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 — Tobias Thyberg, Swedish ambassador to Ukraine
The original Latin version of Pylyp Orlyk’s Constitution, the document that inspired Ukraine’s current Constitution, is now in Kyiv for the first time in Ukraine’s history. It will be exhibited in St. Sophia Cathedral until Nov. 14.
Tobias Thyberg, Swedish ambassador to Ukraine, represented Sweden in “very difficult negotiations” with Ukraine, which wanted to bring its heritage to Kyiv before the country celebrated 30 years of independence on Aug. 24.
At first, Sweden only agreed to give Ukraine a copy of the Constitution, not the original Latin version, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Thyberg denied this. In an interview with the Kyiv Post in July, the ambassador said that Sweden was reluctant to send the Constitution because of the logistical challenges of transporting the 300-year-old document.
The negotiations went on for many months. Finally, Sweden agreed to lend the Constitution to Ukraine. It was delivered from Stockholm to Kyiv in giant boxes, weighing nearly 250 kilograms each.
“Sweden is so happy to lend this priceless object to Ukraine, our European partner and friend,” Thyberg wrote on Twitter on Aug. 18. One of the constitution’s promises — “of a Ukrainian state for the Ukrainian nation” — is finally fulfilled, he said.
Before, Ukraine only had copies of Pylyp Orlyk’s Constitution. The Latin-language original was kept in the National Archives of Sweden, while the original version in the old Ukrainian language, signed by Orlyk in 1710, is stored in the state archives in Moscow.
Obtaining the original document even for three months means a lot to Ukraine, according to Kuleba. The Constitution was the first official document that declared the country’s territorial integrity, established the Ukrainian government and even encouraged friendship with Crimea which at that time was involved in a military conflict between the Russian and Ottoman empires.
“The Constitution reminds us that there is nothing more natural than our unity with the Crimea,” Kuleba said. It is “strong energy support” for Ukraine before the inaugural summit of the Crimean Platform scheduled for Aug. 23, he added. Sweden is one of over 40 countries that agreed to participate in the summit.
Given his involvement in Ukrainian-Swedish relations, Tobias Thyberg is our country’s friend of the week — he helped bring a document that represents the independence and unity of Ukraine to its capital.
Ukraine’s Foe of the Week — Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia’s Security Council
Russia’s top security official Nikolai Patrushev said on July 19 that Ukraine shouldn’t rely on its American allies because one day they will abandon it just like their troops abandoned Afghanistan, letting the Taliban seize the country.
According to Patrushev, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine “obsequiously serves the interests of its Western allies, striving to get into NATO,” but it won’t help the country in its war against Russia: “At a certain point of time, the White House may not even remember about its supporters in Kyiv,” Patrushev said.
“The U.S. fills up this country with unnecessary weapons, supporting the burgeoning Neo-Nazism, the growth of extremism, crime, drug trafficking, interethnic and sectarian strife in the country,” he added. Just like in Afghanistan, according to Patrushev, Ukraine is ruled by Western-backed politicians.
Contrary to what he said, Ukraine and Afghanistan have nothing in common.
Patrushev didn’t mention that the $4.6 billion assistance from the U.S. is not a single lifeline for Ukraine. The country has been fighting against invaders trying to claim Ukraine’s people, land and resources for centuries. It has managed to build a democratic country that is constantly innovating and growing. Afghanistan failed to make use of the strong support provided by the U.S.
Although Ukraine has been relying on U.S. defense aid and diplomatic backing to protect itself against the Russian invasion, it is not even comparable to the U.S.’s 20-year military presence in Afghanistan and over $88 billion in financial spending since 2001.
Putin frequently referred to Ukraine as the U.S. puppet state, another lie, aiming to blur the vision of Ukraine as a strong and independent nation that won’t give away its country without a fight.
Ukraine definitely needs to grow its own muscles — financial and military — to fight against enemies. For now, it continues working with its partners, including the U.S., and thinks of them as allies, rather than saviors.
Meanwhile, Patrushev is our country’s foe of the week — for questioning Ukraine’s readiness to fight for itself.
