Indignation of Ukrainian scientists and sportsmen

Not only Ukrainian teachers of professional-technical schools, but also Ukrainian scientists are indignant because of state budget for 2016 and demand to accept some changes in this budget and to increase state expenses for National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU). Specifically, scientists expect additional 725 millions hryvnias from state treasury to finance Ukrainian science in 2016 year and emphasize problems of scientific personnel’s reduction, non-full working week and leaves without salary in the institutes of NASU. Moreover, Ukraine’s scientific researchers receive minimal financial maintenance from state and sometimes they even must pay for own expeditions and scientific missions. That’s why Ukrainian scientists held meetings on 16^th March 2016 in Lviv and on 29^th March 2016 in Kharkiv for saving National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

Besides catastrophic situation in Ukrainian science, there are rumours in Ukrainian society that present state power intends to liquidate the Ministry of the Youth and Sports of Ukraine. On 25^th March 2016 National Olympic Committee of Ukraine (NOCU) has already declared against these plans of liquidation of sporting ministry before Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Such probable government’s step would endanger effective training of sportsmen and preparation process of Ukrainian delegation in the Rio-2016 Olympics and Paralympics. And generally the absence of special ministry of sports would threaten development of Ukrainian professional sport and physical culture in the country, so NOCU called to keep the Ministry of the Youth and Sports of Ukraine.   

Professional-technical schools on the brink of survival

High Council of Ukraine accepted state budget for 2016 year on 25^th December 2015 at 4:04 AM! Does any parliament work at night like Ukrainian votes? And all laws, what were secretly voted in Ukrainian parliament’s building, bring negative changes to Ukrainian society. So state budget-2016 isn’t the exception in this tendency, because at that night Ukrainian people’s deputies replaced financing type for professional-technical schools (PTS). From the moment of the foundation these schools were always financed from state budget and in 2016 they must be financed from local budgets: when it’s situated in the city of regional importance – from the treasury of that city, in another cases – from regional treasuries. And such innovations made financial collapse in educational system of the regions and put almost all Ukrainian professional-technical schools on the brink of survival and a lot of them may be closed in 2016, because local budgets don’t have necessary sums to finance vocational-technical education. Moreover, local officials don’t understand why they are forced by the government to finance PTS buildings what are on the state balance and aren’t communal property and nowadays there is no lawful mechanism to exclude them from the list of state property. Besides it, the majority of local bureaucrats are indignant to give cash for education of non-local youth who came to their cities from near-by towns and villages or even from another region. Searching better solution of the problem of PTS financing, Ukrainian parliament voted the amendments to the law about state budget-2016 and in fact returned state maintenance to professional-technical schools, but President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko put a veto on these amendments on 18^th March 2016, so budgetary 2016 year’s changes of PTS financing are still valid. And the Minister of Finance of Ukraine Natalia Yaresko, who had invented that changes and had proposed it to Ukrainian parliament, said that government would analyze current situation in PTS during the first quarter of 2016 year and could offer new replacements in state budget-2016.

Meanwhile state power and local authorities can’t divide their duties in reference to professional-technical schools, its teachers don’t see their wages in the pockets and students don’t get their scholarships for 2-3 months. Many Ukrainian PTS have debts for the utilities, that’s why some PTS and its dormitories have already been disconnected from heat, electricity and/or water supply in first months of 2016. And PTS students are mainly children from destitute families or from large families where only one parent has a job, and there also orphans, half-orphans and invalids, so these young persons don’t have money to get private high education or to graduate from some university or academy in general, because their relatives haven’t possibilities to favour in it. That’s why after finishing nine or eleven classes of secondary school, Ukrainian needy youth enter professional-technical schools to get any working vocation and to have unique chance to earn in the life. Acquiring professional knowledge and skills in Ukrainian PTS, children become builders, plasterers, bricklayers, electricians, electric welders, locksmiths, car mechanics, drivers with categories B and C, computer operators, sellers, cashiers, cooks, confectioners, waiters, bartenders, restaurant or hotel administrators, hairdressers, manicurists, makeup artists, tailors, seamstresses, carpenters or woodcarvers, florists, etc. And cutting of PTS state financing can cause its final closing. Since the beginning of 2016 professional-technical schools don’t receive even guaranteed state expenses to buy food for the students-orphans, so PTS workers ask local businessmen for their contributions that the orphans don’t starve, like it happened in Kamyanets-Podilskyy in Khmelnytskyy region, or local volunteers gather needful sums and help PTS, for example, in Teplodar in Odesa region, or teachers use product reserves from own neighbouring vegetable gardens, which are often planted near PTS in small towns in Ukraine. Professional-technical schools’ students survive how everyone can and here are some their stories. Nadia studies in Ostroh High Professional-Technical School in Rivne region and she is from a large family, her mother is invalid and father is unemployed, so she borrows cash in godmother or granny to buy meal, at the same time Vasyl, who is also studying in that PTS, is orphan, his scholarship was his mean of subsistence and nowadays he can hope only for outsiders’ aid. Sofia from Novovolynsk Professional-Technical School no.11 (Volyn region) gets money from her father, who is sole breadwinner in the family with four children, because her mother is in decree. Nadia from Uman Agrarian Lyceum (Cherkasy region) said journalists that her fellows worked at night or in the day-time, arranging with lyceum’s management about their possible absence. And 17-year-old orphan Serhiy is studying in specialized group for disabled students in Uman Professional Lyceum no.9, so he worries what will be with him and where he’ll go in the case of closing of this professional-technical school, where he is able to get some occupation and to live in its dormitory. Though what must PTS teachers do, if they don’t get salary for their teaching and often work, feeling regular starvation, as one of Mukachevo teachers-protesters told journalists about the state of health of some his colleagues? So the workers of professional-technical schools from various Ukrainian regions organized large meeting in Kyiv on 28^th January 2016 to attract the attention of state power to solve PTS problems and to return its state financing. That’s why PTS teachers and students blocked traffic on the roads, for example, Kyiv-Chop road in Mukachevo in Transcarpathian region https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoS26WrYuEI, and Kovel-Zhovkva road in Novovolynsk in Volyn region https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I845B1FwpVo, and also protested near city councils and state regional administrations in Lviv, Ternopil, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Khmelnytskyy, Rivne, Odesa, Zaporizhzhya regions, etc. But those protests aided a little, because the majority of town councils couldn’t allot any payment to local PTS. And the examples of PTS financing from local treasuries, when Kharkiv city council allotted money for the needs of Kharkiv PTS for all 2016 year, Chernihiv town council found costs to pay teachers’ wages and students’ scholarships in the first half-year of 2016, Drohobych and Ivano-Frankivsk city officials could give financing of salaries and scholarships only in January of 2016 – there are the exclusions in present state of the affairs of Ukrainian professional-technical schools.

So I guess it’s a duty of Ukrainian state power and local officials not to leave PTS teachers jobless and poor children uneducated and without free acquiring some profession. Or do they think in another way? Though children of Ukrainian statesmen, of course, don’t acquire knowledge in Ukrainian PTS. Children of President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and of the Head of Ukrainian parliament Volodymyr Hroysman prefer British high education, as numerous Ukrainian media sites tell. And where did elder daughter of Minister of Finance of Ukraine Natalia Yaresko enter after finishing Pechersk School International in Kyiv? Ukrainian journalists are silent about it. But I don’t think that two daughters of this inventor of liquidation of PTS state financing, which have American citizenship and had possibility to go to such prestigious secondary school in Ukrainian capital, will work seller, waiter, manicurist or seamstress or will get any other vocational-technical education.

At least. Where are real reforms of this Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine, which enjoyed to get credits from International Monetary Found and from diverse world governments and global financial organisations during almost two years? Or is it one of “planned reforms” of current Prime Minister Yatsenyuk’s government – to destroy Ukrainian professional-technical schools and to make Ukraine a country of destitute uneducated people? So why does President Poroshenko not stop this destroying?

Free Savchenko!

Free Savchenko! Such slogan is actively heard around the globe especially in March of 2016 before declaring the sentence of Russian state investigation against Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, stolen by Russians in Ukraine and moved to Russia in 2014. Savchenko had her last floor in the court of Russian city of Donetsk in Rostov-on-the Don region on 9^th March 2016 and Russian judges will state final sentence on 21^st-22^nd March 2016. Eariler Russian state prosecutors wanted 23 years of the imprisonment for Ukrainian officer, though Russian authorities hadn’t any right to judge Ukrainian citizen, captivated by Russian citizens on Ukrainian state's territory. Because there are huge breaches of international laws and the proof of lawlessness and absurdity of that accident. Moreover, Savchenko is such Ukrainian citizen who did her duty like a soldier of Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2014, participating in anti terroristic operation in Donbas. Besides it, she rejected all Russian accusations. That’s why I also wish: “Free Savchenko”. 

Donetsk Filtering Station stopped its work

Donetsk Filtering Station supplies drinkable water to Donetsk, Avdiyivka and neighbouring populated settlements, so it’s important object of Donbas infrastructure. This station is located in so-called ATO buffer zone between cities of Avdiyivka and Yasynuvata in Donetsk region and it is regularly fired during Ukrainian-Russian military conflict in the East of Ukraine. In the summer of 2014 the station functioned with stoppages owing to fights near Donetsk and then shells often hit that station in May and August of 2015. Nowadays Donetsk Filtering Station doesn’t work again since 13^th March 2016 after short-term restoring of its functioning since 4^th March. The station is shelled by Russian fighters in the last days, as it is told in the official reports of the press-centre of Ukrainian General Headquarters of anti terroristic operation. Lasting shells menace complete destruction of Donetsk Filtering Station, that’s why Ukrainian side called the occupants to stop military actions at least in the station area and to let Ukrainian masters into the station to repair it. Because long-term water absence threatens to people lives of local settlements. And it can cause humanitarian disaster to 480 000 local inhabitants and an epidemic of dysentery and hepatitis in the region, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine declared in its recent appeal. So Ukrainian state needs world help to solve this difficult situation and to stop military conflict in Donbas in general. 

Issues of ATO participants out of ATO zone

Fighting against the occupants in the zone of anti-terroristic operation in Donbas, Ukrainian warriors are exposed to mortal danger, but outside ATO zone they have different social problems too. The worst are bad living conditions for mobilized Ukrainian men in military units and on military training ranges. One of the last examples of such conditions was the situation with the 128^th mountainous-infantry brigade of Ukrainian Armed Forces. In the autumn of 2015 mobilized soldiers of that brigade were settled on Yavoriv military training range in holed tents in the middle of pools and mud without electricity and woods. In January of 2016, the 128^th brigade’s soldiers spent three nights outdoors during frosty weather without normal nutrition on the railway station of Dobrosyn in Lviv region, waiting for their departure on Shyrokyy Lan military training range in Mykolayiv region. Then local villagers and volunteers from the city of Rava-Ruska with its mayor brought hot meals to frozen warriors. But after that accident the 128^th mountainous-infantry brigade was again settled in holed and snowbound tents on Shyrokyy Lan military training range. http://zakarpattya.net.ua/News/150873-Biitsiv-128-i-bryhady-kynuly-na-polihoni-Shyrokyi-lan-v-zanesenykh-snihom-diriavykh-nametakh-FOTO

Horrible organization of way of life on Shyrokyy Lan training range was also in the 53^rd separate mechanized brigade, what became known after pedestrian pace of its soldiers from training range to Mykolayiv Military Public Prosecutor’s Office on 8^th February 2016. The 53^rd brigade wasn’t provided with drinkable water, food, woods, toilets, bath house, medicaments were obsolete. ATO fighters had to buy eatables, water to drink and to wash, petrol for cars, woods, as also had to repair military technique for own money. Sometimes it was needed to melt snow to get drinkable water and to warm up water to wash and in 60 persons lived in the 20-person tents. Besides it warriors of the 53^rd brigade didn’t receive whole wages for January of 2016, but only the few of their salary. That’s why soldiers of the 53^rd separate mechanized brigade protested https://news.pn/ua/public/154234, and management of General Headquarters of Armed Forces of Ukraine arrived to inspect living conditions on this military training range, though even then way of life for the 53^rd brigade didn’t become better, as it was proved on the videos of volunteers and journalists of “The First National” TV-channel, who had visited Shyrokyy Lan on 10^th  February and on 12^th February 2016. Journalists saw that soldiers had still lived in the tents with mud under feet and with holes, through which rain had been wetting their mattresses. Bath house wasn't linked to communications and muddy water wasn’t useable to drink, so further militaries continued to buy pure drinking water. It’s not strange that some soldiers fell ill, living in such way of life. In the end of February court arrested commanders of the 53^rd brigade for several days in the guardhouse, but they didn’t admit with this sentence. And since 2^nd March  there is no any information about the 53^rd brigade in Ukrainian media, as if total censorship exists on this topic in the press, so it isn’t known what is the present situation on Shyrokyy Lan military training range, unfortunately.

In general it was rather often reported the deaths of military men from health issues on training ranges and in the military units during spending anti terroristic operation in 2014-2016, what can be a proof of abnormal living conditions, created for mobilized persons there. Or another reason of this mortality – military commissariats mobilize men with health problems, especially with heart diseases, what is very spread cause of deaths in the official reports.

Military men of disciplinary battalion of Armed Forces of Ukraine, where it’s served punishment for discipline breaches in the army, have also health problems and absent due medical aid, as Commissioner of High Council for Human Rights Valeriya Lutkovska let know journalists on 3rd March 2016. http://www.ombudsman.gov.ua/en/all-news/pr/10316-qq-the-military-personnel-serving-sentence-in-the-only-disciplinary-batta/ Only medical assistant works in the disciplinary battalion and there is no one doctor. Sick militaries must wait own turn even for several weeks to be driven at the hospital (and 1-2 months to visit dentist), because disciplinary battalion lacks cars, petrol and convoy personnel to escort imprisoned quickly and carefully to the doctors. Moreover, 56 soldiers stayed in the 27-person building of disciplinary battalion at the moment of the examination of Ukrainian parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights.

In Ukraine lack of medical institution for physical rehabilitation and a few quantity of psychological help centres became serious problems for injured and invalid ATO participants, what decreases their chances to come back to more or less full life. And in such case disabled Ukrainian warriors certainly collide with huge employment problems, though job search issues can occur to various demobilized persons, especially when before their participation in ATO they worked in private companies. It’s also very sadly to certify, but it wasn’t put money in Ukrainian state budget-2016 for state compensations to those enterprises, institutions and organizations, which pay wages mobilized employees, so this fact generates a big risk of payments’ loss of soldiers, mobilized to the army, and further payments generally depend on decency and conscience of their employers.

Other current difficulty in the life of ATO participants is too slow process of giving them dwelling or lot of land by regional or local power for their participation in anti terroristic operation according to Ukrainian laws and it’s in spite of the growth of new buildings’ erecting in Ukraine. And defenders of Ukrainian territory frequently collide with infringement of their right of favourable free transportation in public transport, what is guaranteed in Ukrainian legislation too. So ATO warriors block the roads and organize meetings and pickets near regional administrations and city councils to attract society’s attention to these problems and let their difficulties would be solved by the authorities.

But, probably, the biggest disappointment in Ukrainian state power’s treatment to ATO fighters is sorrowful tendency to disgrace, accusation of desertion and criminal persecution soldiers in just ridiculous to such accusations situations. For example, in the end of July of 2014 year 42 soldiers of the former 51^st separate mechanized brigade, transformed and renamed later in the 14^th brigade, had been shot in ATO zone by the enemies during 10 days without possibility to defend themselves and their military technique had been burnt, they had asked for help, being surrounded by Russians, but any Ukrainian military assistance hadn’t arrive to them, so then they crossed Ukrainian-Russian state border just to save own lives from the death and found themselves in Russian country. Ukraine’s military management called them deserters and 20 of these 42 warriors, being under investigation’s pressure, have already agreed with the accusation and have got conventional terms of punishment, other 22 militaries are still fighting for their honour in the courts, not admitting the guilt. Thus, present state power criminally persecute Ukrainian defenders in the cases of their voluntarily leaving of the battle field even when it was mortal danger to stay there, instead of saving their lives and sending some military help in that accidents.