ANN ARBOR, MI -- As the Russian invasion of Ukraine rolls into its sixth day, one Ukrainian-American is wrestling with conflicted feelings.
“I’m constantly vacillating between dread and despair, pride and determination,” said Borys Potapenko of the Ukrainian Cultural Center and the Michigan chapter of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America. “What the Ukrainian people are doing — millions and millions and millions — some without even any arms, with only a Molotov cocktail or a long knife. They’re out there fighting.”
Potapenko was part of a contingent of roughly 50 Michigan residents headed to Washington, D.C., on Monday afternoon to take part in a rally at the Holodomor Memorial, which honors victims of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide in the 1930s. The rally was hosted by U.S. Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI).
“I gathered colleagues and constituents at the Holodomor Memorial to proclaim that we know our history, and that we will not allow lies about Ukraine’s right to exist to prevail,” Levin wrote on Twitter. “Russian governments have tried to erase Ukraine for hundreds of years, but we will not let them.”
Michigan senators have also vocalized support of Ukraine, passing a resolution on Tuesday that condemns the Russian invasion and calls for sanctions against the country.
The resolution states: “On February 23, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine. Soon after, the Russian military launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor, including sending troops into the country and bombing major cities. This unjustified invasion has already caused needless anguish and loss of life. Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded, and thousands of refugees have fled to neighboring countries to escape the bloodshed.”
Read more: ‘We are standing on their side’: Michigan Senate passes resolution supporting Ukraine
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 with the firing of more than 100 missiles targeted at barracks, ammunition warehouses and 10 airfields, according to reporting from the Associated Press.
Russia shelled key sites in Ukraine capital Kyiv, as well as in Kharkiv, the country second-largest city, on Tuesday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has waived a requirement for entry visas for any foreigner willing to join the country’s International Defense Legion, effective Tuesday, according to the AP.
Potapenko said he has been heartened by the wide support pro-Ukraine rallies have received. A flash mob in support of Ukraine held at Hart Plaza in Detroit over the weekend saw representatives from both the government and other ethnicities, he said.
“The Polish communities, the Lithuanian community, the Latvian, the Estonian communities, the Belarusian communities,” Potapenko said. “They all came and joined us to share our pain and to share our hope for freedom and independence for Ukraine…. It was a really an outpouring of simply Americans who realize how bad the situation is, how dangerous it is, not only for Ukrainians, but for Europe, America and the whole world.”
Potapenko has family who are currently in Ukraine. Another Michigan resident who traveled to the rally, Ukranian-born Mykhailo Dyachun, said he is hoping to bring his family to the United States.
Dyachun’s mother, 82, was evacuated earlier this week, but three of his male family members have joined the Territorial Defense Forces, a volunteer-based organization defending Ukraine. Their wives have been evacuated to a city near the Romanian border.
“He would love to bring all three families to Michigan as refugees,” Potapenko said, translating for Dyachun. “He is well-employed; he has a large home. He wouldn’t need any government support at all. He could take care of them himself.”
The United States currently has not made moves to open doors to Ukrainian refugees, although it has pledged nearly $54 million in humanitarian assistance, with $26 million coming from the Department of State and $28 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
In the State of Union Tuesday, March 1, President Joe Biden said U.S. aid to the Ukraine now totals $1 billion.
“And we will continue to aid the Ukrainian people as they defend their country and to help ease their suffering,” he said.
Jewish Family Services, Washtenaw County’s only refugee resettlement agency, said it is ready to welcome refugees, should they come.
“We are at the ready when we’re asked,” said Devon Meier, the chief development officer for JFS.
Potapenko called the United States Ukrainian refugee response “an issue that is not being resolved.”
“Meanwhile, European countries have resolved all those issues” Potapenko said. “Even Canada has resolved these issues and are taking Ukrainian refugees.”
The United Nations estimates that more than 520,000 people have left Ukraine, according to AP reporting on Monday.
“Experts are anticipating that if things really go to hell in Ukraine, that four to five million refugees may spill into Europe. So this could create a very large humanitarian crisis,” Potapenko said. “Right now, there’s only a couple hundred thousand Ukrainians in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic and so forth, but the war is only five days old.”
Resources for supporting Ukraine
The Ukrainian-American Crisis Response Committee of Michigan pointed donors toward Razom for Ukraine, the United Ukrainian-American Relief Committee, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, the Ukrainian-American Civic Committee of Metropolitan Detroit and the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America. Find more information online on the Ukrainian Cultural Center’s Facebook page.
Several Ann Arbor restaurants are also donating proceeds to Ukrainian relief efforts.
Cinnaholic, 121 E. Liberty St., is offering a Ukraine roll with vanilla frosting, graham crackers and blueberries. The entirety of the profits will be going toward a relief organization, although which one is not yet decided, said owner Doug Moeller.
Le Bon Macaron, 209 S. Fourth Ave., is selling its cake batter macarons in blue and yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian flag. The macarons are available at both its Ann Arbor store on Fourth Avenue and its Grand Rapids location, 209 S. Fourth Ave.
“We may be a French macarons shop, but our grandma was raised by a Ukrainian and Lithuanian immigrant, and our grandpa was raised by Polish immigrants,” the bakery wrote on its social media. “…Our grandma is a strong, Ukrainian woman, and has always been proud of where her family came from, and she made sure to pass that pride down to us.”
Botanical Bakeshop, 508 County St. in Milan, will be hosting a “Bake for Ukraine” pop-up at Hyperion Coffee, 306 N. River St. in Ypsilanti from noon to 2 p.m. on March 6. Proceeds will go to Voices of Children Foundation, which helps children affected by war.
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