We can help our families in Ukraine
— By voting here in the U.S.
This article was originally published in Ukrainian in the Zakordonna Gazette on March 28, 2022.
As a proud Ukrainian American, it has been heartbreaking to see the absolute hell that our friends, neighbors, and loved ones are going through right now in Ukraine.
My grandparents came to America after World War II like so many others, escaping villages that had been burned to the ground by the Germans and families torn apart by war and the creeping dread of the Iron Curtain. My grandmother and her daughter, my mother — who was born in the U.S. but whose first language was Ukrainian — taught me to paint pysanky at Easter, told me dozens of scary stories about Baba Yaga, and shared quietly, and with difficulty, about what had happened that had forced them to flee.
I never thought that what happened to my grandparents over 70 years ago could be happening, once more, in modern, 21st-century Ukraine. That we would see millions of Ukrainian refugees — including our own families, my cousins in Kyiv and elsewhere — again fleeing violence perpetrated by a dictator. I can’t imagine how my grandmother would have responded to what she would see today on the news. She would be horrified like the rest of us.
When Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked and unjustified attack on millions of Ukrainian civilians, my community here in the United States instantly rallied. We’ve all seen the outpouring of support for the Ukrainian people in the past few weeks — Ukrainian businesses with lines out the stores and pierogi on countless plates in signs of solidarity.
But more importantly for our families back in Ukraine, we have also seen unified support from Democratic political leaders, especially President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress, who have stood firm in their condemnation of Putin and his cronies, and taken swift action enacting harsh sanctions to ensure Putin bears the consequences of this violent invasion.
Americans agree we cannot sit idly by while Putin destroys millions of lives — Ukrainians and people from so many backgrounds who live there. We knew we needed to act to protect Ukrainians who deserve freedom and democracy. I applaud President Biden’s strong leadership in this crisis, including the bipartisan sanctions against Putin and Russia and a historic $13.6 billion in funding sent to directly help the Ukrainian people.
But while Democrats have led the charge against Putin and his cronies, Republicans have taken the dictator’s side. There is a dangerous, pro-Putin majority within the Republican Party, led by Donald Trump, who called Putin a “genius” just hours before he invaded Ukraine. These Republicans have turned their backs on the Ukrainian people, with Republican congressman Ted Budd saying the Ukraine is “a total distraction for the American people,” and GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake saying that it would “insult” Americans in the armed forces to defend Ukraine.
Republican JD Vance summed up how his party feels about our loved ones back in Ukraine, saying openly that he doesn’t care what happens to Ukraine, and that we should “let those people 6,000 miles away deal with that” — as if Ukrainians and Ukrainian-Americans living here aren’t terrified every day waiting to hear from our families.
While it’s clear that everyday Americans care deeply about Ukraine, our people, and our future, it’s also clear that Republican leaders do not.
And as I get text after text from my cousins who are thankfully safe for now, but who share terrifying stories about sleeping in bomb shelters, hearing air raid sirens into the night, and driving medication through checkpoints to help sick neighbors, I can’t help but feel furious about their audacity. Our families are under attack. Their lives are in danger every day. How dare Republicans refuse to admit what’s in front of their eyes?
We won’t forget the insults and the support for Putin shown by Donald Trump and his allies. We’ll remember that as Putin launched his first attacks on Ukraine, Trump was singing his praises. We’ll remember that instead of standing up for Ukrainians getting bombed nightly and for President Zelenskyy leading his people through this invasion, Republican politicians continued to mock our families’ pain and push pro-Putin talking points. Remember, Trump was impeached because he tried to extort Zelenskyy for political dirt on Biden. At Trump’s direction, the U.S. withheld critical military aid from Ukraine — the type of aid that would have helped the Ukrainians fight back against Putin’s advances — for political gain.
It’s clear to me which party is on the side of the Ukrainian people, and which is on Putin’s side.
Today, it’s a privilege to work for an organization like American Bridge, where I can channel my rage and fear and bone-deep worries for my family into making sure that no Republican who supports Putin — or who is standing back and laughing while my cousins flee bombs and we wait by the phone every morning to hear news — is ever elected again.
Slava Ukraina.
