This column, from the weekly opinion piece MATTER OF FACT, first appeared on BrooklynReporter.com, the Home Reporter and Spectator dated February 4, 2022
Last week, Russian president Vladimir Putin had his nation’s military, one of the largest in the world, invaded Ukraine in an unprovoked attack. This indefensible aggression against a sovereign nation and its people raises many topics of concern, but first and foremost in any conversation on the matter must be Ukrainian people.
The images coming from Ukraine of an invading army’s tanks rolling down residential streets and of city squares being shelled are horrifying. Urban areas that look much like Southern Brooklyn have suddenly become warzones. I cannot begin to comprehend what it is like for the people of Kyiv or Kharkiv who, in a matter of days, went from going to work and taking their kids to school to sheltering from nighttime bombardments and taking up arms to defend their homeland.
New York City is home to more Ukrainian Americans than any area in the United States, with the majority of those living in Southern Brooklyn. In neighborhoods like Bensonhurst, after Chinese-born residents, Ukraine is the nation of origin of more foreign-born members of the community than any other country. Brighton Beach, by far, has more immigrants originally from Ukraine than from any other nation.
On Sunday, February 27, hundreds of community members from Brighton Beach and surrounding areas gathered at a candlelight vigil in Asser Levy Park to show support for Ukraine. The diverse crowd that gathered sang songs and read poetry. Most of those in attendance have family and friends in Ukraine and are dealing with the trauma of watching from thousands of miles away as the country they have deep ties to is attacked by a foreign power.
Angela Kravtchenko, a local activist who is now a candidate for Democratic District Leader of Assembly District 46, was one of the organizers of the candlelight vigil. I spoke to her a few days later and from the first words of our conversation, it was impossible for her to not become incredibly emotional about what she has seen happening in the country where she was born and raised.
“Ukraine is not just fighting for its democracy. Democracy is weakened everywhere. They’re fighting for democracy everywhere.”
Angela Kravtchenko
Angela is originally from Mykolaiv in the south of Ukraine, near the Black Sea. The area is one in which invading Russian forces have focused heavily on during their brutal campaign. Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, is where Angela studied architecture before coming to the United States in 1993. The city is just 25 miles from Ukraine’s northern border with Russia and has faced some of the heaviest assaults thus far. Angela explained how difficult it is to see the streets where she grew up, being bombed and to talk to family members who are there, living through it.
Angela was also clear about the broader implications of this unprovoked attack by Russia, saying, “Ukraine is not just fighting for its democracy. Democracy is weakened everywhere. They’re fighting for democracy everywhere.”
We have seen democratic norms pushed to the limit the past few years in many countries, including our own. Free and fair elections in the United States have been under attack and, though it is not comparable to an assault by a foreign military, the seat of our national government — the United States Capitol — was attacked by insurrectionists just over one year ago.
The justifications Putin has claimed for his attack on Ukraine have been complete propaganda, from stating that he is trying to rid a country whose president is Jewish of Nazi leadership to preposterous accusations of genocide that he says Russia must prevent. In America, we have not quite seen this level of fake news, but absolutely false information from some political leaders has been a growing problem that has led to violence here.
This sort of invasion in Europe has not been seen since the era of Nazi Germany. There have been valid points raised regarding how similar attacks in other parts of the world in recent years do not garner the same level of attention. There is truth to that, so while the media and everyday Americans give Ukraine the attention this moment demands, we should be reminded to do so for all innocent people who face the kind of unjustified military attacks the world is witnessing in Ukraine.
