OFFICIAL  STATEMENT  ON  THE  SITUATION  IN  UKRAINE

Statement Of:  OKSANA BAIUL

For Immediate Release

February 21, 2014

I issue this official statement to raise awareness to the more than 70 people killed and 600 injured in Ukraine in their fight against Ukrainian government corruption and organized crime.  I state organized crime because government corruption as we know it in the former Soviet Union is highly organized crime.

I have received numerous requests to use my position as Ukraine’s first gold medal winner to bring attention to these problems and assist in finding a solution.  I have maintained my Ukrainian Citizenship, in honor of my beloved country and my departed parents Marina (d.1991) and Sergei (d.2007).  My prayers and condolences to all the departed and their loved ones, especially the children left behind.

The people of Ukraine are fighting a vicious battle against organized crime, corruption and the forces of evil. While we shook the Soviet yoke in 1991, many of the corrupt, communist apparatchiks unfortunately managed to hold onto their positions. The crime and corruption continued but Ukrainian people have finally had enough and are bravely making their stand.  They have taken to the streets despite bitter cold weather.  While most revolutions occur in warm weather, the Slavs (the ethnic group from which most Ukrainians come) have displayed their ability throughout history of successfully winning wars and fighting revolutions in the worst of conditions.  Both Napoleon and Hitler lost to the Slavs in winter conditions so the current regime in Ukraine stands not much of a chance if the people hold their resolve and the army takes its direction, as I pray, from its true masters, the people of Ukraine.

The young Soviet soldiers (including Ukrainians) who would not fire on their countrymen in Moscow in 1991 assisted Boris Yeltsin in destroying those corrupt in the Soviet Union.  The young soldiers in Ukraine today cannot possibly be expected by the current regime to fire on their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and neighbors.  I am confident that the Ukrainian Army will likewise make the correct moral decision and follow the wonderful Slavic precedent set in Moscow in 1991, especially for the innocent children affected.  If this occurs, Ukraine could hold immediate elections and replace those currently in power.  While many in the current regime should go to jail for the crimes that they have committed, in the interests of avoiding further bloodshed, it might make sense to exile them so that Ukraine can quickly begin the process of rebuilding, stabilizing the economy, instilling peace and restoring human dignity to all Ukrainian people.

God Bless Ukrainian people and pray that the Ukrainian Army finds its moral compass and is guided by the glorious events that occurred in Moscow in 1991.

OKSANA BAIUL

1994 Olympic Gold Medalist, Ladies Figure Skating, Ukraine

1993 World Championship Gold Medalist, Ladies Figure Skating, Ukraine

www.OksanaBaiul.com

www.BaiulFarina.com

OSBF/rjm-cjf

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