threat faced by the United States. But again, there are lots of negative and untruthful stories about what’s happening in Ukraine.”

MINSK AGREEMENTS

How would you comment on what the Republican billionaire presidential candidate, Donald Trump, had to say in an interview to NBC, that he’s dissatisfied with what’s going on in Ukraine. He emphasized that European states should bear the load of responsibility for dealing with the crisis, as it apparently “affects Europe a lot more” than the US?

“I intend to supply each presidential candidate with a copy of my letter to Barack Obama. These candidates at best ignore the Ukraine crisis while there is a war going on between the two largest states in Europe. Trump acts as an ignoramus saying that America has nothing to do with that war. Therefore, the Republican candidates must be brought up to speed regarding the events in Ukraine. After they read my letter, I’m sure they will use it as an argument against the Democrats.”

The Obama Administration is backing the European Union in campaigning for the implementation of the Minsk Agreements that are supposed to bring peace to Ukraine. What is the attitude of the American in the street?

“The media reports what Merkel and Kerry have to say on the matter, that the Minsk format is the only guarantee of peace. But this turns into a farce when they present that format with Vladimir Putin, the man who started the aggression, as a peacemaker in Minsk. In fact, they let him write the text of these agreements which Russia is not implementing, and which Ukraine has to comply with. I regard the whole affair as absurd.”

Is there any other way to make Putin honor these agreements, withdraw his troops from Donbas and return Crimea to Ukraine?

“There is one way: give Ukraine the [lethal defense] weapons. I can’t see this problem solved by way of negotiations. How can you negotiate anything with a country of which Bismarck wrote that any agreement made with it isn’t worth the paper it’s written on? Russia has proved this to be true for several hundred years. That’s precisely what they’re doing now. How can you make a deal with a person who doesn’t keep his promise? When the West refused to supply lethal defense weapons to Ukraine, that actually meant a global embargo on weapons supplies to a country being a victim of aggression.”

UKRAINIANS BEING PRESSURED FROM OUTSIDE INTO AMENDING THEIR CONSTITUTION – ABSURD!

Washington has been pressuring Kyiv into amending the Constitution to decentralize power, to give the regions more power, stressing that this will secure peace in Ukraine. This argument worked when the amendments to the Constitution were put to the vote at the Verkhovna Rada. The bill was passed in the first reading. Is this bad?

“I’m sure that power has to be decentralized, that this is good. The bad thing is pressuring another country into changing its fundamental law and entering this as a clause into an international agreement. This is another thing I regard as absurd. I watched the way the amendments were debated at the Verkhovna Rada. That was a marketplace show, especially on the part of the ruling coalition. They kept saying if you are against these amendments, you are against Ukraine.”

Anyway, the Ukrainian government wants the amendments finally approved by the end of the year, using the constitutional majority. They hope Russia and the Kremlin-backed terrorists will comply with the Minsk Agreements. Do you see this as an actual possibility?

“The way I see it, whether the amendments are enacted by the end of the year and whether this will fulfill Putin’s ambitions, doesn’t matter at all. Putin and his Russia will continue to act as they please, they will ignore the clauses of the Minsk Agreements they don’t like. The West has ignored all commitments to Ukraine in terms of sovereignty and territorial integrity, as laid down in the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances. Let’s face it. Russia is resolved to conquer Ukraine or destroy this country, annihilate Ukrainian society. You have to treat the whole issue being fully aware of this resolve. In other words, you must do your utmost to protect yourselves.”

UKRAINIANS IN DONBAS MUSTN’T FALL PREY TO RUSSIA

Some experts believe it would be best to cut off that part of the Donbas Kyiv can’t keep under control, which part would hopefully be eventually returned. What do you think?

“Absolutely not. I visited Mariupol and spoke to local ethnic Russians. They are all patriots of Ukraine. They’re defending their Ukrainian homeland. And the Ukrainians in the Donbas mustn’t fall prey to Russia, as was the case with Crimea. That would be grossly unfair. They say land is the most precious thing because God gave us a limited supply of it. You must never part with your territory.”

For the time being, we don’t have the strength to get it back, right?

“True, but before we get that strength, we mustn’t let them have their way, saying what’s done can’t be undone. We must use any means of getting the better of them, because this war is for the existence of Ukraine and every concession you make to the enemy will weaken this country.”