Guest column by Roman Moskalenko: South Valley residents can help Ukrainians in the fight for their lives
“What the world is observing now in Ukraine is a huge sign reminding us that no one is safe.”
Photo by Marty Cheek
Lifelong Morgan Hill resident Alexis Kerr carries two signs in support of the Ukrainian people at the March 19 flag-raising ceremony.
By Roman Moskalenko
Roman Moskalenko
The war in Ukraine is shocking the world. I was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine. I have been studying at Oakwood High School in Morgan Hill since 2019. My family, friends, and home are in Ukraine. I’m writing this to ask you to fight like a Ukrainian, to end the suffering in Ukraine, and to keep such horror out of your own borders.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of a sovereign and independent country stole the peaceful sky above Europe and resulted in irreversible world consequences. Sadly, the Russian war in Ukraine started in 2014 when Russia’s military forces crossed Ukrainian borders and occupied the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula and a large part of the Eastern region of Ukraine. However, on Feb. 24, Russia went even further and started bombing all of sovereign Ukraine’s peaceful cities.
What the world is observing now in Ukraine is a huge sign reminding us that no one is safe. Today, Russian missiles are dropping on my home and the homes of millions of other Ukrainians. Russian soldiers are raping Ukrainian women and children. They’re killing Ukrainians in the most inhuman ways. Tomorrow, Russia may reach your home or the home of anyone in the world. Russian television programs are already taunting NATO countries, specifically the United States, by measuring the size of cities they can wipe out with their nuclear bombs. The message is simple: silence is a crime. If you don’t want your house to be bombed by Russian missiles tomorrow, action is essential.
This is the biggest war in Europe since World War II. This is a genocide of Ukrainians. The Bucha Massacre and the current battle for Mariupol, are only two examples. Mariupol, a city the size of Miami or Minneapolis, is being completely depleted during the past two months, leaving its residents with no access to clean water, food, or a way to escape.
The mayor of Mariupol has stated roughly more than 20,000 civilians have been killed, which is about half the population of Morgan Hill. The count of killed civilians, not excluding kids, is rising. This is only Mariupol.
One of the most atrocious crimes committed by Russia in their war on Ukraine is the intentional targeting of civilians and civil infrastructure. For that matter, the vast majority of Ukrainians murdered by Russia’s war have been civilians. According to the Kyiv School of Economics, the damage to Ukrainian infrastructure is estimated to be more than $63 billion. The war has resulted in more than 7 million Ukrainian refugees running from death by Russians on Ukrainian soil. However, it goes even further than that.
Ukraine and Russia combined supply more than 30 percent of the world’s wheat production and exports. More than 50 percent of the world’s sunflower oil comes from Ukraine, to name a few essential exports. This is the domino effect: as time passes, the world will feel the war’s consequences more and more strongly.
The genocide of Ukrainians committed by Russia has influenced Sweden and Finland to begin their NATO applications. For the first time since the Treaty of Paris back in 1815, Switzerland revoked its neutral status, joining the European Union in placing sanctions on Russia. Russia is now the most sanctioned country in the world, leading Iran, Syria, and North Korea. It is hugely disappointing this is still not enough. The war has shown no human rights protections or sanctions are large enough to prevent genocide in the new world, to reason with evil.
While the European Union has paid 1 billion Euros to Ukraine as aid, the same European Union has paid more than 35 billion euros to Russia for fuel in the same amount of time. For every dollar the world is refusing to spend on the Ukrainian army, it will pay 10 dollars for Ukrainian refugees in the future. The danger is not somewhere far away. The threat is knocking on the door of democracy and freedom for the world. For Russia, it isn’t about Ukraine. It is a hatred of freedom. Ukrainians are not just fighting for themselves. Ukrainians are fighting for the peace and democracy of the planet so that your house will not be bombed by Russia tomorrow.
The support of Ukraine in this fight doesn’t start with the governments of big countries. It starts with citizens. It is the moral obligation for any human with a heart and clear eyes to do their research and take action. That is why I am asking you to donate to Ukrainian fundraisers such as the Bay Area’s NovaUkraine, the Ukrainian fund Come Back Alive, or one of many other direct Ukrainian fundraisers. Please don’t stay quiet about the inhuman atrocities Russia is causing. It is crucial to support Ukraine by boycotting companies that still operate in Russia because their taxes, every dollar they spend in Russia, is going to be converted into bullets that kill the citizens of Ukraine. Lists of all foundations and companies that support Ukraine, and companies to boycott, are easily accessible online. Please don’t hesitate to contact me via email at [email protected]. And remember, silence is a crime.
Roman Moskalenko is a senior at Oakwood High School. He wrote this column for Gilroy Life.
