Breakaway Challenge

[Paciente Flynn]

Thethreat of coronavirus looms large in six self-declared republics that have broken away from post-Soviet states. War and isolation have corroded health care infrastructure, while obstructing the inflow of assistance. International actors should work with local and regional leaders to let life-saving aid through.

Although the resulting suffering could harden the divide between these entities and the states that claim them, a coordinated and thoughtful response could have the opposite effect: help build bridges, save lives and mitigate longer-term dangers, laying the groundwork for engagement and greater understanding between warring parties that could one day help facilitate a more sustainable peace.

That said, while some Ukrainian sources suggested that testing in the statelets was almost non-existent, medical workers in Donetsk said they had limited but functional testing facilities.[fn]Crisis Group telephone interviews, Pavlo Lysyanskyy, 10 April 2020; Vera Iastrebova, 10 April 2020; medical worker, 8 April 2020; medical worker, 9 April 2020.Hide Footnote Likewise, a Luhansk contact claimed that although the statelet lacked dedicated laboratory space, testing for coronavirus was possible.[fn]Crisis Group telephone interview, dialogue practitioner, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Kyiv, 10 April 2020.Hide Footnote

In the meantime, diplomats have developed several ideas focused on delivering aid. One option is to deliver it via Armenian authorities, though Baku would have to approve such an arrangement, and has yet to do so. The same would be true of anything done directly through the de facto authorities.[fn]Crisis Group telephone interview, foreign diplomat, 7 April 2020.Hide Footnote As an alternative, a diplomat offered to arrange a telephone connection between the WHO and Stepanakert to track the situation and potentially provide online training for health care workers.[fn]Crisis Group telephone interview, foreign diplomat, 7 April 2020.Hide Footnote

Transnistrian and Moldovan officials ought to continue their direct medical cooperation, which has already borne fruit, while abstaining from political posturing that risks undermining cooperative response efforts. To ensure effective coordination, they should support regular meetings of the Expert Working Group on Healthcare Issues. Continuing dialogue and transparency can not only prevent further tension, but also save lives.

Given the scope of the crisis, the de facto authorities are taking a serious risk by issuing political demands and impeding active cooperation with the WHO and other UN agencies. If they cannot find an acceptable compromise on travel for WHO specialists, at a minimum they should communicate with them online or by telephone to provide the information necessary to support local efforts at preventing the spread of the virus and organising medical supply deliveries.

The situation in the post-Soviet de facto statelets is potentially dire but far from hopeless. While underlying conflicts involving the statelets to date have proven intractable, they should not stand in the way of a collective response to COVID-19. Paradoxically, at a time when most people are being urged to self-isolate, the most important first step is to de-isolate these regions. Beyond ensuring full respect for ceasefires, local stakeholders ought to actively cooperate so that a broad range of humanitarian workers and supplies can get into the breakaway regions unrestricted. Effective measures will require eschewing any attempt to use humanitarian aid as a vehicle to achieve recognition, non-recognition, or political or diplomatic gains of any sort. Optimally, such unconditional cooperation today could build trust and thus lay the groundwork for more meaningful negotiations later. Regardless, the priority now should be to save lives.

Where physical access proves impossible, whether for political or logistical reasons, donor countries, the WHO and other international organisations should continue to explore technological solutions, including remote advisory connections, to establish virtual reach. Support for medical personnel and other health care providers, even if only virtual, could make the difference between life and death for many.

Access mechanisms may vary. In some cases, physical and virtual access could require working directly with de facto authorities. In others, where the ICRC is present, that organisation can facilitate support from others as well. It already declared Donbas and Nagorno-Karabakh priority areas for its COVID-19 response, and plans to increase funding and activities in both; it may want to do the same in South Ossetia.[fn]Crisis Group Skype interview, foreign diplomat, 6 April 2020.Hide Footnote If the ICRC is to substantially expand activity and fill gaps where others lack access, it will need the funding to do so. States with an interest in mitigating the crisis in this region, as well as the European Commission, should consider stepping up their support.

In Ukraine, Kyiv and the ICRC need first and foremost to work with the de facto authorities in Donbas and with Moscow to get pension payments to statelet pensioners. This step will likely be controversial in Kyiv, and may spark protests there; Ukrainian authorities should seek to minimise backlash by providing clear and exhaustive explanations of the legal basis for the move, how it will be financed and what measures they will take to prevent payments from falling into the wrong hands. Extraordinary measures to provide pensions to vulnerable citizens should be acceptable to the vast majority of Ukrainians, provided they are explained well to the public.

To provide support to Nagorno-Karabakh, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs should build on recent contacts between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, with the aim of facilitating access by UN agencies, including the WHO, and opening the door to their humanitarian aid.

Moldova should continue to work with de facto authorities in Transnistria, including by using the subgroup on health care issues to coordinate and ensure communication and transparency. The group should meet by video teleconference as soon as possible, with OSCE moderation, to ensure that aid reaches the vulnerable.

Competing in the return of the Breakaway Challenge at Friday's NHL All-Star Skills Competition, the 20-year old Hughes was tasked with finding a creative way to attempt a breakaway shot against a goalie. Hughes attempted a shot against Manon Rhaume, the first female to ever play in an NHL game. Hughes was turned away by the former NHL goalie.

Hughes said before the competition that he had a trick up his sleeve. He wasn't joking. The props then came out with Hughes putting items inside of an empty box. In a city known for magicians, Hughes wore a top hat and cape and out came... a miniature Jack Hughes.

The trick gave Hughes a score of 59 out of a possible 60, but Hughes would finish in second place. The final participant, Vegas' Alex Pietrangelo, had the lights go down in T-Mobile Arena and had the Golden Knights drum line make a path with their light-up drums. Pietrangelo's shot did miss the net, but still received a score of 64.

Other competitors in the event were Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov, who did an Alex Ovechkin impression, Anaheim's Trevor Zegras, who did a blindfolded shot dressed like a character from the movie Dodgeball, as well as Chicago's Alex DeBrincat in a shot inspired by the Hangover movie series.

The Breakaway Challenge is a national program to generate donations for the eight Breakaway independent non-profit advocacy partners, including Susan G. Komen, to enhance their innovations to create more moments for patients.

The Breakaway Challenge motivates individuals to embrace and share the joy of a healthy lifestyle while embarking on an initiative to fight cancer and heart disease. Hurry and join today because the challenge ends on June 12!

For what its worth, my first language is English and I was similarly confused by their wording of the goal. Also, I don't mean to 'piggyback' on this post, but I've noticed a similar issue for d-men in BAP. The goal they set of "interrupting" passes almost never registers - hindering your x-factor progress pretty much indefinitely (I gave it 50 games of the regular season and the entire playoffs and managed 3). Since then, i've done some 'experiments', and found that blocking a pass, in addition to actually intercepting a pass, does not register under this category. However, I still manage to get a small number, so I'm thinking that the code for "interrupt 'X' passes" corresponds to an in-game event that's entirely unrelated. Please fix devs

How far down the ice do you have to be for the pass to be considered a BREAKAWAY PASS! At the offensive blue line! Cause I tried it with offsides turned off and I got benched for calling for too many passes hahaha

It says "promise success" because the promise you made to your coach was successful. When you fail the coach's challenge the speech option says "promise failure". Wording confused me at first as well, but you are not promising something extra you are just accepting your coach's praise for successfully completing the promise.

What you want to do is be very aggressive and when your team has the puck, head tail for the blue line. If you're fast and you get there at the right time you get the pass past the defenders and are right on the breakaway. But they really, really fall back fast, so you need to be a fast skater and sometimes call for the puck to get it to work.

The National Hockey League All-Star Skills Competition, officially the NHL All-Star Game SuperSkills Competition during certain past years, is an event on the night preceding the National Hockey League All-Star Game. Started at the 41st National Hockey League All-Star Game in Pittsburgh in 1990, the NHL uses the event to showcase the talents of its all-star participants. The All-Star teams select representatives for each event, with points awarded to the winning team.

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