“How are you?”
Every day I have written these words since Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia began its “special military operation.” This simple message means, “I love you and I hope you are alive.” My family is one missile away from not answering, a fate shared by millions of Ukrainians.
I am Ukrainian by birth. I am proud of my country and our roots. My family is from a town called Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine became independent in 1991, but its origin began in the 9th century in Kievan Rus. Today, Ukraine is the second-largest country in Europe with a population of 44 million people.
For Ukrainians, Russia’s war started in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and invaded eastern Ukraine near my hometown. It proclaimed the Budapest Memorandum “null and void.” Under this agreement, Ukraine gave up the third-largest nuclear arsenal in the world in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom. Unfortunately in 2014, the signatories’ inaction fell short of that promise, giving Russia the green light to invade my country again in 2022.
Consequently in February, Russia attacked Ukraine, violating Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter. Millions of Ukrainians, including my family, woke up to sirens at 5 a.m. as bombs rained down throughout Ukraine. It was the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced, and I was not even there. Hearing my mom cry in panic that the war has begun was a phone call I will never forget.
Russia is committing genocide against my people. The world watches the war live and sees the evidence. History repeats itself yet again. Russia’s war crimes include indiscriminately destroying “apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, critical infrastructure, civilian vehicles, shopping centers, and ambulances, leaving thousands of innocent civilians killed or wounded.” Russia has forcefully deported up to 40,000 people from occupied territories, including over 2,000 children. Agreed-upon humanitarian corridors are not safe from Russian attacks. Russia uses weapons prohibited by most countries, such as cluster munitions. And now Russia is suspected to have used chemical weapons on the besieged city of Mariupol.
The liberation of the town, Bucha, revealed a trail of violence that amount to crimes against humanity. There is ample evidence of torture and mass graves. On April 8, Russia bombed my hometown’s train station, from which thousands of civilians were trying to evacuate, resulting in more than 50 people dead and 100 injured. I am grateful that my parents left the day before. Not all were so lucky.
The global community has responded to this cruel war with sanctions on Russia. The U.N. International Court of Justice ordered Russia to stop the attack on Ukraine. People around the world are protesting the war.
Nevertheless, there is no legally enforceable mechanism to physically remove Russian troops from Ukraine. This war has shown that international laws mean little to a barbaric enemy that does not value human life.
World leaders do not want to escalate the war to World War III. However, this war already affects the entire world. Ukraine grows enough food to feed 400 million people. Without the “breadbasket” of Europe, this war risks a global famine.
Ukraine’s allies must help with more powerful weapons and stricter economic sanctions on Russia. While imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine would save thousands of lives, it has been rejected by NATO.
The world must accept that the current Russian regime has no place in the global economy. Europe must buy its gas elsewhere. Buying gas from Russia is supplying terrorists with new weapons to kill Ukrainian children.
Ukrainians have shown incredible courage. Ukraine is fighting for more than territory, but for life as we know it — to choose our government, values and destiny. Ukraine is fighting for democracy. Post-Soviet Russia has already invaded Chechnya, Georgia, and now Ukraine. Europeans should ask themselves: Who is next?
“How are you?” I will continue to write my family, hoping to hear back. But how many Ukrainian families will not hear back from loved ones? Pray for Ukraine.
