UPDATE

                                                                                                                     ISSUE 19 - OCTOBER 4, 2018
PRESIDENT POROSHENKO AT UN 

Statement by the President of Ukraine
During the General Debate of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly 


President of Ukraine delivers fiery condemnation of Russia and international community during the General Debate of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly: 

" ... Moscow turns Ukrainian(s) to orphans. 
It tortures our patriots in its prisons.
Over 1.5 million people became internally displaced persons.
They still can't return to their homes.

Russia constantly multiplies the human tragedy, which lately received a new dimension: ecological.
It poisons the Ukrainian soil and causes an environmental disaster not only in the occupied Crimea, but in Donbas as well.
This has been a daily reality for Ukrainians for four years now. Thousands of deaths, destruction, displacement and human suffering.
For my fellow citizens, these years have become a tremendous challenge - a test for their determination and solidarity, resilience and faith.

Let us not forget what this war is about.
Ukraine made a sovereign decision to live its way and promote the Free World 
based on democratic values and rules.
Russia punishes Ukraine for this decision.
It kills. It ruins homes. It lies on industrial scale.
It pretends that Ukraine, as well as Georgia "attacked themselves"... 

As we defend Ukraine's land and our free choice, as we counter the resurging neo-imperialist power willing to divide the world anew - we defend the Free World ... 

 Let me say it more precisely - the beautiful language of the Charter (is) worth nothing if it is not enforced. 
No more words, time for deeds! ... "

CLICK to read full statement 

 

AUTOCEPHALY
After Ukraine receives autocephaly, Moscow Patriarchate to be gradually removed
from religious life - expert
UNIAN, October 1, 2018 
 
Photo: UNIAN

The Ukrainian local Orthodox Church could get from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople a tomos for autocephaly as early as October 9-18, 2018, according to a Ukrainian historian and religious scholar Rostyslav Martyniuk.

"According to the verified data, the tomos should be announced at a Synaxis, which will be held at Fanar in Istanbul from Oct 9 to Oct 11," Martyniuk told Espreso.TV.

"Accordingly, the two exarchs of Constantinople are already actively working in Ukraine ... CLICK to read more  

Inter-Orthodox feud deepens over Ukraine
By Jonathan Luxmoore, The Tablet, Oct 1, 2018

"Ukrainians do not feel comfortable under Russia's authority - they want full freedom religiously, just as they have obtained it politically", the Ecumenical Patriarch, who holds honorary primacy among the world's 14 main Orthodox churches, told his Russian guests. "So they have turned to their mother church, which judges their claim fairly and will proceed in that direction... Everyone has come to the Ecumenical Patriarchate and begged for the granting of self-rule".      CLICK to read  



Only Two Men - Putin and Erdogan - Can Block Ukrainian Autocephaly Now, 
Stepanov Says
By Paul Goble, Window on Eurasia - New Series, Oct 3, 2018 

Staunton, October 2 - Implicitly recognizing that the Ukrainian Orthodox are about to gain autocephaly, a Russian Orthodox nationalist commentator says Orthodox church opponents of that move have run out of resources to stop that development and that only two men - the presidents of Russia and of Turkey - can prevent what Anatoly Stepanov says will be a disaster.

Stepanov, the editor of the Russkaya narodnaya liniya portal which is more pro-Kremlin than pro-Moscow Patriarchate, argues that it is extremely likely that the Universal Patriarch in Constantinople will issue the tomos of autocephaly in the coming weeks, possibly as early as October 11   ( ruskline.ru/news_rl/2018/10/02/kto_mozhet_ostanovit_ukrainskuyu_avtokefaliyu/).

If that happens, he continues, there would then be a church assembly in Ukraine consisting of 60 hierarchs from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the ... CLICK to read more
.
NEWS  

Putin is trying to undermine the situation inside Ukraine on the eve of the elections - President in an interview to CNN
President of Ukraine Official Website, Oct 1, 2018

In an interview to CNN TV channel President Petro Poroshenko spoke about Russia's attempts to undermine the situation inside Ukraine and, in particular, to meddle in the Ukrainian elections.

"In fact, we have two dangers. The first danger is Putin. I, as President, do not fight with anyone, I specifically oppose Putin. Because Putin understands that the war on land - in the east of my country, or in Crimea, over the last four years, no longer brings him any success. Because we have created a strong and reliable army with the help of the United States of America. I am really proud of the very effective cooperation with American, British, Canadian, European advisers," the President said.

"He (Putin - ed.) understands that he will not be able to succeed in a military operation on land. But he expects that success can be achieved during the elections. And therefore, he undermines stability inside the country with the help of cyberattacks, using fake news technology, technology of misinformation. Russia spends billions on supporting Sputnik TV, RussiaToday and many others," Petro Poroshenko said. The Head of State drew numerous examples of misinformation spread by Russia ...  CLICK to read more 



Moscow Reportedly Floats Idea to Sideline Ukraine in Talks about Release of Sentsov
By Paul Goble, Window on Eurasia - New Series, Oct 1, 2018

Staunton, September 30 - Compounding the viciousness which has driven its Ukrainian prisoner Oleg Sentsov to go on hunger strike for 140 days, Moscow reportedly has floated a plan to release him that would sideline Ukraine from such talks and reinforce the Russian claim that the conflict in Ukraine is between Russia and the United States.

Pavel Kanygin, a  Novaya gazeta  journalist, reports that a source he describes as "close to talks about the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine" says that Russia is prepared to release Sentsov if the US releases three Russian prisoners Moscow wants back - Viktor But, Konstantin Yaroshenko and Mariya Butina ( novayagazeta.ru/articles/2018/09/30/78005-versiya-moskva-hochet-obmenyat-sentsova-na-buta-yaroshenko-i-butinu ).

None of the three Russians held by the US has anything to do with the Ukrainian conflict. But is being held as a illegal trafficker of weapons ... CLICK to read more
 
   

Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine in disarray amid infighting and violence  
By Mansour  Mirovalev, LA Times, Oct 1, 2018   

More than four years after they took up arms against the Ukrainian government and seized a southeastern chunk of the country, pro-Russian separatists appear no closer to their dream of making their enclaves part of Russia.
By Alexander Ermochenko / EPA/Shutterstock


The separatist territory - which includes the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, known together as Donbass - is reeling from the assassination of Alexander Zakharchenko. The 42-year-old "head of the People's Republic of Donetsk" was killed with a bodyguard on Aug. 31 by a bomb hidden in a lamp at a restaurant there ... CLICK to read more


 

How to Push Back Against Russia? Ukraine's Defense Industry Could Help. 
By Denys Gurak, The National Interest, Oct 1, 2018

 The integration of the Ukrainian defense and aerospace industry into Western defense and security structures, as well as the country's eventual accession to NATO, would contribute substantially to both regional and global stability.

The National Interest

The global balance of power is in transition. A global order that was established after World War II and the collapse of Soviet Union is now evolving and often dysfunctional. We are witnessing the expansion of a multipolar world, and the risk of conflict is intensifying due to an increase in the number of influential players around the world.

This was done with only one aim: for Russia to reassert itself under a new post-Soviet sphere of influence with new borders ...  CLICK   to read more
 



Hungary again blocks NATO-Ukraine Commission, vows to continue
By Iryna Somer, Kyiv Post, Oct 3, 2018

BRUSSELS - NATO ministers of defense gathered in Brussels for a two-day meeting on Oct. 3-4. However, there will be no NATO-Ukraine Commission because one ally, Hungary, is continuing to block it.

Hungary has been obstructing Ukraine's integration efforts in the European Union and NATO as a protest against Ukraine's new education law that mandates that public schools teach classes in Ukrainian, not in the languages of minorities.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban considers the measure discriminatory against the more than ... CLICK


Lviv mayor declares bid for Ukraine presidency
Andriy Sadovyi wants to unseat Petro Poroshenko.
By David M. Herzenhorn, Politico, Oct 4, 2018   

KIEV, Ukraine - Andriy Sadovyi, the mayor of Lviv and leader of the Self-Reliance Party, will run in next year's Ukrainian presidential election, challenging the incumbent, Petro Poroshenko.

Sadovyi, who has been mayor of the largest city in western Ukraine since 2006, announced his candidacy  ... CLICK to read more


President welcomes the adoption in the first reading of the bill on ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as official
President of Ukraine Official Website, Oct  4, 2018 

President Petro Poroshenko welcomes the parliamentary adoption in the first reading of the bill on ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as official. He is confident that the new law would contribute to the European standards of attitude to the rights of minorities, national unity of the state, unite the society and strengthen the Ukrainian political nation. The President said this in a meeting with educators on the occasion of the Day of Educators.

Petro Poroshenko emphasized that after the Constitutional Court declared the law on languages of 2012 unconstitutional, there was a clear need to fill a large legislative gap and adopt a new law.

"Yes, a new law is a matter of the Parliament. But it is a pity that many  ... CLICK to read more


U.S. MISSION TO THE OSCE 

Russia's Ongoing Violations in Ukraine

Response to the OSCE's Chief Monitor in Ukraine, Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office's Special Representative in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group, Ambassador Martin Sajdik

As delivered by ChargĂ© d'Affaires, a.i. Harry Kamian  to the Permanent Council, Vienna
September 27, 2018

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ambassador Apakan, we are pleased to welcome you back to the Permanent Council and regret that Ambassador Sajdik is not able to be with us here today. Please pass on our appreciation for his work and his report, and that we wish him a speedy recovery.

Ambassador Apakan, we remain supportive of your collective efforts to seek a lasting peace in eastern Ukraine. The people of Ukraine deserve peace, a peace that is achieved through the respect for international law and commitments, including those relating to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, and you and your monitors can continue to count on our full support.

Mr. Chair, listening to the statement by our esteemed Russian colleague, one could mistakenly conclude that the situation in eastern Ukraine is an internal conflict and one where the Russian Federation bears zero responsibility. I know most of the people in this room, on the ground in Ukraine, and in the wider international community know otherwise, but I think it's important to note for the record that nothing could be further from the truth. What we are talking about here is a hot war, one that was initiated by the Russian Federation, one that is fueled, maintained and supported by the Russian Federation and the troops that its supports, arms and finances, and the Russian Federation has and will continue to have the ability to end the violence and the suffering that has taken so many lives of Ukrainians on both sides of the line of contact ... CLICK to read more


ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT  
U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs
2018 Investment Climate Statement 
 
 
" ...  Ukraine is an attractive investment option for a variety of reasons, including its large consumer market, a highly-educated and cost-competitive work force, and abundant natural resources. The Ukrainian government actively seeks foreign investment and has established investment promotion agencies that have been helpful in facilitating U.S. and other foreign investments. Ukraine's Association Agreement (AA) with the European Union (EU), which includes a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), gives Ukraine preferential market access and is accelerating Ukraine's economic integration within the EU. Ukraine's economy demonstrated real GDP growth of 2.5 percent in 2017, and the IMF forecasts growth of 3.2 percent in 2018.
U.S. companies have found success in Ukraine, particularly in the agriculture, consumer goods, and technology sectors. Ukraine is an agricultural powerhouse, and is the world's third-largest grain exporter. The agricultural sector has been a profitable host for foreign investors. Ukraine's IT service and software R&D sectors show great potential due to the country's large, skilled workforce. An array of local IT outsourcing companies serve clients worldwide.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) remains low, with net FDI in 2017 equal to only 2 percent of GDP. The most significant constraints on FDI remain the business climate and corruption. Foreign investors cite corruption in the judiciary, poor infrastructure, powerful vested interests, and weak protection of property rights as some of the major challenges to doing business. Increasing labor migration abroad, particularly to the EU, is reducing Ukraine's labor force..."    CLICK
********
 
News from the Ukrainian-American Environmental Association ...
UKRAINIAN SUSTAINABLE ENERGY and ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS HEADLINES
6930 Carroll Avenue, #340; Takoma Park, MD 20912 ...   301-270-6477 x.6
ua_ea@yahoo.com ... http://usukr-env.org/ ...  Twitter: Follow @UAEnvAssn
 
 
In Recent Years, Development of Ukraine's Bioethanol Industry in the European Market Has Been One of the Most Resonant Challenges for the Agricultural Sector112.international, by Yury Luchechko, October 3, 2018
https://112.international/interview/ukraines-bioethanol-perspectives-on-european-market-32790.html

Ukrainian Renewable Energy Has Attracted About €880 Million in Investments and an Additional €460 Million Invested in 2,000 MW of Alternative Heat Energy Projects
UkrInform.net, October 3, 2018

Canadian Company DAI Inc. Is Ready to Invest in the Construction of a 150-MW Solar Power Plant in the Town of Rubizhne in the Luhansk Region Ukrinform, October 2, 2018
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-economy/2550254-canadian-company-ready-to-invest-in-construction-of-solar-power-station-in-luhansk-region.html

===========================================

The Kness Group - a Large Engineering, Procurement, Construction Firm - Has Started Building Its Own Solar Power Plants in Ukraine That  Will Eventually Have 33-MW of Capacity:  
Open for Business, October 2, 2018
https://open4business.com.ua/kness-to-launch-first-own-solar-power-plants-for-33-mw

===========================================

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko Has Signed a Law to Enhance the Investment Attractiveness for the Construction of Renewable Energy Facilities by Simplifying the Permitting Process:  
Ukrinform, October 2, 2018
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-economy/2549826-poroshenko-signs-law-on-investment-attractiveness-of-renewable-energy-facilities-construction.html

===========================================

French-Czech Company Ekotechnik Shyroke LLC to Receive a 10-Year, €5.6 Million Loan from EBRD to Build a 7-MW Solar Power Plant in the Dnipro Region:  
Ukraine Business News, October 2, 2018
https://www.ubn.news/tuesday-october-2

===========================================

Dutch Development Bank FMO Considering a Loan of Up to €13.5 Million as Part of an EBRD Syndicated Loan to Construct a 30-MW Solar Power Plant by Norway's Scatec Solar in Kamianka, in the Cherkasy Region:   
Open for Business, October 1, 2018
https://open4business.com.ua/dutch-bank-fmo-considers-crediting-of-scatec-solar-plant-building-in-ukraine
  
===========================================

Ukraine's Renewable Energy Capacity Has Increased by 38% YoY, Hitting 1,800 MW; 160.1 MW of New Renewable Energy Facilities Were Launched in 3rd Q. 2018 - 2.4 Times More Than a Year Ago:   Open for Business, October 1, 2018
https://open4business.com.ua/ukraine-develops-renewable-energy-in-q3-2018-2-4-times-faster-from-year-ago
 

===========================================

Energy from Ukraine's 34 Million Tons of Farm Waste Could Replace Nine Billion Cubic Meters of Gas - Equal to One-Quarter of the Country's Annual Gas Consumption:  Ukraine Business News, October 1, 2018
https://www.ubn.news/monday-october-1

===========================================

Ruslana Lyzhychko, Eurovision Song Contest Winner and Muse of the 2014 EuroMaidan Revolution, to Serve as a Global Ambassador for Renewable Energy:  
Kyiv Post, by Natalia Datskevych, September 29, 2018
https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/ukrainian-singer-ruslana-to-serve-as-a-global-ambassador-for-renewable-energy.html

===========================================

Ukraine in Talks with Germany to Provide €40 Million for Programs to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Develop Energy-Saving Technologies and Save Resources in Construction:  
112.international, September 29, 2018
https://112.international/finance/germany-to-provide-40-million-euros-for-energy-modernization-of-ukraine-32682.html

===========================================

Green Tax Revenues Are Being Spent Non-Transparently and Inefficiently, Leaving the Majority of Ukraine's Environmental Problems Unresolved:  
112.international, by Olena Holubeva, September 28, 2018
https://112.international/article/would-green-tax-increase-help-ukraine-overcome-environmenal-challenges-32645.html

===========================================

London-Based Chinese Investment Firm TouchStone Capital Group Holdings Has Presented Plans for a $1 Billion, 1-GW Combined Solar and Wind Power Plant on Ukraine's Black Sea Shelf:  
Interfax.com, September 26, 2018
https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/economic/533945.html and
https://open4business.com.ua/touchstone-from-uk-interested-in-building-solar-wind-power-plant-in-ukraine

===========================================

Investments in Renewables and an Upswing in Steel Have Helped to Boost Rinat Akhmetov's Net Worth by 50% - He Is Now Worth $5.9 Billion:  
Ukraine Business News, September 26, 2018
https://www.ubn.news/wednesday-september-26
 

===========================================

Ukraine, NATO Commence Project on Liquidation of Tsybuleve Radioactive Burial Site in Kirovohrad Region:  
UkraNews.com, September 26, 2018 
https://ukranews.com/en/news/586055-exclusion-zone-agency-ukraine-nato-commence-project-on-liquidation-of-tsybuleve-radioactive-burial

===========================================

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Is About to Invest $2 to $4 Million in the Development of Infrastructure of Auctions Stimulating Renewable Energy in Ukraine:  
Open for Business, September 25, 2018
https://open4business.com.ua/european-bank-for-reconstruction-and-development-to-invest-in-renewable-energy-in-ukraine



***********************    
 
Goldman and Dragon Buy Kyiv's Horizon Park...Privatization Progresses...Nova Poshta Expands Delivery Points by 25%...Kharkiv Airport on Track to 1 Million Passengers ... 

CLICK AND READ IN UKRAINE BUSINESS NEWS  By James Brooke, October 4, 2018 


 
******************

Entering the U.S. Business Market?  

 

You have the ambition to conquer the U.S. market. You are determined to succeed in your project. 
Y our company is still small and you need the support of specialists. 

A U.S.-based consultant, originally from Ukraine, who is experienced business development issues and is connected with other specialized advisers,  can help you to achieve your goals. 

Our team focuses on helping Ukrainian startups reach the U.S. market.  We can help you understand the local market and can then introduce your products to the right distributors.

Before achieving success in the U.S. market you need to:
- understand if there is a demand for your product
 - find the right partners to conduct business 
- save time using the assistance from professionals
 
Our group of specialists can assist you in:
- obtaining a clear vision on market potential and implementing a right strategy 
- using your product knowledge
- our market expertise
- research of strategic information
-  making clear recommendations

Our volunteers become your partners who will assist you when you sign your first contract!   
  
Your success is our first priority! 

Contact the Foundation via email:  info@usukraine.org  or by phone: 202-789-4467 for more information.



CULTURAL PODCAST 

 
An interview with Bruce Romanchak, who is an administrator with the Facebook Lemko Ancestry and DNA Group. He discusses how the group was founded, what it does and how DNA can be used to find distant Lemko cousins.  

 
 
For additional information, contact Michael Buryk at:  

 
T RAVEL TO UKRAINE

Travel to Ivano-Frankivsk
Travel to Ivano-Frankivsk

PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AT USUF 

SUPPORT USUF 

SUPPORT THE U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION 

DONATE NOW

 
EVENTS - TODAY & UPCOMING  



******************************************


 

******************************************

~ World Premiere ~
 
Baba Babee Skazala
at the
Fall 2018 New Jersey Film Festival


 

* ************************************************************



*************************************************************



*************************************************************



*************************************************************


*************************************************************


The 2018 Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference on the Global Bioeconomy  (ABLC Global) will be held November 7-9, 2018 at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco.

ABLC Global will be home to 17 distinctive Summits, Workshops and Forums and three organizations under one big tent. Dozens of international high-level delegations and the focus and energy of ABLC and its "Networking Like Crazy" focus on cooperation, collaboration, partnership, deal-making and trend-spotting.

The Speakers, the dates, the venue, and a special 2 for 1 opportunity to maximize ROI -  perhaps the single broadest, most global event ever organized in the advanced bioeconomy - all ready for you at The Digest online


ASK THE EGGHEAD


The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation's new website has been created by Steven May, Jr. and his talented team associated with Ask the Egghead.   Steven May Jr., aka lead egghead at Ask the Egghead, has over 25 years of career experience that spans multiple business models and sectors.  If you need website support, Ask the Egghead!  



Contact Information

Email:  info@usukraine.org    Tel:  202-789-4467    Fax:  202-478-0369    Website:  https://www.usukraine.org/
Like us on Facebook   Follow us on Twitter   View our videos on YouTube    
After Ukraine receives autocephaly, Moscow Patriarchate to be gradually removed
from religious life - expert
UNIAN, October 1, 2018 
 
Photo: UNIAN

The Ukrainian local Orthodox Church could get from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople a tomos for autocephaly as early as October 9-18, 2018, according to a Ukrainian historian and religious scholar Rostyslav Martyniuk.

"According to the verified data, the tomos should be announced at a Synaxis, which will be held at Fanar in Istanbul from Oct 9 to Oct 11," Martyniuk told Espreso.TV.

"Accordingly, the two exarchs of Constantinople are already actively working in Ukraine ... CLICK to read more  

Inter-Orthodox feud deepens over Ukraine
By Jonathan Luxmoore, The Tablet, Oct 1, 2018

"Ukrainians do not feel comfortable under Russia's authority - they want full freedom religiously, just as they have obtained it politically", the Ecumenical Patriarch, who holds honorary primacy among the world's 14 main Orthodox churches, told his Russian guests. "So they have turned to their mother church, which judges their claim fairly and will proceed in that direction... Everyone has come to the Ecumenical Patriarchate and begged for the granting of self-rule".      CLICK to read  


Only Two Men - Putin and Erdogan - Can Block Ukrainian Autocephaly Now, 
Stepanov Says
By Paul Goble, Window on Eurasia - New Series, Oct 3, 2018 

Staunton, October 2 - Implicitly recognizing that the Ukrainian Orthodox are about to gain autocephaly, a Russian Orthodox nationalist commentator says Orthodox church opponents of that move have run out of resources to stop that development and that only two men - the presidents of Russia and of Turkey - can prevent what Anatoly Stepanov says will be a disaster.

Stepanov, the editor of the Russkaya narodnaya liniya portal which is more pro-Kremlin than pro-Moscow Patriarchate, argues that it is extremely likely that the Universal Patriarch in Constantinople will issue the tomos of autocephaly in the coming weeks, possibly as early as October 11   ( ruskline.ru/news_rl/2018/10/02/kto_mozhet_ostanovit_ukrainskuyu_avtokefaliyu/).

If that happens, he continues, there would then be a church assembly in Ukraine consisting of 60 hierarchs from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the ... CLICK to read more
.