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: U.S. Senator Ted Cruz
By Alexander Query
Ted Cruz, the United States senator from Texas, delivered a strongly-worded speech against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and in support of Ukraine on Dec. 12 on the floor of the Senate.
Cruz has led the fight in the U.S. legislature’s upper chamber to halt the project.
Stopping the pipeline’s construction would be a major national security victory for the U.S. and the EU, he said.
“If and when that happens, that will be an incredible victory. It will be an incredible victory for Europe, an incredible victory for Ukraine, an incredible victory for energy security and an incredible victory for jobs in the United States of America,” Cruz explained.
His push for a bipartisan bill to impose strong and targeted sanctions on companies and ships involved in constructing the pipeline received applause in the Senate.
On Dec. 17, the Senate passed the bill with an overwhelming majority of 86-8 to impose sanctions on companies working on the Russian pipeline.
“Part of the reason we were able to achieve this bipartisan victory is that the sanctions are narrowly targeted — precisely targeted. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a pipeline from Russia to Germany to carry natural gas that, if completed, would generate billions of dollars for Putin. Billions of dollars that would fund Russian military aggression,” he said.
“Not only that, but this pipeline — if completed — would make Europe even more dependent on Russian energy,” Cruz added.
According to him, Europe would be “even more vulnerable to Russian blackmail. Putin has demonstrated he is more than willing to cut off the gas in the dead of winter, as economic blackmail against his neighbours.”
The Trump administration will now have 60 days to identify companies and individuals providing services on the pipeline.
The sanctions would revoke U.S. visas and block the property of these individuals. Those targeted by the sanctions would then have 30 days to wind down their operations.
Switzerland-based Allseas, which has been hired by Russia’s Gazprom to build the offshore section, is one company that could be targeted by the sanctions.
“It’s designed to operate like a scalpel, so it doesn’t impact anyone else. But if this legislation operates, as Congress intends [and] as both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and House intend, then it will halt construction of this pipeline overnight,” Cruz explained.
The measure aims to halt further construction of the $10.6 billion pipeline, set to double shipments of Russian natural gas to Germany and bypass Ukraine, potentially denying Kyiv 3% of its gross domestic product which it receives from transit fees.
Nord Stream 2 is widely seen as a political tool and economic leverage for Putin to exert pressure on Ukraine and the EU.
However, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has urged the U.S. not to meddle in European energy policy. Maas criticized the decision to move ahead on Nord Stream 2 sanctions.
“We think this is unacceptable, because it is ultimately a move to influence autonomous decisions that are made in Europe,” he said.
He later tweeted: “European energy policy is decided in Europe, not in the US.”
Although Nord Stream 2 may provide certain financial benefits to Germany, it is a direct threat to Ukraine and the EU’s energy security. For his strong stance against Nord Stream 2, Ted Cruz is deserving of the Order of Yaroslav the Wise.
Ukraine’s Foe of the Week: Vladimir Solovyov
By Oleg Sukhov
Vladimir Solovyov, a host on Russia’s Rossiya-1 television channel, is one of dictator Vladimir Putin’s top propagandists.
Using grotesque Goebbels-style propaganda, Solovyov brainwashes Russians and lavishes the most extravagant Soviet-style praise on his master, Putin, every week.
Clad in a Stalin-era suit, Solovyov devotes a ridiculously large amount of coverage to events in Ukraine and entirely ignores Russian issues: corruption, authoritarianism, human rights violations and economic difficulties.
By portraying Ukraine as a failed state run by fascists, Solovyov creates the image of an external enemy necessary for any totalitarian propaganda and diverts attention from Russia’s problems.
One of the issues with Solovyov’s show is that he always invites the same guests — a narrow circle of Kremlin sycophants who slavishly serve Putin’s regime.
For fun, he also often invites one “whipping boy” with a pro-Ukrainian point of view. The whipping boy is intentionally chosen to present the weakest arguments and to look ridiculous. Moreover, he is often harassed and not allowed to speak when Solovyov deems he has gotten out of control.
During the latest show on Dec. 18, Solovyov verbally assaulted the whipping boy, Vyacheslav Kovtun, calling him a Banderite fascist and threatening to kick him out of the studio. The term Banderite refers to followers and sympathizers of World War II-era Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera.
Solovyov’s title of foe of Ukraine is well-deserved: his show has done a lot to fuel hatred of Ukraine among the country’s population. For this reason, he has earned the Order of Lenin.Ted
