There are several opinions flying around about how the US should proceed with the war in Ukraine. I don’t think anyone in their right mind is interested in getting involved in a world war, Most of us wish the United States had better leadership that could have thwarted a Russian invasion.
The First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelensky, was supposed to have an interview with ABC but according to several outlets, she was not able to be there in person (for obvious reason). Instead, she wrote a letter where she addressed the world:
“I guess my message is very similar to the one the whole world delivers. Only two simple words: STOP WAR,” she wrote.
Zelenska told the outlet, “As every woman in Ukraine, now I fear for my husband.” The couple has been married for 18 years, according to ABC.
She wrote, ”Every morning before I call him, I pray everything goes well. I also know how strong and enduring he is. He is able to withstand anything, especially when he defends people and things that he loves.”
She questioned Putin and the people who support him and wondered “whether they have ordinary and sincere human feelings.”
Adding, “Ask yourself these questions and you will understand the difference of views on this war”.
“Today, our country and our civilians pay a very high price for the silence and hesitation regarding this issue. Yesterday, it was innocent women and children in the maternity hospital in Mariupol. We have lost more than 71 children because of the Russian war — it is genocide of the Ukrainian people,” Zelenska wrote to ABC News.
She added, “Moreover millions of people are suffering in Mariupol, Kharkiv, Irpin, Sumy and other cities. They don’t have water, food and medicine. Russian soldiers are blocking humanitarian aid. We need to stop it. By saying ‘we,’ I mean the whole world.”
Zelenska requested “citizens of America, Europe and the whole world” to hold their leaders responsible for “silently observing for decades while the regime, where you cannot express your opinion, where the nation has been turned into slaves, grew and strengthened.”
“Leaders have lost their chance for respect. But you haven’t yet!” Zelenska said. “Today, the key life decisions are made in the offices of people who YOU elected as leaders in your countries. These are YOU who gave and keep giving the right to act on your behalf. And when they do not act, when they let our kids die — these are YOU who give them this right.”
“Every day of our fight increases the price that Ukraine pays for securing these values,” Zelenska wrote. “Surely, in this fight as a nation, we become stronger and tougher. I wish the sanctions against Russia from the U.S. and E.U. become the same: stronger and tougher.”
“We ask NATO to close our sky on behalf of all the people of Ukraine, or at least provide us with aircraft so we can defend our sky by ourselves,” Zelenska wrote.
She also expressed a specific message to Ukrainian women, saying, “You are giving life in the bomb shelters, calming children with lullabies, while Russian aviation keeps destroying our peaceful Ukrainian cities,” adding, “I admire your power. The power that becomes tougher than a hammer.”
She also addressed American women and mothers:
“I appeal to you, women in America, and ask to support Ukrainian women and children who escaped from war and are looking for a shelter in your country,” she said. “These days every act of kindness and humanism is vital while we are bravely fighting for freedom for Ukraine, for Europe, for the whole world.”
I think we can all commend the resolve and bravery of the Ukrainian people. US leadership may have failed but several US citizens have stepped up to help where they can. I currently have a very dear cousin who is in Germany, as I write this, helping aged-out orphans she met during several summer hosting programs to apply for visas to other countries.