One year after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, local Ukrainians say they’re still grappling with the destruction and loss, but more committed than ever to supporting their countrymen.
For Inna Taylor, who became a U.S. citizen and then moved to the Cape in 2010, every day brings a mix of emotions.
“Pain, heartbrokenness, and hope that very soon we will be victorious,” she said.
Taylor, who owns Great Awakening Coffee House in Hyannis, said she copes by organizing a weekly community support group for Ukrainian refugees. And she’s raised roughly $30,000 through her nonprofit, Changing the World.
“Our organization helped sponsor a whole bus of hundreds of people who were evacuated from Kharkiv,” she said. “We were able to help some orphanages to purchase generators and cover their electrical bills.”
This time last year, Taylor felt like she was living in a nightmare, but now things feel a little different.
“I’m still heartbroken. But at the same time,” she said, “today, I feel more inspired and empowered, and I feel like the whole world is behind Ukraine right now. And I sense a big support.”
Neither side has released figures lately, but analysts estimate that some 200,000 Russian troops and 130,000 Ukrainians have been killed in the war, with no clear sign of an end to the conflict. NPR reports that neither side appears ready to declare outright military victory, nor negotiate.
Meanwhile, a Falmouth woman has taken her own approach to supporting Ukrainians. Julia Zagachin, who left the Soviet Union as a child, has helped six young people flee the war and come to Massachusetts to live with host families. Essential to the mission of her program, Jobs Not War!, is to help them with their education.
“We started this program, where the kids come here on a student visas, and the schools either offer a full ride to them or they offer a significant discount for education,” Zagachin said.
Using her ability to speak Russian, she’s been able to support children who range from middle school to college age. One, a boy named Sasha, lives with her. It’s given her purpose in a war that leaves her feeling “breathless.”
“You know, I have these two kids, my son and this Ukrainian boy. And there is sort of a theoretical situation where it's possible that the two of them would be shooting at each other. Now they are considering each other brothers by different mothers.”
Zagachin and Taylor agree: there’s a long road ahead for Ukraine, and it still needs American support and focus.
“There are people who’ve said the war has become sort of background noise. But I can’t — it's not background noise. It's destroyed the lives of people,” Zagachin said. “It’s a horror show.”
Concluded Taylor: “There's so much more work ahead of us. I think it's important [for people] to find local efforts that they can be part of, if it’s either donating $5 or $10, every little thing counts.”
On Wednesday, Russian leaders announced they would suspend an agreement that limits the number of nuclear warheads Russia would deploy. Speaking in Poland after a surprise visit to Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden called it a “big mistake” and vowed to “defend every inch of NATO."
