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Ruslana delivers her winning performance in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest in Istanbul. Photograph: Photograph: Murad Sezer/AP

In its preview of the 2004 Eurovision song contest, The Irish Times described Ukraines Ruslana as a Catherine Zeta-Jones lookalike in Xena Warrior Princess gear and her song Wild Dances as Europop meets Carpathian mountain music.

As it turned out, victory in Istanbul was just the start of adventures that would make Ruslana Lyzhychko one of the faces and voices of two revolutions, and take her into Ukraines parliament and on mercy missions to its eastern warzone.

As Ukraine prepares to host its second Eurovision this week, Ruslana recalled how the contest first came to Kiev in 2005, just months after the Orange Revolution had brought pro-western politicians to power.

She had joined hundreds of thousands of demonstrators on Kievs central Maidan square, and even announced a hunger strike in protest at the rigged 2004 election victory of Russian-backed presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovich.

When the protests overturned that result and Viktor Yushchenko won repeat elections, Ruslana became a deputy in a parliament that was expected to guide Ukraine away from Russia and towards the West.

But the reform drive stalled, the revolutions leaders turned on each other, and the old corrupt ways of governing remained unchanged. Yanukovich was soon on the comeback trail, and in summer 2007 Ruslana resigned from parliament.

I was very disappointed with that first revolution. They sold and ruined everything. We saw that ideas could just be sold off and politicians couldnt be trusted, she said.

A similar thing is happening again now with our politicians. But Ukraine has felt the power of unity and [its people] know that we can do it. Politicians wont change much, but the people can do everything.

Her optimism in the face of Ukraines struggles is fuelled by memories of her second revolution known as EuroMaidan or the Revolution of Dignity which drove Yanukovich into Russian exile in February 2014.

Through three freezing months, people from across Ukraine and from all walks of life turned Maidan into a vast protest camp of tents, banners, burning braziers and barricades, sustained by an army of volunteers who brought them food, firewood, warm drinks and winter clothes.

For 90 nights I was on the stage on Maidan, said Ruslana, whose voice often carried Ukraines national anthem out over the square in the biting, pre-dawn cold.

At my concerts I use the microphone to inspire people, and on Maidan I used it to calm people down and feel safe: Mir i spokoi, she whispered, repeating her call to protesters at times of rising tension Peace and quiet.

I lost my voice, but it came back again. It felt like Maidan was the centre of the world and life was being reborn. People could come out and show their feelings. I saw the courage and strength of the Ukrainian people there.

After his security forces shot dead scores of protesters on Maidan, Yanukovich fled with relations and close allies to Russia, as Moscow launched its annexation of Crimea and started fomenting a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Ruslana subsequently visited the militants stronghold of Donetsk several times to help negotiate the release of dozens of Ukrainian servicemen captured during a war that has now killed 10,000 people and displaced 1.5 million.

People are very tired of this tragic situation of the last three years. We dont need or want this [war] and we want to solve this peacefully, she said.

Russia is boycotting Eurovision after its entrant was barred from Ukraine for illegally entering annexed Crimea, and Moscow rejected offers to have her perform by video link or to send another contestant to Kiev.

I hope when Eurovision begins we will have got past this [Russian] provocation and be able to concentrate on a celebration of music. We dont need any other provocations, Ruslana said, as Ukraines security forces deployed some 16,000 officers to Kiev to protect the contest and events for visitors around the city.

This is extremely important for Ukraine, Ruslana said during a break in rehearsals for her own performance in the interval of Saturdays Eurovision final. This is a good chance to show ourselves to the world. It will be the best of Ukraine.

More here:
Ukraine's Ruslana: From Eurovision to revolution and back - Irish Times

Sen. John McCain and five other senators are urging President Trump to hold off on meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin until he has first met with Ukrainian leaders.

The senators, who include Republican and Democratic members of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, wrote to the president after he and Putin reportedly discussed a first face-to-face meeting in July on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany.

Russia has incurred international condemnation and stoked widespread concerns among the United States' European allies for fueling a conflict in eastern Ukraine against the government of President Petro Poroshenko.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is still formulating its approach to Russian aggression and long-time commitments such as the NATO alliance as questions continue to swirl over its relationship with Moscow, which the U.S. intelligence community says meddled in the presidential election last year.

"Meeting with democratically elected representatives from Ukraine would send a strong signal that the United States continues to prioritize our relationship with longstanding allies, and will continue our commitments to support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of ongoing aggression," they wrote in the May 4 letter.

Discussions of the possible meeting between Trump and Putin were reported by the Kremlin, but not included in a readout of the phone call released by the White House.

McCain and fellow Republicans James Inhofe and Rob Portman, along with Democrats Bob Menendez, Jeanne Shaheen and Bob Casey, praised the president for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's decision to attend a NATO foreign ministers meeting in March, following reports he would not go.

"Many of our allies in Europe are anxiously awaiting policy direction from your administration about our commitments to NATO and other institutions that preserve the international order that has served as the framework for international stability and security since the end of the Second World War," the senators wrote.

More here:
Senators urge Trump to meet with Ukraine leaders before Putin - Washington Examiner

"My cats eyes were so wide, he was also very afraid," Diana tells us matter of factly. The 10-year-old is explaining what happened during a recent day of intense shelling in Avdiivka, her hometown on the frontline of east Ukraine's more than three-year-old conflict.

This is where you hear first-hand the violence that continues unabated, and see its impact, mostly out of the media spotlight.

Apartment blocks with the misfortune of facing the wrong direction now have gaping holes revealing what once were homes. Damaged school windows and signs directing children to safer areas. Numerous military checkpoints. Regular water and power cuts. The persistent sounds of conflict.

UNICEF/UN058434/Makhniboroda A woman walks past a heavily damaged apartment block in Avdiivka, Donetsk region, in eastern Ukraine. The town has been severely affected by renewed heavy fighting around the area since January 2017.

For residents, this is everyday life. Some families living closest to the 'contact line' - separating Government and non-Government controlled areas - rarely seek safety in bomb shelters anymore. The normality of conflict is increasing people's thresholds and as a result, the physical and mental dangers they face.

Diana seems to epitomise this sentiment. In the tiny one-room apartment she shares with her mother, Diana describes in intricate detail how she forgot to take the keys with her when the fighting intensified. The painful decision to leave her cat behind in the apartment.

The psychological stress of living in constant fear and uncertainty is taking its toll, particularly for the 200,000 girls and boys like Diana who live around the 'contact line'.

The good news is that Diana and many of her peers continue to go to school. UNICEF is advising and training teachers and other school staff on how to better cope themselves and how to provide the necessary support for children dealing with the impact of conflict and displacement. The new skills help children now and will do so in the future.

Services on the brink

Driving from UNICEF Ukraine's field office in Kramatorsk, closest to Avdiivka, the trip south to the port city of Mariupol takes time. The winter ice has melted and with it cracked open the tarmac.

Passing the coal mines and heavy industry that mark east Ukraine's landscape reminds you of what's at stake. While children and families come under attack, so does critical infrastructure that provides essential services for people across the region and further afield.

Water pumping stations and electricity lines that cross the 'contact line' are frequently damaged by the fighting. When water is cut in one area, it reduces access in another, and alternative sources such as small reservoirs are used up.

UNICEF is providing emergency water transport, distribution, and treatment for water purification. Critical repairs and upgrades are also being carried out to improve an already fragile water network and provide more efficient and effective service for years to come.

When we finally reach Mariupol, it's nearly dark and most of the lights are off. Tonight, there is not enough electricity to power the whole town.

Surviving day by day

At daylight, we meet 35-year-old Andrii and his three children in a crammed apartment they share with another family. A coal miner from Horlivka, Andrii fled home with his children when their neighbour's house was hit by shelling. "It was impossible to stay there anymore," he explains. "Besides, there was no job."

UNICEF/UN058266/Kozalov Andrii leaves his apartment block in Mariupol for the local playground with two of his, and one of his relatives, children. The 35-year old fled with his children from their hometown of Horlivka when a shell destroyed the neighbor's house. While Mariupol provides some relative safety and the children are at school, the job concerns have followed. Andrii found work at a local coal plant but struggles to make ends meet. "The salary is very low. It's very hard to support my family," he says.

The conflict in the east has reduced the purchasing power of families, many of whom have lost incomes, property, and land. "We are sitting on a powder keg. I have two kids whom I have to put on their feet," Andrii says with a sense of desperation.

Return to Hranitne

The next day we drive out of town to Hranitne, a small village that literally sits between the two sides in the conflict. I was here with a UNICEF Ukraine team 18-months ago and spent time with now 17-year-old Dasha and her mother. We've come back to see how they are.

UNICEF/UN058458/Kozalov 17-year old Dasha studies hard at home in Hranitne, a village on the 'contact line' in east Ukraine's conflict. With her final school year exams approaching, she is determined to do well and to get a place in University.

The house and environment look very much the same, though the sand bags protecting the kitchen windows have been removed. I ask why and Dasha explains that one of them was leaking so they were removed.

The cellar is still ready to function as a bomb shelter. In the dark, cold and damp room Dasha reflects, "when you are sitting here, you don't know if you are ever going to get out." It's the stress of conflict. Children and young people across the area live with day in and out. But there is also extraordinary resilience and Dasha is focused on her final school year exams. "I want a good education and to get into college because I want a good future for my family and for myself," she says.

As we leave Hranitne the sound of shelling can be heard again. I think of the sandbags and wish they were back in place.

Among the havoc and uncertainty that the conflict breeds, there is hope. Diana and her peers are determined to continue their education and play a role in building a more stable future. Andrii is focussed on doing whatever he can so his children, "... live happy and prosper in life." Dasha is studying hard to realise her dream of going to University.

But what happens next is never certain. As Andrii says, "The future? Well, that's an enigma. You can't predict it."

Read the original post:
Life On The Edge In Eastern Ukraine - HuffPost UK

Ukraine suffered the most antivehicle mine (AVM) blasts and the highest number of casualties in 2016, ahead of both Syria and Afghanistan, according to new independent research.

Since 2014, the Black Sea nation has been at war with Russian-backed fighters who hold large swathes of Ukrainian land bordering Russia. Although direct conflict has reduced since the height of violence endured during the first two years of fighting, the two sides have set up trenches along the flatlands and continue to place landmines along a relatively constant frontline.

Over the last year 101 people were hurt in AVM-related incidents in Ukraine, 43 of whom were killed, according to research by the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

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Read more: A look inside the world of Ukraines women warriors

According to the joint report, Ukraine accounted for 20 percent of all recorded incidents and 24 per cent of all AVM casualties in 2016. The former Soviet state topped the list for 2015 as well, however, since then the number of incidents on its territory has increased by 48 percent and the number of casualties is up by 4 percent.

No country was even close to Ukraines casualty rate with Mali (55) and Pakistan (52) second and third in the list. Syria (38) and Afghanistan (34) complete the top five. In Ukraine 43 percent of casualties were fatal; Syria was the only place with a higher fatality rate of 100 percent.

Although people continue to discover unexploded ammo from World War II in Ukraine, the report noted that the recorded incidents centered around war-struck Donetsk and Luhansk regionspredominantly along the line of contact between pro-government troops and Russian-backed forces.

The report also noted that AVM incidents have interrupted civilian transport and gas and water supplies.

The first American casualty of the Ukraine conflict, a U.S. paramedic who died in April, was the result of what appears to have been a roadside mine.

The medic, Joseph Stone, was in Ukraine as part of the Organization for Security for Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which helps organize the few mine clearance missions in the region. Several other monitoring mission officials were riding in the same vehicle as Stone, and the blast also injured a German and a Czech observer.

The OSCE has repeatedly complained that sides in the east Ukraine conflict have not stopped mining activities, despite pledging to do so according to a ceasefire, let alone beginning mass demining.

Read this article:
Ukraine Ahead of Syria and Afghanistan by Anti-Vehicle Mine Deaths: Report - Newsweek

Steven Seagal, the American actor best known for his role in '90s action movies such as Hard to Kill and Under Siege, has been blacklisted from the Ukraine as a national security threat.

Seagal is banned from entering the countryfor five years on grounds he has "committed socially dangerous actions ... that contradict the interests of maintaining Ukraine's security," according to a Ukrainian security service letterpublished by the news site Apostropheand reported by the Guardian.

The 65-year-old actor has for years cultivated a friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, bonding over their love of martial arts and shared macho images.

Though the Ukrainian security letter does not outline specific statements that got the actor banned, Seagal once participated in a pro-Putin motorcycle rally in Crimea, a disputed peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was overthrown in a revolution.

In an interview then, Seagal defended Russia's annexation of Crimea, saying that Putin's desire to protect the Russian-speaking people of Crimea, his assets, and the Russian Black Sea military base in Sevastopol is very reasonable, the Moscow Times reported.

Seagal's Crimea comments made him persona non grata in another country, Estonia, where organizers of a 2014 music festival there canceled his set after backlash from the Estonian public.

We hope that Estonian public will primarily view Seagal as an actor and musician, said Raul Ukareda, program director for the festival, according to the Hollywood Reporter. But, as it turned out, everyone sees him only as a politician and Putin loyalist.

During the Obama administration, Seagal often praised the Kremlin while criticizing U.S. foreign policy. In a 2013 interview with the Russian news channel RT, Seagal called Putin one of the greatest world leaders, if not the greatest world leader alive today.

The feeling seemed mutual. Putin would later propose that Seagal become an honorary Russian envoy to the United States.

In November, Putin granted Russian citizenship to Seagal, presenting him with a Russian passport in a formal ceremony.

It was an ending fit for Hollywood, The Washington Post's Andrew Roth reported then, one that consummated an odd-couple bromance that has blossomed despite years of dark relations between the two men's respective countries.

Seagal, who openly supported Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential race, has appeared in numerous direct-to-video films since breaking out as an action star in the 1990s. He also starred in his own reality show on the Reelz Network, Steven Seagal: Lawman, in which showed him teamingup with law enforcement organizations in Louisiana and Arizona.

I think our biggest problem is the open border, Seagal told ABC15 News in a 2014 interview about the Arizona season of the show. I think this is a tremendous oversight by our current administration. As Ronald Reagan once said, if we don't have security on our borders, we don't have a country.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko welcomes American actor Steven Seagal to his residence in Minsk and feeds him homegrown vegetables. (Reuters)

Read more:

Russia may have Crimea, but it cant have this ancient Scythian gold

Steven Seagal traveled to Belarus to meet Europes last dictator. They ate carrots.

In Ukraine, feeling grows that the east is lost to Russia

Excerpt from:
Amid Putin 'bromance,' Steven Seagal banned from Ukraine as national security threat - Washington Post