March 16, 2022 Volume 2
March 16, 2022 // Volume #2
Dear Friends,
In my first message, I did not ask for anything specific from you. This message is more direct.
I am asking you to:
1. Pray—Regardless of your faith, please pray, if nothing else, doing so helps us remember the horrors and injustice facing the Ukrainian nation and her people.
2. Pay —I offered ShareUkraine.org, a division of Share Detroit, 501(C)3 I founded a few years ago to collect your tax-deductible donations. We channel every collected dollar into the organizations nominated and vetted by people on the front lines. Last week we collected $11,107.12, which is being wired to https://www.comebackalive.in.ua/. This organization provides defensive equipment and medical assistance to Ukrainian Army personnel. Every dollar donated to ShareUkraine.org during the week of March 13th, will go to https://helpukraine.center/ to provide Humanitarian and Medical aid to soldiers and civilians in Ukraine. ll organizations we have chosen will provide immediate humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
3. Participate – There are roughly one million ethnic Ukrainians and 3.5 million people like me in the US. We are Russian speakers who escaped the Soviet Regime to build a new life here, and a vast majority of us are Jews who came from Ukraine. Our hearts are broken, and we are devastated by the raging War, feeling betrayed, helpless, and hopeless. Seek us out and show your support, unity which will reassure us that we are not alone. I trust you will want to do more, people like me, with roots in Ukraine, can direct you in the right direction. You can find us through local Ukrainian Orthodox and Catholic churches. You will find us in ethnic food stores that sell Eastern European food (Polish, Romanian, etc.). You can inquire with a local Jewish Community Center. Metropolitans with larger Ukrainian communities will have Ukrainian Cultural Centers, Saturday, and Day schools. If you need help finding them, please feel free to contact me.
Why do I plead for your attention and action?
In 1994 Russia, the USA, and the UK disarmed Ukraine of about 1900 nuclear warheads in exchange for $6 Billion, to cover logistic efforts to remove the weapons and the subsequent cleanup. The agreement was documented by the Budapest Memorandum of 1994. The memorandum also provided SECURITY ASSURANCE for Ukrainian territorial, economic, and political integrity. I will leave it for politicians to dissect the definition of what "provide assurance" means. Still, currently, Ukraine is amid the most violent invasion since WWII.
· As a Ukrainian, I feel betrayed by the agreement's signatories that are now paying us to die to protect Europe from a tyrant.
· As an American Veteran, I fully understand NATO's hesitation to provide direct military assistance in this War.
· As an Artillery Officer and student of history, I understand the consequences of appeasement and nuclear conflict better than most.
· As a one-time Soviet Citizen, I know what living under a tyrannical regime means.
· Finally, as a Jew, I understand the meaning of and personally felt the impact of the Holocaust and Genocide.
For Democratic Western Powers, there are no easy and painless choices to make. We must choose what evil we will allow to happen by our actions and, more importantly, our inactions.
As individuals, we cannot change the outcome of this War. We, however, can make the lives of those still living and suffering in Ukraine and the millions of refugees that have already fled more bearable. The requests I made at the beginning of this letter will bring us a step closer to completing this goal: Pray, Pay, and Participate.
My messages will come weekly. I intend to offer you more background, opinions, and actionable recommendations. I base my messages on my life's experiences, personal values, and passion for fairness and justice.