#justiceOPportunity Thursday—December 3, 2020

It’s #justiceOPportunity Thursday—and we are asking for prayers for peace. Join with Dominicans everywhere! Let us awaken during this first week of Advent to the plight of the people of Ukraine and unite our voices across the world in solidarity for the dignity and sovereignty of the Ukrainian people.

Some Background for the Dominican Month for Peace

The Master of the Order, Fr. Gerard Timoner has invited us to continue our commitment to global solidarity with our Dominican brothers and sisters who are trying to bring hope in situations of violence and war.  We continue our efforts with this year’s Dominican Month for Peace that begins the first week of Advent and ends on the Church’s World Day of Peace, January 1.  We began with a Latin American focus on Colombia in 2017. We then moved to an African focus on the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2018, and in 2019, we moved to an Asian focus on India.  This year we move to Europe where the focus is Ukraine.

Ukraine gained its independence in 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Ukraine declared itself a neutral state and formed a limited military partnership with Russia and other Commonwealth of Independent States while also establishing a partnership with NATO in 1994. In 2013, after the government of President Viktor Yanukovych had decided to suspend the Ukraine-European Union Association Agreement and seek closer economic ties with Russia, a several-months-long wave of demonstrations and protests known as the Euromaidan began, which later escalated into the 2014 Ukrainian revolution that led to the overthrow of Yanukovych and the establishment of a new government.

In April 2014 following Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity, Russia annexed Crimea and launched aggression in the East of Ukraine.  Since then, fighting has been ongoing between the Ukrainian Army and Russian-backed militia and regular troops in parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions (collectively called the “Donbas”).  According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, between March 2014 and October 31, 2019, approximately 13,000 people (including at least 3,345 civilians) were killed in this fighting. The number of wounded is estimated at 29,000 – 31,000, including approximately 7,000 – 9,000 civilians. In the Ukrainian lands occupied by Russian-led troops, there has been killing and repression on ethnic and religious grounds, and thousands of homes and even entire settlements have been destroyed, causing a massive wave of internal displacement. More than one and a half million civilians in Donetsk and Luhansk regions have been forced to migrate to other regions.

By 2020, hostilities in eastern Ukraine entered their sixth year and continue to put civilians’ lives and well-being at risk. Former comedian Volodymyr Zelensky won the presidential election on April 21, 2019. Parliamentary elections in July delivered his party, Servant of the People, a single-party parliamentary majority, for the first time since Ukraine’s independence. After taking office, Zelensky demonstrated commitment to carrying out anti-corruption reform and ending the armed conflict with Russia.

Let us awaken during this first week of Advent to the plight of the people of Ukraine and unite our voices across the world in solidarity for the dignity and sovereignty of the Ukrainian people.