It’s been just over a year since Russia invaded Ukraine. In that time, roughly 19,000 civilian lives have been lost, and more than 8 million people have become refugees forced to leave their native land.
After a year of war, Vermont Public checked back in with Roman Kokodyniak, a Cabot resident who has family and friends in Ukraine. He’s a post-WWII immigrant to the U.S., arriving here in 1950 as a young boy.
Kokodyniak moved to Vermont in 1973 and worked in child advocacy in Chittenden County before moving to Cabot, and became a project director on environmental awareness for the International Science Council in Ukraine. He's also served as an interpreter for journalists visiting Ukraine, including former Vermont Public reporter John Dillon.
Vermont Public’s Mitch Wertlieb spoke with Roman Kokodyniak again, 12 months into the Russia-Ukraine war. Their conversation below has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Mitch Wertlieb: You do have a lot of connections to Ukraine with some family, friends, former colleagues living there. When we spoke a year ago, you told us about your friend, Michael, who had chosen to stay in his high-rise apartment on the left bank in Kyiv. How is Michael doing? Is he still working at the parliament there?
Roman Kokodyniak: He's still working at the parliament. Shortly after you and I spoke last winter, the Vermont Legislature and the governor held an event where they announced $666,000 in aid to Ukraine — $1 per Vermonter. And on the line, during that presentation by the governor and legislators, Michael listened in and then shared the audio with parliament members.
So he's doing OK. I spoke to him a couple of months ago, when there was a lot of bombing of infrastructure facilities, energy facilities. And he was standing, he said, about an hour earlier, looking out the window towards the east, towards the electrical transformer that he saw completely destroyed in that moment. So it's been up and down. But he's been hanging in there and very positive and very, very supportive of his country and his president.
I have to ask about your family as well. Last time we spoke, you mentioned that you had family members in central and western Ukraine. They were helping refugees. How are they doing now? How are you able to communicate with them?
Well, they're still helping people. They're doing fine. I spoke to them around the holidays in early January. One of the things that I'm aware of, in my conversations with family and colleagues, is that increasingly over this past year, everyone has had someone in their lives that they've either lost, or have had their homes destroyed, in some way damaged by this war.
For example, I spoke to my friend Victor, who's head of the environmental studies department at the oldest university in Kyiv, and he has a cousin in Kherson, south of the city. And his cousin has been arrested and told that he's being accused of collaborating with Ukrainians, giving them site locations and things like that. And if he doesn't cooperate with them, they will take his children, his two children, young kids to Russia. So they're threatening him. And it's a painful process for Victor, to hear that.
And that's not some idle threat either. We've been hearing about this in the national and international news a lot, about Ukrainian children who are now just being put up for adoption in Russia, taken away from Ukraine, and who knows even if their family can get in touch with them. Is that right?
It is right. It is correct.
Do you think the resolve of the Ukrainian people, combined with international aid and everything else that's needed, will be enough to resist Putin, to resist the Russian aggression?
I hope so. I'm torn on that topic, because I'm not a pacifist. But I certainly believe in demilitarization as much as possible. In this case, I think that there's a justified defense. This is an unprovoked invasion. The concern that I have is that I think that there will be some resolution, but I'm a little concerned with the increased militarization of Ukraine. We're talking about enormous amounts of military hardware. And I think, in terms of the parallels within our own country, in terms of guns and violence, and so I'm a little concerned with militarization of this country that has not needed it.
But don't they need it now, Roman? I mean, you know, President Zelenskyy is saying that they need the tanks, they need more guns, they need something to fight back against this much larger, much more powerful country with almost limitless military disposal.
I agree with you and I think they need it, and that's where I'm conflicted, because at the same time, what I saw happening in Ukraine was social change through peaceful protests and demonstration, and the strength of institutions. Military aid is important, but I think there's a need for moral support.
All of us in most cases, we have a little device in our hands. And that device is very powerful. I encourage Vermonters who have done a tremendous job so far — I am part of a vigil twice a week — and I'm impressed with the commitment and dedication of people who participate in that who and who pass us by.
More from Vermont Public: A vigil for Ukraine in Montpelier spotlights unfolding humanitarian crisis
Where's that vigil held, Roman?
It's held on State Street in front of the federal building and post office in Montpelier. And people are welcome to join us.
The Ukrainians — and Belarusian and Russian opposition to this war — needs support. And I encourage people to get on their device and send a note of encouragement, recognize what they're doing, because it's not just a military effort. It's also an effort of strength and determination in character. There is an opposition that is being suppressed, and they need to hear that we encourage them, and we know that they're there.
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