UCU Helps Ukraine: Ruslan Zvarych

The soldiers of the special forces unit of the National Guard of Ukraine stationed in Alexandria appeal for help for their commander:

Zvarych Ruslan Mykolayovych was born in 1972 in the village of Yavorivka, Kalush district, Ivano-Frankivsk region. Before the war, he was a hand laborer who took care of his mother after the death of his father, and would go to Kyiv to get seasonal jobs. 

He was mobilized to the Armed Forces after he received a summons and immediately went to the military station. He was moved to the boot camp in Starychi and, after that, to Yavoriv. He was enlisted with the 24th Yavoriv Mechanized Brigade with the rank of sergeant and as was sent to the ​​ATO area (Lysychansk) a senior shooter. There is information that Ruslan fought in Severodonetsk. But this is only an assumption because where and how he got shot in the head is unknown as Ruslan can remember nothing. The investigation into that is currently ongoing. When the connection with Ruslan was lost, his relatives started searching for him and appealed to the military. The military said that everything is fine and Zvarych is at a military base and even (!) had not yet been deployed to the war zone. 

At that time, Ruslan was lying unconscious in the Mechnykov hospital in Dnipropetrovsk, where he was taken by air from Severodonetsk on April 28, 2015. Diagnosis: severe closed head injury, brain contusion of third degree, acute subdural hematoma in the right forehead-temple-vertex area, linear fracture of the upper jaw, nasal bone fracture, and other. In that hospital, Ruslan underwent surgery: removal of acute subdural hematoma on the right forehead-vertex-temple area. His postoperative condition was considered difficult: skull defect 12x12 cm, left-sided hemoparezis with expressed intellectual and mental disorders. After the treatment in the Mechnykov hospital, Ruslan was sent to a rehabilitation department of the Lviv military hospital. His condition was moderately difficult.

 

When he was still unconscious, Ruslan muttered his surname and the name of the village. The volunteers began to search and found that, indeed, there is such a village in the Frankivsk region and there are Zvarychs living in it. Then the volunteers got in touch with the wife of his younger brother Mykola via Facebook. The family recognized Ruslan’s on the photos and immediately went to visit him in Dnipropetrovsk. Mykola is at his brother’s side in Lviv all the time, as Ruslan is still helpless and is not speaking, although he responds when called; he can not walk or serve himself.

In 3-4 months, Ruslan will need a surgery to implant a titanium plate in his skull. The family has no money for the treatment, and the volunteers are providing him with everyday necessities. They are saying that the brothers are very modest, are not asking for much and are satisfied with what they are given.

To contribute toward Ruslan's treatments and therapies, please visit your branch or contact the call centre at 1.800.461.0777 to make a donation.

Lots of photos of the injured soldiers we are helping can be found on our Facebook page in the album UCU Helps Ukraine.

Read the stories of some of our other heroes:

Oleh, Roman, Mykhaylo, Andriy, Mykhaylo, Serhiy K., Olexander, Victor, Serhiy, Olexander, Andriy, Anton, Oleksij, Yevhen, Yurij, Serhij, and Ruslan.

Questions and inquiries about this initative can be directed to the UCU Helps Ukraine committee: 
Kateryna Litvinjuk klitvinjuk@ukrainiancu.com
Michael Zienchuk mzienchuk@ukrainiancu.com
Roman Mlynko rmlynko@ukrainiancu.com

UCU Helps Ukraine: Oleh Berezovsky

The soldiers of the special forces unit of the National Guard of Ukraine stationed in Alexandria appeal for help for their commander:

"During the fighting for the liberation of Slovyansk Oleh Berezovsky’s APC was hit with a grenade. The explosion damaged the vehicle’s gun. Crew Commander Lieutenant Oleh Berezovsky started firing at the terrorists with his automatic rifle through the loopholes. Then another grenade hit his rifle. The blast seriously wounded him and he lost his fingers. 

Being seriously wounded, he continued to issue commands and manage medical aid to the wounded crew members. Due to his decisive action, rapid response to changing operational environment and self-sacrifice, the crew fulfilled the mission without losses.

Immediately after the battle, Lieutenant Berezovsky was sent to the Northern Region’s Military Medical Center located in Kharkiv where he underwent several serious operations. As a result of the wounds, he had his both wrists amputated. He has fragment injuries to his eye and other body parts, and a serious hearing damage. He underwent several operations in the Main Military Clinical Hospital in Kyiv. 

Oleh is 24 years old. He is an athlete, smart and brave officer, and a good and reliable friend. He never distinguishes himself from his subordinates, but he enjoys an indisputable authority and respect among them. His orders are always fulfilled and his advice is always listened to. In difficult operational environment, he took the quick and correct decisions – decisions of the real Man. Oleh completed the main job of a real officer and soldier – he returned his subordinates and friends back home alive.

At the time, when the complaints about life in Ukraine are abound, it is wonderful that we still have such guys as Oleg who are willing to give their life and health for their country and friends.

Government funds are not sufficient to bring Oleh back to normal life. Therefore his fellow soldiers call on all caring people to help in fundraising for the treatment of Oleh Volodymyrovych Berezovsky."

To contribute toward Oleh's treatments and therapies, please visit your branch or contact the call centre at 1.800.461.0777 to make a donation.

Lots of photos of the injured soldiers we are helping can be found on our Facebook page in the album UCU Helps Ukraine.

Read the stories of some of our other heroes:

Roman, Mykhaylo, Andriy, Mykhaylo, Serhiy K., Olexander, Victor, Serhiy, Olexander, Andriy, Anton, Oleksij, Yevhen, Yurij, Serhij, and Ruslan.

Questions and inquiries about this initative can be directed to the UCU Helps Ukraine committee: 
Kateryna Litvinjuk klitvinjuk@ukrainiancu.com
Michael Zienchuk mzienchuk@ukrainiancu.com
Roman Mlynko rmlynko@ukrainiancu.com

Ukrainian Business Night Networking Event

Sponsored by Ukrainian Credit Union and Razom Magazine, UCPBA's next business networking event is coming up July 29th, anyone with a small business is welcome! Visit http://ucpba.ca/toronto/events/ for details

Mississauga Member Appreciation BBQ 2015!

Come join us Saturday August 15th 2015 from 10:00am to 1:00pm at our Member Appreciation Day BBQ at our Mississauga Branch location. 

Meet FatCat & UCU Piggy Bank, and enjoy some great food from Royal Meat Products Ltd. and some great prizes and giveaways!

 

UCU Helps Ukraine: Roman Havrylchak

Roman was born in the city of Novoyavorivsk in 1984. He graduated from the Hetman Sahaidachny Lviv Land Forces Academy. Roman is short of breath when he is telling his story: ...He signed a contract with the Armed Forces. Fought in Dovzhansk, Zelenopillia. Within his second rotation, fought in Lysychans'k, Checkpoint 29, during the battle for Сheckpoint 32, eight fighters from his battalion were killed... 

He was stationed in Donetsk, and they were ordered to free the village of Logvinove. The village was hard to get, the mortars and 120 mm guns were shelling at them constantly - breathing heavily, tells Roman. For a time they stayed in the basement of the store and waited for instructions. They were ordered to occupy the positions under fire. They decided to move away a little from the line of fire and take a position. They began sending the cars out one by one. He jumped in the last car (where there was a wounded Mykhailo Lialia), and in about two or three minutes the car got hit with a rocket and thrown against the tank. 

Roman sustained a compression stroke, smashed vertebrae, took hematoma in the head, seriously wounded hands, and lost consciousness... He regained consciousness in the Artemivsk hospital where they put braces on the injured arm, injected anesthetic and sent him by a helicopter to Dnipropetrovsk, then to Kyiv, the Central Military Hospital and later to the Institute of Neurosurgery named after Romodanov. Diagnosis: severe combined vertebral-thoraco-skeletal injury, closed spine-spinal trauma, compression multiple vertebral body fracture and contusion of the spinal cord. Broken ribs, left-sided hemothorax, fracture of both bones of the left forearm.

Unfortunately, the treatment prescribed at the Military hospital had a negative impact on Roman’s health: his kidneys and liver failed, and he got hidradenitis. From there, Roman was moved to the NAMN Ukraine hospital. Here they first cured his kidneys and the hand. Later, he underwent a surgery on the spine (doctor Yaminskyy Yuri). They injected gel in his spine and used electric stimulation. Roman is now having severe pain in the legs and spasticity. His dream is to walk again. He is facing a long and expensive rehabilitation. His family does not enough money, so they are forced to seek help from caring people.

Roman father Ivan’s Pryvatbank card number is 4149 4978 0289 2804.

To contribute toward Roman's treatments and therapies, please visit your branch or contact the call centre at 1.800.461.0777 to make a donation.

Lots of photos of the injured soldiers we are helping can be found on our Facebook page in the album UCU Helps Ukraine.

Read the stories of some of our other heroes:

Mykhaylo, Andriy, Mykhaylo, Serhiy K., Olexander, Victor, Serhiy, Olexander, Andriy, Anton, Oleksij, Yevhen, Yurij, Serhij, and Ruslan.

Questions and inquiries about this initative can be directed to the UCU Helps Ukraine committee: 
Kateryna Litvinjuk klitvinjuk@ukrainiancu.com
Michael Zienchuk mzienchuk@ukrainiancu.com
Roman Mlynko rmlynko@ukrainiancu.com

Фондовий ринок тримає хитку рівновагу

За останні кілька днів з різних частин світу прийшло багато негативних економічних новин, але фондовий ринок США переживає цю турбулентність досить добре (після деякого зниження у попередні дні американські індекси росли в четвер і п'ятницю).

Греція стикається з перспективою третього, і, таким чином ще більше принизливого, пакету європейської допомоги, або вигнання із зони євро в якості альтернативи. Останній сценарій, який представляється реалістичним, швидше за все, серйозно нашкодить економіці країни і півищить невизначеність на світових боргових ринках, особливо на ринках країн, які розвиваються, та європейських країн зі слабшою економікою. Цієї неділі буде проведена європейська конференція, яка обговорить, чи нова грецька пропозиція влаштовує Європу.
У той же час, недавнє падіння китайських фондових ринків на 30% відновило розмови про прогресуючу слабкість китайської економіки. В недавній статті лондонська Таймс безпосередньо пов'язала ці два явища і сказала, що, цілком можливо, зростання ВВП Китаю зараз складає набагато нижчу цифру, ніж офіційні 7.4%. Якщо це правда, це було би дуже поганою новиною для світових ринків, оскільки на Китай припадає більше половини світового споживання сировини і виробництва багатьох товарів.

Якщо фондовий ринок США пережив дві настільки поганих новини, має бути щось, що ринок вважає більш важливим. І це щось, швидше за все, є продовженням політики низьких відсоткових ставок у США, оскільки підвищення ставок у вересні стає менш імовірним з огляду на глобальну ситуацію. Зараз американські корпорації входять у період звітів за другий квартал, що може змінити баланс впливу на ринок акцій у бік внутрішньоамериканських факторів. У той же час, деякі гравці ринку вважають, що наближаєтьсякорекція ринку. За даними Bloomberg (з Yahoo Finance), продавці американських акцій збільшили свої ведмежі ставки в червні до найвищого рівня з часів фінансової кризи.

Українська Кредитова Спілка Лимитед

Stock market equilibrium hanging together by a thread

The last few days have seen so many negative economic news from different parts of the world, and yet the US stock market has so far survived this turbulence largely unshaken (after some decline in the past several days, the US indices were up on Thursday and Friday).

Greece is facing a prospect of a third bail-out proposal, which is being seriously considered by Europe, because otherwise they would be forced out of the Eurozone as the only other alternative at this point. The latter scenario remains realistic, and would bring Greece’s economy to a halt and increase uncertainty in global debt markets, especially in emerging countries and the weaker European countries. This Sunday is an important date, because a European conference will be held on whether the new proposal from Greece can be acceptable to Europe.
At the same time, the recent 30% drop in value of the Chinese stock market has renewed talks about progressive weakness of the Chinese economy. In a recent article, the Times directly linked these two phenomena and said that, quite probably, the growth of the Chinese GDP is much lower than the currently official figure of 7.4%. If true, this would be a black swan for the global markets as China accounts for more than a half of global consumption of commodities and production of many goods.

In the face of all of this, the US stock market has demonstrated resilience, indicating that other more stronger forces are out there that the market in the US is considering. Most likely that is a further delay in any rate hike by the Federal Reserve, as the expectation of a September rate hike may be dwindling given the global situation. In the meantime, American corporations are entering the second quarter earnings season, and this may change the current equilibrium between local US and global economic conditions. As well, according to Bloomberg (see story on Yahoo Finance), short sellers of American stocks increased their bearish bets in June to the highest level since the financial crisis.

Ukrainian Credit Union Limited

UCU Helps Ukraine: Mykhaylo Lyalya

Mykhaylo Lyalya was born on 03.10.1992, in Svydnytsia, Yavoriv district of Lviv region. He graduated from an art school in Ivano Frankove with a woodworker diploma. He signed a contract with the army and served as a driver of an armoured personnel carrier with the 24th Brigade. 

«I was wounded on February 10, 2015, – says Mykhaylo, – on that day, our company was on the offensive at Debaltseve. We had to retreat to Luhanske and stayed there for more than an hour, waiting for our leader which was away at the commanding post to get the orders from the 30th Brigade commander. The leader came back and ordered us to go back to the check point where we were stationed before. There were nine vehicles, but only eight departed, as mine was late because we were in the open and got shelled by Grad missiles. One round exploded close to our vehicle and I got wounded in the hand. I was lying beside the vehicle while the second shell exploded and I went unconscious. I don’t remember anything and they told me that they were putting the survivors into a Nissan truck when it was hit by a mortar shell. The truck started rolling like a ball and hit a tank. A petty officer carried me to an army truck and took me to a hospital in Artemivsk. I was unconscious for two days. I regained consciousness on February 12 and immediately asked a nurse for a cell phone, called my mom and went unconscious again. My parents arrived on the 14th.» He was barely alive when he was transferred to the resuscitation ward in a Dnipropetrovsk hospital. Later, he was transferred to the Kyiv Military Hospital. Once he was out of the coma, he immediately tried to calm his mother down and promise her to start walking again at any price…

Diagnosis: polytrauma. Multiple rib fractures. Bilateral hematoraks. Drainage of both pleural areas, laparocentesis. Skalping wound of the head. Forward-side fracture of Th2-Th3 with broken spinous outgrowths, transverse fracture of the arches and the right cubital tissues and joints of the left carpal joint. An accrete fracture of a subulate appendix of the spoke-bone. Injuries to upper eyelids of the left eye. 

 

«In Artemivsk, the doctors told me that I would never walk again, but the doctors in the Kyiv hospital said that the chance for me to walk again was 70%. Doctor Yaminsky from the Romodanov’s Institute of Neurosurgery visited me and offered an operation. I agreed and they were getting me ready for the operation for three weeks, but they had to delay it after I went unconscious just before the operation because I was so anxious. After the operation, I had a couple of rough days, but, on the third day, I felt better and started feeling my legs. In five days, they started putting me in a sitting position on the bed and the chair. After this hospital, I was transferred to the rehabilitation unit of the Lviv Military Hospital. The surgeons there examined my spine and said that the structure in my spine had moved and they prohibited me from sitting. My dad took my x-rays back to the surgeon who operated on me in Kyiv. The surgeon said that my spine should be like that and will remain lightly bended, and that I don’t need a new operation… Currently, I am just planning to try and learn to sit».

During the operation in Kyiv, the surgeon put a special gel into Mykhaylo’s vertebras and installed metallic plates. This structure indeed could have moved during Mykhaylo’s transfer to the Lviv hospital. The doctors in Lviv found that a sharp edge of the bone is threatening to damage the spine cord, and there is only 1/3 of the cord left anyway. They are saying that Mykhaylo needs an urgent operation. Mykhaylo and his parents would like to get other opinions and further examination by neurosurgeons, for which they need money. Mykhaylo’s family is not well-off, his parents have sold everything they could to help their son.

To contribute toward Mykhaylo's treatments and therapies, please visit your branch or contact the call centre at 1.800.461.0777 to make a donation.

Lots of photos of the injured soldiers we are helping can be found on our Facebook page in the album UCU Helps Ukraine.

Read the stories of some of our other heroes:

Andriy, Mykhaylo, Serhiy K., Olexander, Victor, Serhiy, Olexander, Andriy, Anton, Oleksij, Yevhen, Yurij, Serhij, and Ruslan.

Questions and inquiries about this initative can be directed to the UCU Helps Ukraine committee: 
Kateryna Litvinjuk klitvinjuk@ukrainiancu.com
Michael Zienchuk mzienchuk@ukrainiancu.com
Roman Mlynko rmlynko@ukrainiancu.com

Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus and Ruslana - TICKETS available now!

Final tickets now on sale!!!

Tickets are available for order to the Ukrainian Bandursit Chorus concert with special guest Ruslana at Ukrainian Credit Union Limited Branches across Ontario.

IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ

If you want tickets, please either call Yuriy Diakunchak at 416-763-5575 x208 or place your orders with your local branch. Tickets will be held centrally so once you make your order at your local branch they will be sent out for pick up. this is to ensure that everyone across our network has equal access to the best tickets available. It also helps us avoid a logistical nightmare of trying to figure out which tickets are in which of 13 branches. This way, we have them all in one convenient spot.

You can also order tickets from Massey Hall or through TicketMaster but then you will have to pay the handling fee which we will not be charging you.

Oil prices cheer Ukrainians up once again

Over the past week and a half, the price of WTI crude oil has dropped by 9%. Price weakness accelerated on Friday and today – the price fell by more than 6.0%.  The oil price movement over the past four months is starting to look like a perfect “dead cat bounce”: the price bounced off its US$43.5/barrel low in mid-March 2015 to above $60/barrel in May-June and has been slipping since late June to about $55.5/barrel now.

Ukrainians all over the world have been watching oil prices closely for more than a year now, ever since the start of the Russian invasion. Ukraine is a net importer of oil and gas, while at the same time these industries constitute a vital source of revenues for Russia’s economy. On the back of the accelerated decline in the Russian economy (the country’s GDP dropped by 4.2% in April and by 4.9% in May 2015) and geopolitical troubles for Russia (like today’s proposal by the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to establish a tribunal to prosecute the suspects in the MH17 disaster), the latest oil price decline is giving Ukrainians one more reason to be optimistic.
The current price decline is caused by the fact that the number of U.S. oil-drilling rigs rose by 12 to 640 in the past week which ended the 29 week - long downward streak (Baker Hughes via marketwatch.com). During the period of lower oil prices, the rig-count had been falling. However even during this period the U.S. oil output has remained quite strong. Additionally, the deadline to reach a nuclear deal with Iran expires next Tuesday. A final agreement would eventually allow for the release of more Iranian oil into the global market. These facts and expectations are signalling that oil prices may remain under pressure in the foreseeable future.

Ukrainian Credit Union Limited

Ціни на нафту знову піднімають настрій українцям

За минулі півтора тижні ціна сирої нафти марки WTI знизилася на 9%. Зниження прискорилося у п'ятницю і сьогодні - ціна впала більш наж на 6.0%.  Рух цін на нафту за останні чотири місяці починає виглядати як ідеальний «відскік дохлої кішки»: ціна відскочила від свого найнижчого значення на рівні 43.5 дол. США за барель в середині березня 2015 р. до вище ніж $60/барель в травні-червні і впала з кінця червня до $55.5/барель станом на сьогодні.
Українці по всьому світі спостерігають за ціною нафти вже більше року, з початку російського вторгнення. Україна є нетто-імпортером нафти і газу, у той час як ці галузі є найважливішим джерелом доходів для російської економіки. На тлі прискореного зниження російської економіки (ВВП країни впав на 4.2% в квітні і на 4.9% в травні 2015 р.) і геополітичних проблем для Росії (таких як сьогоднішня пропозиція Прем'єр-міністра Нідерландів Марка Рютте заснувати міжнародний трибунал для переслідування підозрюваних в катастрофі MH17), нове зниження цін на нафту дає українцям ще одну причину для кращого настрою.

Поточне зниження цін нафти викликане тим, що кількість американських бурових установок на минулому тижні виросла на 12 одиниць до 640. Таким чином, закінчився 29-тижневий період падіння цієї кількості (Baker Hughes та marketwatch.com). У період низьких цін на нафту кількість бурових установок у СШАпадала. Однак навіть у цей період видобуток нафти у США залишався на високому рівні. Крім того, термін для досягнення угоди в іранських ядерних переговорах закінчується в наступний вівторок. Остаточна угода з іранського питання в кінцевому підсумку випустила би багато іранської нафти на світовий ринок. Ці факти і очікування сигналізують, що ціни на нафту можуть залишатися на низьких рівнях в осяжному майбутньому.

Українська Кредитова Спілка Лимитед

Win a ticket to see "HEARTBEAT and other ways to say I love you"

Win a pair of tickets to go to "HEARTBEAT and other ways to say I love you" performance, running July 3rd-11th at The Annex Theatre as part of the 2015 Toronto Fringe Festival.

Just Like our Facebook page plus this contest picture and you'll be automatically entered! 

Contest ends July 7th, 2015.