Editor’s Note: This feature separates Ukraine’s friends from its enemies. The Order of Yaroslav the Wise has been given since 1995 for distinguished service to the nation. It is named after the Kyivan Rus leader from 1019-1054, when the medieval empire reached its zenith. The Order of Lenin was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union, whose demise Russian President Vladimir Putin mourns. It is named after Vladimir Lenin, whose corpse still rots on the Kremlin’s Red Square, more than 100 years after the October Revolution he led.
Ukraine’s Friend of the week: Sven Jürgenson
Sven Jürgenson, the permanent representative of Estonia to the United Nations, said on Jan. 9 that the country would emphasize the issue of Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian Crimea and Russia’s war against Ukraine as a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.
Estonia became a non-permanent member of the council in June.
“The issue of the occupation of Ukraine, in particular of Crimea, is of utmost importance now, and we will try to keep it on the agenda constantly. This is the most pressing issue,” Jürgenson told Ukraine’s Ukrinform news agency.
He also said that Estonia would make sure that the U.N. Security Council consider the issues of Russia’s occupation of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and Russia’s backing for Moldova’s Transnistria breakaway region.
Meanwhile, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid has declined Crimean wine as a gift from the Russian Embassy in Tallinn, Eesti Ekspress, an Estonian news site, reported on Jan. 8.
In March 2018, Estonia also condemned the holding of the Russian presidential elections in Crimea.
Estonia has consistently supported Ukraine’s sovereignty and opposed Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Foe of the week: Igor Dodon
Igor Dodon, Moldova’s pro-Kremlin president, has gained the upper hand in political struggle in Moldova with pro-Western and pro-Ukrainian forces.
Over the past weeks, Ukrainian, Russian and Western media have described Moldova’s increasingly pro-Russian stance under Dodon.
Currently Russia is negotiating lending a $300 million loan for road infrastructure to Moldova, according to Dodon.
Dodon stated in 2016 that Ukraine’s Crimea, which was unlawfully annexed by Russia in 2014, belongs to Russia. He later conceded, however, that Moldova recognizes it as Russian de facto but not de jure.
Dodon also lavished ample praise on Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, who has waged an aggressive war against Ukraine, in a Dec. 28 interview with Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti.
He said that Putin had taught him to “defend the country’s interests” and make difficult decisions.
“During a relatively short period, (Putin) has restored Russia as a great power and transformed Russia into a fully-fledged participant of global political and geopolitical processes,” Dodon said.
In June, pro-European and pro-Ukrainian Prime Minister Maia Sandu became Moldova’s prime minister as a result of a coalition deal between her ACUM alliance and Dodon’s Socialist party. A government controlled by Moldovan oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc’s Democratic Party was ousted, and Plahotniuc fled the country.
However, Dodon then joined forces with Plahotniuc’s Democratic Party and ousted Sandu on Nov. 12 in a vote of no confidence. Ion Chicu, a former advisor to Dodon, was appointed as prime minister.
