As they continued to follow the dramatic events back home yesterday, Ukrainians living in Malta were confident that fellow citizens would remain united.
“The people of Ukraine are ready to build an independent and democratic State. They have proven that when they stood firm in their fight against the decomposed system,” said Svetlana Melkonyan, a 54-year-old company director from Odessa with long-time links to Malta.
President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted on Saturday and is now on the run, following three months of mass protests sparked by his decision not to sign a comprehensive free trade agreement with the EU in favour of repairing ties with Moscow.
It will require a nearly complete change of the faces currently or previously in power
From Ms Melkonyan’s perspective, Ukraine is witnessing the “ongoing annihilation of the Soviet mentality and society and a parallel birth of civil society. Every branch of the State has deteriorated and is utterly corrupt. The people are now demanding the construction of a true democratic order and not a visible veneer with empty promises.”
Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The east and south of Ukraine are largely Russian-speaking and the remaining areas predominantly speak Ukrainian.
While competing for influence in Ukraine under its interim pro-EU leaders who seized power on Saturday, both Russia and the West have said publicly they do not want the country to split.
Ukrainians from all parts of the country residing in Malta were adamant yesterday that the country would not break up. “All Ukrainians, despite numerous differences, want to live in the same country where they have their ancestral roots, their cultural and historical heritage and, most importantly, their families, homes and businesses,” said Alexandra Melkonyan, 31, who has lived in Malta since 2002.
“All separatist movements are a manifestation of foreign meddling by means of propaganda, which are sponsored, allowed and supported by regional and local government clerks for the sole benefit of their private, corrupt, current and future interests,” she added.
The younger Ms Melkonyan was hopeful that, within roughly six months, Ukrainians would be able to speak confidently of actively restructuring their united country.
“It will require a nearly complete change of the faces currently or previously in power, something akin to a law about strict lustration, as happened after the full breakaway from the Soviet regime in Poland,” said the psychologist and entrepreneur.
“The main change that I’ve witnessed in the past three months is the change in the nation’s mentality. It is becoming widely honourable to have an active civil position and take up leadership to implement change even on the tiniest of levels.
“This is something I have never seen in my country,” she added.
Koziev Valeriy, 41, also felt that a complete lustration of those currently or previously in power was needed.
“A lot will also depend on the position Russia decides to take. If it chooses to support the separatists, who want Crimea to break away, tensions may escalate and the conflict could drag on,” said Mr Valeriy, a psychologist from Lviv who has lived in Malta since 2008.
The Crimean population is seen as largely pro-Russian and there is a large Russian naval base in the port of Sevastopol.
Mr Valeriy, who has relatives in the eastern city of Donetsk, said the best way for the EU to assist Ukraine was “all-round support in the reforms and personalised sanctions against the corrupt elite, clergy and governmental officials”.
“I hope the EU has realised what type of people true Ukrainians are and, to start with, I would expect them to relax the visa regulations, if not abolish them all together,” said Baranova Viktoria, 27, from Kiev.
She is sceptical about the previously proposed EU Economic Association Agreement, rejected by President Yanukovych in November.
“We have all seen how the EU did nearly nothing to help us. The sanctions, which we had been demanding for almost three months, were only imposed after so many terrifying deaths [up to 100],” said Ms Viktoria, a financial analyst who has lived in Malta since 2011.
Olena Chupinina, 56, wanted to see the EU take an active stand on investigating money laundering and fraud in EU territories by representatives of the fallen regime and also impose sanctions against them personally.
The lawyer from Dnipropetrovsk called for an uncompromising stand by the EU towards “Russian meddling”.
Day of mourning
In memory of almost 100 people shot dead by the security forces in Kiev, Ukrainians in Malta will hold a day of mourning and solidarity on Sunday.
Following a ceremony at St Andrew’s Scots international church, in South Street, Valletta, at 10.30am, a meeting of solidarity will be held in St George’s Square at noon. An Orthodox Mass for the dead will be held on March 12.
“On behalf of all Ukrainians, we would also like to express our sincere gratitude to all the Maltese people for their continuous support,” said a spokeswoman.