2nd anniversary of Ukraine/Russia brings complicated feelings
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Saturday is the second anniversary of Russian forces launching rockets and sending soldiers over the border into Ukraine.
In February 2022, support from American leaders and citizens was strong, especially after early battlefield success shows Ukrainian fighters were outperforming expectations.
Two years later, American political and financial support has sagged while the Hamas October 7th attack and ensuing war between Israel and Hamas has stolen the headlines.
“It’s a little bit of a celebration because Ukraine has been able to withstand the Russian invasion for so long but a little morbid because there is no end in sight,” said Stand with Ukraine KC’s Volodymyr Polishchuk.
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Stand with Ukraine KC is still taking donations to send humanitarian aid to the front lines in the form of 100+ tourniquets and tactical scissors, while helping with mental health aid and household items.
In Kansas City, the extended war is driving Stand with Ukraine KC to start organizing classes teaching the more than 100 families living here about the more mundane parts of American life like paying taxes and getting health insurance.
“There are a lot of Ukrainians who arrived here on temporary status visas and thinking it was only going to last a few months and now they’re faced with the reality they’re going to have to be here a long time,” Polishchuk said. “A lot of the Ukrainians have lost everything because the war has taken place in their cities and its completely destroyed.”
The ongoing fighting has created some pretty large changes for KU Slavic Languages and Literature Professor Dr. Vitaly Chernetsky.
“I put a lot of my other committmenets aside and, as long as I’m being asked, I’m ready to travel to talk to very different audiences,” said Dr. Chernetsky.
It’s sent him around the United States and overseas, talking about Ukrainian culture and what lead up to the current conflict. It’s an important message since Russian President Vladimir Putin has attacked Ukrainian culture as part of his rhetoric around the invasion. Performances and artistic events showcasing Ukrainian culture, Chernetsky says, is a way to fight back.
“Artists become informal ambassadors of the country and its culture and this is very much the case of Ukraine,” Chernetsky said.
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Chernetsky says he’s talking to as many different kinds of people as possible, educating people along the way and addressing misperceptions about the fighting both in and outside Ukraine.
“Most of the U.S. Military aid to Ukraine is actually creating U.S. jobs and paying U.S. workers to modernize the U.S. military,” Chernetsky said. “U.S. is sending old ammunition and supplies to Ukraine and new ammunition and supplies are being manufactured providing jobs in our country and modernizing our army. This is a win-win.”
While he makes that case, political gridlock has made it unlikely that more U.S. aid for Ukraine gets approved quickly.
“There is a little bit of a problem in that human beings unfortunately get used to everything,” Chernetsky said.
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Stand with Ukraine KC will host a rally at the fountain near Country Club Plaza in Mill Creek Park Saturday at 2 pm.
