WARREN, Mich. – Due to misinformation from the Russian side during the invasion, the one thing Ukrainians would like right now is for U.N. peacekeepers to get into Ukraine, so the entire world will know exactly what is happening there.
According to the White House, the crisis on the Ukrainian border has become an invasion.
“Ukrainians are not accustomed to being invaded by their larger northern neighbor,” said Mykola Murskyj. “It’s happened roughly every 100 years since 1149 A.D.
Mykola Murskyj chairs the Ukrainian-American Crisis Response Team of Michigan.
“There was a photo going around on social media of mothers who are giving their kids stickers before they go to school with the kids blood type,” Murskyj said. “So that way should something happen, people know that the kids blood type is this. Yeah. But in order to make those kinds of operations, you have to stay calm; you can’t be panicked.”
The 50,000 or so Metro Detroiters of Ukrainian descent have heard stories like that as the conflict escalates. But this conflict shouldn’t just matter to them; it should matter to all of us, Murskyj says.
Read: Devin Scillian: Why you should care about what’s happening in Ukraine
Forget for a moment Russia’s impact on global fuel and Ukraine’s on global food; ideologically, can Russia’s sudden belief it can just reassemble an ancient empire by force go unchecked? And if the answer is yes, what’s next?
“I’ve had some people, you know, mentioned to me that we should, you know, Ukraine’s far away Ukraine doesn’t really matter, Murskyj said. “But if we don’t respond strongly to Russia’s aggression near Russia, what’s that going to say about their ability, but how we’re going to respond if they attack us here at home?”
The other consideration is the example that this would set if nothing or not enough is done. Murskyj says Putin isn’t the only other leader interested in moves like this, and there are natives of Taiwan like State Senator Stephanie Chang, concerned about China doing the same thing.