Sunday Letters from Ukraine. Key news and a Union that never existed

Hi!

It was such a busy week. Now, I am sitting on the sofa, and the window is open, letting in some fresh air and the sounds of the big city. I am writing you a slow letter. Even Victory (still a cat) seems tired and hides in the wardrobe, pretending to be a piece of clothing.

I have so many photos to show you. Yesterday, I visited two fantastic places: a park near Kyiv and a farm called Sheepland. We don't have much space here for tens of photos so that I will show you some; others will run into the book Ukraine Beautiful. Yes, yes, I still write it.

In this letter (I adore these Sunday Letters to you), I will focus on some key news of this week and write about the historical trial that started the process of destroying the Ukrainian intelligentsia.

So, news. Let's begin with good ones.

INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT

Leaders of the Group of Seven major democracies agreed on an outline deal on June 13 to provide $50 billion of loans for Ukraine using interest from russian sovereign assets.

This weekend, 92 countries, including almost 60 heads of state and government, participated in the Summit on Peace in Ukraine at the Bürgenstock resort in central Switzerland. Here, you can read a final Joint Communiqué on a Peace Framework.

Ukraine signed bilateral security agreements with Japan and the US this week. The agreements’ texts can be found here: Japan and the US.

UKRAINIAN ATTACKS

Ukraine continues its attacks on russian military objects.

Overnight on June 10, Ukrainian forces attacked russian S-400 and S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems in several areas in occupied Crimea, Ukraine's General Staff said. In particular, two radars of the S-300 and S-400 systems were destroyed.

On the night of June 14, the Morosovsk Airfield in russia, about 150 miles from the front lines, was hit by a Ukrainian drone attack. Ukrainian defence and intelligence units used at least 70 drones to strike the base. The airfield is home to dozens of Su-34 fighter-bombers, a key weapon in the war.

And here are some not-good news.

RUSSIAN ATTACKS

russia launched missile attacks overnight on June 12, targeting multiple Ukrainian regions. A fire broke out in an industrial facility in Kyiv Oblast due to the attack. Ukrainian defences downed all 24 drones as well as one Kinzhal ballistic missile and four cruise missiles. 

In the afternoon of June 12, russian forces launched a missile strike on Kryvyi Rih in Dnipro Oblast, with 32 people injured and nine killed.

On the night of June 14, russia attacked Ukraine again, using 14 missiles and 17 drones. Ukraine's air defence systems destroyed seven russian missiles and all the drones.

There is so much news this week. I tried to shorten it as much as I could.

Okay, let's jump into the history part. And today, let me take you to the spring of 1930.

April 19, 1930. 9:45 pm. In the crowded Kharkiv Opera House, the chairman of the Supreme Court of the USSR, Anton Prykhodko, began reading the verdict in the case of the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine. The verdict convicted 45 Ukrainian scientists, doctors, writers, priests, teachers, and students.

They were on trial in a fabricated case. The Union for the Liberation of Ukraine, an organisation invented by the Chekists, was said to have aimed to overthrow the Soviet regime and restore the capitalist system in Ukraine. The verdict included various prison sentences, deprivation of rights and exile from the USSR.
The 12 accused were to be shot, but later, this sentence was changed to 8-10 years in prison, which became a de facto death sentence, as most of the prisoners never returned home.

In the photo - accused during the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine trial

The Union for the Liberation of Ukraine trial lasted from March 9 to April 19, 1930, in Kharkiv, the then-capital of Soviet Ukraine, in the Opera House. There were 46 chairs in the courtroom; as I mentioned above, there were 45 defendants. One chair remained empty during the entire trial. It was as if it told the audience they could be next.

This is how a 40-day political show was staged in the theatre, which became the beginning of further repression of thousands of academics, scientists, writers and church leaders who were allegedly involved in the non-existent Union for the Liberation of Ukraine.

Consuls of many countries watched the process of the destruction of the Ukrainian intelligentsia in 1930, and the Soviet press and foreign publications reported on its course.

The title of the publication from the leading propagandist Soviet newspaper Pravda says:
The Ukrainian counterrevolution in front of the Soviet court.
The case of the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine.
Sick Elite (In russian, it sounds more offensive; I often cannot find the proper translation of the abusive language the Soviets used.)

In 1989, the fabricated case was closed because there was no crime. The accused were fully rehabilitated.

Perhaps we need a picture before ending this letter.

And a short announcement. Next week, I hope to write a letter presenting some headlines and excerpts from the Soviet newspapers of March 1930. I want to show what they wrote about and how they manipulated reality. I will do the same with the newspapers from other periods if you find the letter valuable and interesting.

I still consider the title of this possible series: Headlines of Propaganda or Headlines of History. What do you think?

See you soon! (Sunday Letters will be sent as usual).

Sincerely,
Yaroslava