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Ukraine says Russia is massing troops on its border, and pro-Moscow separatists were systematically violating a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, Reuters reports from Moscow the same day Kievs parliament officially declared an escalation in the east.

Just now catching up? The war in eastern Ukraine...has escalated sharply in recent days, the New York Times Andrew Kramer reported Tuesday from Moscow. [F]our Ukrainian soldiers were killed and another seriously wounded in a battle against Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk Region, Kramer writes.

Whats more, the U.S. militarys European Command raised its watch level from possible crisis to potential imminent crisis the highest level in response to the deployment of the additional Russian troops. New equipment has been seen among the Russian-backed rebels, too; artillery fire has increased as well. And Russian negotiators have warned of a breakdown in peace talks that have been dragging on for years, the Times reports.

Russias reax: Point the finger at Kiev. We express concern over the growing tension and express concern that one way or another the Ukrainian side could take provocative actions that would lead to war. We really dont want to see that, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today from the Russian capital.

Russian hackers are believed to have snatched more State Department emails in a breach that happened last year at the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs and Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Politico reports.

ICYMI: Suspected Russian hackers accessed former Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolfs emails last year, too, the Associated Press reported Monday.

And on the U.S. side, cyber defense is getting more difficult: Staffers are worn out, money is tight and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is struggling to keep up with multiple competing crises, including the recently uncovered intrusions blamed on Russia and China, Politico reported separately Tuesday.

One more Russian thing: A new report from Brookings says the U.S. military should anticipate encounters with Russian private military contractors in the field. PMCs allow the Russian government to operate in places where it could not openly do so at least not without drawing international retribution or sanctions. The Department of Defense (DoD) and U.S. military leaders must plan for this increased PMC presence. What measures must be taken to protect American forces and safeguard U.S. interests? And what procedures could the U.S. military implement to effectively counter PMC operations in certain countries around the world? Some ideas, here.

PMCs in the CAR: Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group, a private military contractor, have committed human rights abuses in the Central African Republic while fighting alongside government forces, according to a group of independent UN experts, The Guardian reports. The country has been racked by a renewed bout of civil war since an alliance of rebel factions launched an offensive. More, here.

New Small Aircraft Carrier Unlikely, Admiral Says As US Navy Begins New Assessment // Marcus Weisgerber: Air warfare chief: I believe the L-class ships operating with the F-35B fit that bill.

A US Ambassador Ends His Service on the Front Lines in Syria // William Roebuck: Reflections on U.S. foreign policy in a wartorn state.

The Suez Grounding Was an Accident. The Next Blocked Chokepoint Might Not Be. // Scott Savitz: Military planners must bear in mind the tactic of blockships.

Heres How Russia and China Are Helping the U.S. // Yasmeen Serhan, The Atlantic: Beijing and Moscow are filling the vaccine gap that wealthy countries helped create.

Americas Immigration Amnesia // Caitlin Dickerson, The Atlantic: Despite recurrent claims of crisis at the border, the United States still does not have a coherent immigration policy.

Welcome to this Wednesday edition of The D Brief from Ben Watson with Bradley Peniston. Send us tips from your community right here. And if youre not already subscribed to The D Brief, you can do that here. On this day in 1945, German test pilot Hans Fay defected to the Allies but only when he learned his parents hometown of Lachenspeyerdorf was under U.S. control and landed his Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1 jet fighter at Frankfurt/Rhein-Main Airfield. The Allies would have another 16 months to learn about its design before an Army Air Corps pilot crashed it after an engine caught fire during a test flight over Ohio in August the following year.

Japan, South Korea security officials are headed to Annapolis. President Bidens National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will welcome his counterparts from Tokyo and Seoul to a Trilateral National Security Advisors Dialogue on Friday at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. The meeting comes on the heels of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austins first overseas trip to both countries about two weeks ago.Attending: Japans National Security Secretariat Secretary General Shigeru Kitamura, and South Koreas National Security Advisor Suh Hoon.Topics of discussion include maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, and combating climate change...reflecting the importance we place on broadening and deepening our cooperation on key issues and advancing our shared prosperity across a free and open Indo-Pacific, National Security Council Spokesperson Emily Horne said in a statement Tuesday evening.

Hundreds of Chinese fishing ships are ignoring Philippine requests (Reuters) to leave its 200-mile exclusive economic zone while they allegedly wait out a storm near the contested Whitsun Reef, where some 220 boats have been fishing against Manilas wishes for the past several weeks.About this place: The reef, which Manila calls Julian Felipe, is a boomerang-shaped and shallow coral region about 175 nautical miles (324 kilometers) west of Bataraza town in the western Philippine province of Palawan, AP reported 10 days ago.About that storm: Its hard to find, judging by video from the location in question, Greg Poling of the Center for Strategic and International Studies points out on Twitter.The Philippines defense chief says hes deployed his air force to monitor the ships, and hes requested China order the fishing vessels out of Manilas EEZ, he said this weekend (al-Jazeera). We are ready to defend our national sovereignty and protect the marine resources of the Philippines, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Saturday.Stern talk: Neither the Philippines nor the international community will ever accept Chinas assertion of its so-called indisputable integrated sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, the Philippines task force on the South China Sea said in a statement today, according to Reuters, which called it Manilas strongest [statement] since President Rodrigo Duterte took power in 2016 and sought to befriend Beijing. Read on, here.

France immediately rejected a UN report accusing Paris of killing 16 civilians at a wedding in Mali back in January, Reuters reports.According to the UN, a wedding celebration was held that brought together about 100 civilians at the site of the strike, among whom five armed individuals, presumed members of [alleged regional al-Qaeda affiliate] Katiba Serma, were present. The strike is believed to have killed 19 people at that wedding, including three accused members of Katiba Serma.According to the French military, The only concrete sources on which this report is based are local testimonies. They are never transcribed, the identity of the witnesses is never specified, nor the conditions in which the testimonies were gathered...It is therefore impossible to distinguish credible sources from false testimonies by possible terrorist sympathisers or individuals under the influence (including threats) from jihadist groups.Quick background, via Reuters: France has been embroiled in Malis conflict since 2013, when it intervened to push back Islamist militants who were advancing south after seizing the desert north. The conflict has since spread to neighbouring countries in the West African Sahel region like Burkina Faso and Niger, leading to rising criticism of French forces from local activists and some politicians. More here.

The U.S. just pledged almost $600 million for Syrian refugees, Americas Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced Tuesday. That could help a U.N.-coordinated effort [that] is seeking some $4.2 billion to help Syrians inside the country and $5.8 billion for countries hosting refugees, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Some of the alleged Capitol insurrectionists are now coming on hard times, and some are even apparently a bit sorry for stoking and participating in that insurrection on Jan. 6.Among the rude awakenings: No plea deals yet, though they may be in the works, the Associated Press reports. Given it was an attack on what many regard as the citadel of American democracy, the sentiment among prosecutors, judges and the public at large, at least for now, isnt exactly lenient. More including a possible defense invoking the psychology of crowds here.

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Today's D Brief: Ukraine, Russia escalate; Chinese fishing boats, unwanted; Small carrier, unneeded?; Lessons from Suez; And a bit more. - Defense One

More than six years have passed since the so-called Minsk II accords brought an end to the last high-intensity military conflict in Ukraine. But it would be unduly complacent to suppose that this hiatus will last much longer.

Since the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreement [of 5 September 2014] was signed by the representatives of Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE and the unrecognised leaders of the two self-proclaimed Donbas republics on 12 February 2015, more Ukrainian servicemen have been killed in the ensuing low-intensity conflict than in the time since the conflict in southern and eastern Ukraine began.1

Yet this fact has not discouraged many in the West from treating the precarious post-Minsk conditions as a new status quo, when in fact Minsk produced nothing more than a highly contested and continuously flouted armistice. Despite numerous rounds of subsequent negotiation, two at summit level, the gap in perspective about what the accords stipulate and what obligations they entail has not been narrowed one iota.

Alongside the belief in the emergence of a status quo, a second belief has taken root: that Russia is content with this status quo and simply seeks its ratification. This belief rests on two sound assumptions and two erroneous ones.

The first sound assumption is that so long Russia controls these separate areas [otdelniye rayoniy], as well as the interstate border, Ukraine will not be able to reassert its control without its consent. The second is that, so long as this is the case, NATO membership for Ukraine is off the table.

But the first erroneous assumption is that these achievements define the limit of Russias objectives. To the contrary, even in Yeltsins time, Russias primary goal, in former President Dmitry Medvedevs words, was to synchronise the development of the two states, a goal pursued by hard diplomacy and soft coercion until 2014 and by hybrid war ever since.

By Moscows lights, the Minsk accords guarantee the republics a place in Ukraines structures of power and a de facto veto over its fundamental course. This is an outcome that Ukraine refuses to accept. So far, its Normandy partners, France and Germany, refuse to accept it either, and this is no less true for the United States. Thus for Russia, the armistice is becoming an increasingly exasperating obstacle to the achievement of its objectives. That discrepancy exposes the hollowness of the second assumption: that so long as diplomacy and dialogue take place, conflict will not resume. Yet diplomatic stagnation and the freezing of conflict are not synonymous.

Despite much euphoria elsewhere, within weeks of Volodymr Zelenskys election in April 2019, the Kremlin concluded that he was weak, that his administration was conflicted and that he could be induced to advance Russias overall objectives.

Almost from the start, the contrast between Zelenskys conciliatory approach and Petro Poroshenkos obduracy was all too apparent. To the discomfort of the professionals in Ukraines Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its Armed Forces, Zelenskys Chief of Staff, Andrii Yermak an individual with no diplomatic or military credentials became the custodian of back channels to Moscow. Indeed, the full and comprehensive cease-fire established on 22 July 2020, on terms that Ukraines military found incapacitating and unworkable, only reconfirmed Zelenskys cooperativeness.2

Yet for whatever combination of reasons, Zelensky appears to have changed his attitude, and this might be true for Germany and France as well. It is now known that on the eve of the December 2019 summit, the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) prepared five scenarios for overcoming the Minsk impasse. Although the scenarios remain unpublished, they possibly contributed to Zelenskys visible self-confidence at the summit.

Much more recently, in January 2021, Viktor Medvedchuks successor on the Trilateral Contact Group, former president Leonid Kravchuk, announced that the formers role in facilitating the release of Ukrainian hostages would be terminated. This was a bold step. For months, and with Russias backing, Medvedchuk had presented Zelensky with a Hobsons choice: either accept prisoner exchanges under his auspices and to his political benefit or halt the process, to the detriment of Zelenskys humanitarian objectives as well as his popularity.

Moreover, these steps were but the beginning of Medvedchuks woes. Since former President Leonid Kuchma reluctantly appointed him Head of the Presidential Administration in 2002, his place in the Ukrainian political system has been analogous to that of an aneurysm in the brain: dangerous to keep in place and potentially life-threatening to remove. Ukraine is at war with Russia de facto, yet Vladimir Putin is godfather to Medvedchuks daughter.

On 17 March 2014 Medvedchuk was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department for his role in actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine; Canada sanctioned him the same day.3Nevertheless, three months later President Poroshenko appointed him alongside Kuchma as Ukraines representative on the newly established Trilateral Contact Group.

On 19 February, the NSDC did the unthinkable. It sanctioned all property and assets owned by Medvedchuk and his wife for financing terrorism (i.e. the insurgency), following a decree by Zelensky banning broadcasts by the three pro-Russian television channels owned by his ally, Taras Kozak.4 For the Kremlin, even leaving aside the personal factor, this is a major blow, as Medvedchuk, his party and his media holdings had become its principal instrument for changing Ukraines course. In response, Putins spokesman, Dmitriy Peskov opined that Ukraine might now be considering a military solution to the conflict.5

The third new dynamic is an apparent tilt towards Ukraine by its two Normandy partners, Germany and France. Merkel had signalled the first move in this direction when she apparently backed Zelenskys demand to alter several key political provisions of the Minsk accords during the December 2019 summit. On 4 March, Yermak announced a new joint Franco-German and Ukrainian roadmap for Minsk, thereby also defying Russias insistence that the Minsk accords be implemented as written.

The fourth new dynamic, and hardly the least important, is the advent of the Biden administration. In his State Department speech on 4 February, Bidens clear message to Russia was the days of rolling over in the face of Russias actions are over. Just how much substance he can give to this assertion at a time Washingtons eyes are fixed on China is a question that Russians doubtless are asking themselves.

The conclusion of Russias military establishment is well summarised by Pavel Felgengauer: The West is waging hybrid war against Russia on many fronts: in Belarus, in Ukraine, with respect to Alexei Navalny. And Russia must not sit defensively, but actively counter-attack.6

Since the signing of Minsk-II, several war scares have erupted, none of them plausible and none of which bore fruit. The latest brandishing of sabres is different. Russia is losing the political initiative, yet it retains formidable military power. The combination of political necessity and military opportunity is never auspicious.

Since January, several warning indicators have appeared. But of what?

Given these factors, what is least and most likely to happen?

Of all possible scenarios, the annexation of Donbas is the least likely. Were it to take place, the Minsk accords, very much weighted in Russias favour, would fall to the ground. So would any prospect of reintegrating the republics into Ukraine on Russias terms. Russia would thereby lose its most direct means of influencing Ukraines future trajectory. Doubtless for these reasons, Peskov immediately and sharply disavowed Simonyans remarks.11

The launch of full-scale military operations analogous to the Russian combined arms offensives of summer 2014/winter 2015 is less unlikely but still implausible. The scenario runs afoul of three obstacles. First, as noted by the Ukrainian expert, Mikhail Zhirokhov, the invading forces would need to traverse an urbanised zone or natural obstacles that provide only two or three points at which forces could be introduced. Moreover, the encroaching muddy season [rasputitsa] is inhospitable to large-scale operations. Second, such an operation requires hundreds of tanks and a large tail of diesel tankers, difficult to conceal. Photo-reconnaissance of columns of forces heading from Rostov to Ukraine are consistent with localised operations, but not deep penetrations across the demarcation line. Third, as noted by Mikhail Samus, for all its shortcomings, Ukraines army is not the army of 2015, and it would offer proper resistance.

A localised escalation, dramatic and devastating, leading to the deployment of Russian peacekeepers on the current demarcation line, is probably the most realistic option. In the view of Sergiy Garmash, its aim would be to create a new reality and reformat dynamics in the region. It would have the merit of preserving existing territorial arrangements, at least outwardly, yet it would allow for the revival of military operations at any moment required by Moscow.12Moreover, it is the one military option that fits observable evidence: the movement of forces from Russia and the mobilisation of local reserves.

Nevertheless, it requires a convincing pretext, in other words a Ukrainian attack (if only the retaliation that Kravchuk has called for since 4 March). The likely purpose of todays creeping escalation is to engineer just such a provocation. In 2017, a Russian general (GRU, retd) warned the author that Russia might deploy peacekeepers if Ukraine did not meet its obligations. Then the option was judged to be impractical. Today, options are perceived differently.

Defence Minister Sergey Shoygus recent weekend in the taiga with Putin suggests that such an operation might be weeks away or less. What we can assume with confidence is that he did not travel there to discuss meteorites, drink beer and walk in the forest, as Russian media have reported.13

That a major escalation might rally Ukraine and revitalise Western support for it is eminently possible. But that does not diminish its probability. One looks in vain for signs that experience has refuted the orthodoxy that compelling [Ukraine] by force into brotherly relations is the only method historically shown to be effective.14It is also possible that these rumours of war will dissipate as others have in the past. But if not, no one should be surprised.

Views expressed in ICDS publications are those of the author(s).

1Whilst France and Germany did not sign the accords, President Hollande and Chancellor Merkel negotiated them together with President Poroshenko and President Putin. The representatives of the so-called Donbas republics were not present during the negotiations and played no part in them.

2For the views of Ukrainian experts: Complete ceasefire in Donbas, or problems in detail, Ukrinform, 23 July 2020, http://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-polytics/3069095-povne-pri;

3US Dept of the Treasury, http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages; Government of Canada, Sanctions List, http://www.canada.ca/en/news/archive/2014/03/sanctions-li

4NSDC hits sanctions on Putins ally Medvedchuk, UNIAN 19 February 2021, http://www.unian.info/politics/medvedchuk-nsdc-sanctions-

5Peskov commented on Kyivs introduction of sanctions against Medvedchuk [Peskov prokommentiroval vvedennye Kievom sanktsii protif Medvedchuka], gazeta.ru, 20 February 2021, http://www.gazeta.ru/politics/news/2021/02/20/n_15645092.

6Donbas: new war or local operation? What is behind the flare-up in eastern Ukraine? [Donbass: novaya voyna ili localnaya operatsiya? S chem svyazano obostrenie na vostoke Ukrainiy?] BBC Russian Service, 11 March 2021, http://www.bbc.com/russian/features-56365032

7Igor Shatrov, Donbass: Lavrov threatens to tear Macron and Merkel out of their hiding place [Donbass: Lavrov prigrozil dostat Makrona i Merkel ] Svobodnaya Pressa, 20 January 2021, svpressa.ru/politic/article/287551/

8Head of RT Simonyan in Donetsk: Mother Russia, take Donbas home [Glava RT Simonyan in Donetsk: Rossiya-matushka, zaberi Donbass domoy], Radio Svoboda, 28 January 2021, http://www.svoboda.org/a/31074432.html

9 TCG spokesman discloses death toll in Ukraine Army in Donbas since latest truce, UNIAN, 27 March,www.unian.info/war/donbas-tcg-spokesman-discloses-

10BBC, op.cit.

11Peskov commented on Simonyans words concerning the inclusion of Donbas into Russia [Peskov prokommentiroval slova Simonyan o vkliuchenii Donbassa v sostav Rossii], gazeta.ru, 29 January 2021, http://www.gazeta.ru/politics/news/2021/01/29/n_15551876.

12Sergiy Garmash, article in Mirror of the Week [Dzerkalo Tyzhnya/Zerkalo Nedeli].

13 In the taiga: Vladimir Putin and Sergey Shoygu spent a weekend in Siberia [V tayge: Vladimir Putin i Sergey Shoygu proveli vykhodniye v Sibiri], 21 March 2021, rg.ru/2021/03/21/vladimir-putin-i-sergej-shojgu-pr

14Vladislav Surkov, Surkov: I am interested in acting against reality [Surkov: mne interesno deystvovat protiv realnosti], Aktualnye Kommentarii, February 26, 2020, actualcomment.ru/surkov-mne-interesno-deystvovat-p.

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Rumours of War: Another Russian Surprise in Ukraine? - RKK ICDS

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Global Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Market 2021" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The "Global Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Market 2021" reveals continuing interest of online retail and payments major global players in cryptocurrency and blockchain-based technology. The publication indicates also that developing countries are leading the market.

Cryptocurrency is gaining momentum globally, with developing markets setting the trends

The report cites studies showing that by 2030, blockchain technology is expected to be a significant contributor to the global GDP, lifting it up by close to USD 2 trillion. Meanwhile, if the situation as at present, developing countries will be setting the trends in cryptocurrency implementation and development.

Currently, Ukraine and Russia are leading the ranking of cryptocurrency adoption. Some African countries made it to the top ten despite their infrastructure challenges, and such Asian countries as China, Vietnam, India, Thailand, Pakistan, are already among the top 20 countries by cryptocurrency adoption. Middle East is also catching up, despite the fact that many countries in the region still do not allow any activities connected to blockchain.

The health crisis affects retail and service sectors unequally

Globally, businesses and consumers are becoming more open to blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, so that for major online retail and payments players there was no choice left, to meet the demand.

As cited in this publication, Visa and Mastercard expand their offerings by incorporating blockchain in different forms, PayPal announced intention to expand its cryptocurrency capabilities, Amazon and Apple are to introduce their digital currency projects, and Square, which was the first public company to allow transactions of Bitcoins via its Cash App, has made serious investments in this area.

All in all, despite these large companies being increasingly active with Blockchain, the market is likely to see many newcomers in the near future.

Report Coverage

Report Structure

Global Overview

Banks Activity and Trends

Companies Mentioned

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/wle43i

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Global Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Market Report 2021: Ukraine and Russia are Leading the Ranking of Cryptocurrency Adoption -...

Summary

Healthcare workers are at the forefront of Ukraines response to COVID-19, risking their lives and their physical and mental health. The conditions of work of healthcare workers not only affect their own rights, but also impact the rights of health service users, including their access to and quality of health services.

This briefing note examines the impact of the pandemic and the Governments response to it on the rights of healthcare workers in Ukraine, of which 83 per cent are women. It looks, in particular at the right to just and favourable conditions of work, to social security and to effective participation, and how their situation affects essential health services. The briefing note contains recommendations to the Government and local authorities to this end.Healthcare workers in Ukraine are underpaid, receiving salaries, which are below the national average. In many cases, healthcare workers, especially at middle and junior levels, receive a minimum wage that does not provide for a decent living for them and their families.

Temporary bonuses introduced by the Government have partly remedied the situation for some healthcare workers involved in the COVID-19 response, but also raised concerns about lack of pay security, transparency, accountability, equal pay for work of equal value and a further contribution to the gender pay gap.

Healthcare workers lack healthy and safe working conditions, in particular due to lack of sufficient personal protective equipment, effective infection prevention and control mechanism at the workplace and mental health and psychosocial support services. Health care workers also suffer from increased workloads and insufficient time for rest. At the same time, those with other caring responsibilities, mainly women due to prevalent gender roles in Ukraine, face the increased burden of unpaid care work, especially during periods when the Government suspended care and education services in response to COVID-19.

Health care workers also lack adequate social protection. Out of the more than 60,000 cases of health care workers infected by COVID-19 by February 2021, only a small percentage have been recognized by the authorities as work-related, impeding the workers right to compensation.

A lack of effective dialogue between the authorities and health care workers and exclusion of healthcare workers from government policy-making prevents the authorities from developing and implementing effective policy measures aimed at protection of healthcare workers during the pandemic and beyond. Healthcare trade unions stated they were not effectively consulted about the Governments COVID-19 response in healthcare at the national and local levels, nor about the ongoing healthcare reform process. Furthermore, HRMMU is alarmed about cases of reprisals against healthcare workers who publicly exposed the poor preparedness and response of the healthcare sector for the COVID-19 crisis.

Dangerous working conditions and inadequate wages and social security, including for work-related illness, disability or death, have led to healthcare workers leaving their jobs. Given that Ukraine faced a shortage of healthcare workers before the pandemic, their departure is likely to further negatively impact the populations right to health. This in turn will likely impact the chance of Ukraine being able to meet Sustainable Development Goal 3 on ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in particular Articles 7 and 9, guarantees the right to work and to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work, including remuneration which provides all workers, as a minimum, with fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value without distinction of any kind, a decent living for themselves and their families, safety and healthy working conditions, and rest and reasonable limitation of working hours, and the right to social security, in particular social insurance. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights also guarantees the right to participate in public affairs and the freedoms of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association.

In line with its international human rights obligations and national commitments, including the Sustainable Development Goals, Ukraine should significantly increase its investments in the health sector to improve working conditions for healthcare workers, including by providing them with decent pay and improved occupational safety and health and social security, and by ensuring an effective mechanism of consultations with healthcare workers at various levels, including through trade unions.

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Briefing note: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers in Ukraine February 2021 - Ukraine - ReliefWeb

A Calgary artist is busy passing down a centuries-old tradition for Easter this year.

Cathy Reitzsays pysanka from the Ukrainian verb pysanty, meaning "to write" is the practiceof creatingintricate Ukrainian Easter eggs.

WATCH | See how much detail goes into each egg in the video above

"My great aunt taught me she was taught by her mother before, and her mother before that," she said.

"It was such a deep, meaningful tradition to do at Easter."

Now, shemakes almost 50 pysanky eggs every year, witheach requiring hours ofcreativity and patience.

"To be able to do it here in Calgary is really special, and it's really meaningful. And I'm just one of quite a few in Calgary that are actively keeping up the tradition of pysanka writing."

The eggs may look like a fun Easter craft, but inReitz's case it can take five to nine hours to complete one egg.

"You can see all the hard work, all the hours you put in, and see how it translated," she said.

First, she starts by ensuringall the insides of the egg are completelyremoved.

"It is very heartbreaking after spending hours on a design, when you go to hollow it out afterwards, taking the insides out, and it cracks on you and you're left with a mess," she said.

Once the shells are treated and each egg is blown out, she's ready to start drawing; however, the artist warns a lot of patience is needed during this process.

"In between each layer, you then have a new colour. And you can't start right away. You need to wait for the process, for the colour to dry, before you're able to keep on writing."

While most designs follow Ukraine tradition, Reitz says each symbol has a meaning and sometimes a special wish.

"I have one that I'm doing right now that is for a friend who lost her house before Christmas in a house fire. And it is filled with symbolism of protection, new beginnings, good wishes for the future," she explained.

Ukrainians around the world still gather to write pysanky during Orthodox Easter, which will land on May 2 this year.

But in pre-modern times, the eggs served a more functional purpose: They were thought to have magical properties.

Some were kept inside the home to guard against storms and fire; some were placed with animals to promote fertility;and a few were saved to place in the coffins of loved ones who died during the year.

It was traditionally done every Easter by the women in Ukrainian families and was not supposed to be attempted by children.

However, theworldwide practicenow has a dedicated museum to the art of pysankain the Ukrainian city ofKolomyia.

Reitzsays she has sent one of her own eggs to be featured at the museum.

"Now that I've been able to send one, I actually truly feel like a piece of me is out there to help represent my family, represent their history and have a little piece of my art out there," she said.

Read more:
Calgary artist connects with Ukrainian culture by making dozens of intricate Easter eggs - CBC.ca