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: William Green Miller
On a normal week, William Green Miller might be reading the Kyiv Post and other news sources to keep up with events in Ukraine.
Even after Miller stopped serving as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine more than 20 years ago, he remained passionate about the country where he served in 1993-1998, and about Iran, where he served in the U.S. Foreign Service from 1959-1964, and about many other subjects.
But Miller died on Sept. 23 at age 88 in his northern Virginia home after a period of failing health. He leaves his wife, Suzanne, two sons, William and Christopher, and grandchildren.
Too often, people’s accomplishments and stories get forgotten in the rush of today’s events.
Miller died during a week when Ukraine made the international spotlight because of U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s alleged pressure, which he denies, to get Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Democratic rival and ex-U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden.
But Miller lived in momentous times. He witnessed firsthand the collapse of the Soviet Union from Moscow, where he lived from 1988-1993.
During his time as U.S. ambassador, Ukraine surrendered its nuclear weapons arsenal — the third largest in the world — in exchange for security guarantees that are violated daily by Russia in its war against Ukraine. It also adopted a Constitution and launched the national currency, the hryvnia, at 1.8 to the dollar in 1996.
But Miller, according to those who knew and worked with him, had broader cultural interests — in Ukrainian archaeology, architecture, beekeeping, ballet and churches. He wrote poetry about subjects that sparked his passionate. He even vacationed in Ukraine.
U.S. policy in Ukraine has suffered its share of defeats. And during Miller’s time, despite American assistance that amounted to $350 million yearly, some of it was misguided, wasted and misspent. And none of it could check the rampant corruption and rise of the oligarchy that still leaves millions of Ukrainians impoverished and seeking work abroad. Perhaps no one or no nation could have changed the course of Ukrainian history. But the United States tried — and still does — seek to help the nation along with its Western partners.
“Bill approached Ukraine in its entirety, often appreciating the arts as a profound expression of what was transpiring in the country. Beyond ballet, he carefully recorded Ukrainian hip-hop protest songs and reflected on the hard life of Ukrainian miners in his own poetry. His deep connection with Ukraine gave that country a durable voice in Washington even as he worked to bring American values to Kyiv,” the Wilson Center, a Washington, D.C., think tank where he was a senior policy scholar, wrote in mourning. “His impact on the course of U.S. relations with Iran, Ukraine, Russia, and the region, his service to our country, and his support for the field of Ukrainian and Russian studies, stand as eternal monuments to this great and very good man.”
Ukraine’s Foe of the Week: Donald J. Trump
For the third time, U.S. President Donald J. Trump is Ukraine’s foe of the week. Actually, we warned about the dangers of Trump long ago. He and Vladimir Putin are Ukraine’s great enemies.
The fact that Trump is buffered by a professional government, stocked with officials who act in the best interests of Ukraine and know a lot about the country, mitigates the damage the U.S. president can do.
But one needs to look no further than Trump’s Sept. 25 press conference in New York with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to understand why we hope he’s impeached this year or voted out of office next year.
He praised Zelensky, who he said has “really made some progress with Russia. Keep it going, it would be nice to end that whole disaster.” And: “I hope that you and President Putin can get together and solve your problem.”
The “disaster” and “problem” are Putin’s nearly six-year-old war against Ukraine, which has killed 13,000 people, and its occupation of 7 percent of Ukraine’s territory — Crimea and the eastern Donbas.
The proper response of a U.S. president would be to take the opportunity to tell Zelensky, Ukrainians and the rest of the world that Russia should get out of Ukraine and that the United States will help Ukraine win this war.
Instead, Trump alienates European Union allies and makes the show, like all his shows, about himself and his grievances: ex-President Joseph Biden and his son, Hunter; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s impeachment drive and the “radical left” of the Democratic Party.
In a departure from the obsequiousness of his phone call with Trump on July 25, Zelensky stood his ground sitting next to Trump. While speaking better English than we thought he was capable of doing, he emphasized Ukraine’s independence, the independence of its prosecutor general and his desire to get more help to prevail against Russia while staying out of U.S. domestic politics.
For these and more reasons — too many to count — Trump is the three-time champion Ukraine foe of the week. Keep it up, Donny Boy, you’ll be working for Putin, officially, soon.
