'Glory to Ukraine': KU students denounce Putin’s invasion
By TIM CARPENTER
Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Ukrainian college students Elina Shutova and Mykola Hordiichuk stood under the U.S. and Kansas flags at the Capitol on Thursday to personally appeal for support of their homeland as family and friends endured brutal bombardments from invading Russian soldiers.
On the statehouse steps behind the University of Kansas students were dozens of state legislators backing a resolution denouncing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression and encouraging the United States government to provide emergency support for Ukrainians who have been fighting since Feb. 24.
“I can feel the suffering of the people of Ukraine,” Shutova said. “Innocent people who wanted nothing but peace and to live in an independent country are now hiding in basements while Russians are destroying our cities.”
On the first day of shelling, Shutova said, her brother posed a poignant question that she couldn’t easily answer: “Am I going to see you again?”
She said the invasion wasn’t a rescue mission by Putin to rescue Ukrainians from terrorists. That is a lie and nothing but propaganda, she said. The terrorist nation is Russia, she said, a point illustrated by bombings that destroyed the neighborhood elementary school in her hometown of Kherson in the country’s south.
She urged the United States and NATO countries to continue supporting Ukraine with economic sanctions. She asked that the skies above Ukraine be closed with a no-fly zone.
“We will never forget and never forgive,” Shutova said. “We’ll win, because we are Ukrainians. Glory to Ukraine.”
Hordiichuk, who is from the city of Uman in central Ukraine, said the Russian military bombed cities without mercy since starting the war.
He said ordinary Ukrainians responded by flooding military volunteer centers and by personally taking up arms. His parents have been collecting bottles to make Molotov cocktails. His grandparents bake bread at night to feed soldiers in the morning. He sensed the horror and inspiration of it all.
“This is not life. This is survival,” he said. “It is hard to imagine until you run from explosions yourself. It is hard to believe until your parents’ and best friends’ trembling voices tell you they want to wake up from this nightmare. Is this our punishment for pursuing a fair, democratic system?”
He said the United States, which embodies basic human rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, has an opportunity to share that sentiment with an embattled nation of 44 million in Europe.
The bipartisan event on the Capitol steps was organized by Rep. Chuck Schmidt, a Wichita Democrat. More than 50 House members signed a resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which serves the breadbasket of Europe and made the sunflower its national flower.
“The people behind me are legislators from both sides of the aisle,” Schmidt said. “This is a nonpartisan endeavor.”
Rep. Clarke Sanders, R-Salina, said he felt comfortable declaring three fundamental truths about the Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
“No. 1, what Vladimir Putin has done is evil,” Sanders said. “No. 2, the courage and resolve shown by the people of Ukraine is amazing. No. 3, Putin needs to get the hell out of Ukraine now.”