A pair of Ukrainian mayors visited Columbus last week in search of equipment and expertise so they’re ready to rebuild their cities once the shelling stops. Oleksandr Syenkevych of Mykoliav and Andrii Besedin of Kupyansk attended a conference organized by the Strong Cities Network, an organization that aims to combat hate extremism and polarization.
After two and a half years of fighting, the mayors said they are more than a little frustrated by U.S. politicians eager to end the war quickly, even when the terms would favor the aggressors. They remain steadfast in their commitment to fighting Russian forces and ready to make their case to anyone who will listen.
During a presidential debate earlier this month, President Donald Trump refused to answer a question about whether it would be in the country’s best interests for Ukraine to win the war. Instead, he criticized European governments for contributing less to Ukraine’s defense than the U.S. (They are not) and claimed that he would “deal with the matter before I take office as president, if I win, when I become president-elect” (potential violation of the Logan Act).
“I think it’s in the best interest of the United States to see this war through to the end and just end it,” Trump said. “To negotiate a deal because we have to stop the destruction of all these lives.”
Message from the mayors
Kupyansk lies six kilometers (about four miles) from the front line. Besedin explained through an interpreter that after the reconstruction, they would essentially be starting from scratch. But this work cannot take place until the Russian army is repelled.
“There was total destruction,” explains George Jaskiw, a psychiatrist and president of the United Ukrainian Organizations in Ohio.
“Once the Russians are pushed back, they will need help in all areas,” he continued. “Physical – buildings, infrastructure, roads, buildings, etc. They will need humanitarian aid – governments, hospitals, everything else. The city has been basically devastated.”
Jaskiw and former UUOhio President Marta Kelleher explained that one option they discussed with state leaders was to send soon-to-be-retired equipment from the Ohio National Guard. After years of providing private charitable donations, they noted, the logistical hurdles are relatively minor. Kelleher described shipping supplies from Lake Erie ports and arriving in Ukraine within two weeks.
As Besedin described, the biggest threat at the moment is glide bombsThe munitions are essentially conventional free-fall bombs with a wing and guidance system attached. The system allows Russian aircraft to drop bombs miles behind the front lines and far beyond Ukrainian air defenses.
He, like many Ukrainian leaders, wants a green lithe from Western governments to operate long-range weapons to attack targets in Russia. Glide bombs and ballistic missile attacks are damaging local infrastructure, Besedin said, but they are also hitting Ukrainian front-line troops and people trying to deliver humanitarian aid to front-line cities.
“What he emphasizes,” Jaskiw explained, “is that Ukraine wants these weapons to hit military targets, military infrastructure, and not the Russians who destroy everything.”
Syenkevych was quick to point out that Western governments should protect Ukraine. Under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, the former socialist republic agreed to denuclearization in exchange for defense assurances.
“We got rid of our nuclear weapons, our bomber planes and all infrastructure,” Syenkevych said. “We destroyed that with this memorandum and received assurances from three countries, the United States, Great Britain and Russia.”
“So whether you like it or not, as president, your country has an obligation to protect our territory,” he argued.
Senkevych’s hometown, Mykolaiv, has been struggling with a lack of access to pristine water since the arrival of Russian troops blew up the pipelines on which it was dependent early in the war. He explained that they were working to build a pipeline to an alternative water source, but were also improving their water treatment plants in the city. He said that part of his visit was to seek technical assistance for those plants.
As for the hostility expressed by former President Trump and his vice presidential candidate, Ohio Republican U.S. Senator J.D. Vance, over ongoing aid to Ukraine, Syenkevych argued that the fight has much bigger implications for the world and that he would meet with Vance if he could.
“It’s easy to be an army general when you’re looking at the war from the outside,” he said. “It’s easy to make decisions about the war in Ukraine when you’re not in Ukraine.”
“It’s less about war,” he added. “It’s more about the global threat from Russia, and it’s not about the war in Ukraine – it’s a war between two worlds, Western civilization and Russia, Russianness.”
“I’m ready to get to know him,” he said of Vance. “If he needs anything, he knows where to find me.”
Wanting to avoid misunderstandings, he added, “this is without any, you know, humor or anything like that.” He noted that the city had recently hosted the German foreign minister and would have welcomed Vance as well.
Asked how he would respond to those in the U.S. who oppose supporting the Ukrainian war effort, Besedin made a similar argument, saying the consequences of the conflict are global, not regional.
“The US is the undisputed leader of the democratic world and cannot be replaced,” Jaskiw explained. “And if Ukraine falls, it will only embolden other nations, like North Korea, Iran, Russia, to do more, and that will backfire on the US in a terrible way.”
“It’s an investment in your safety.”
Follow the Ohio Capital Journal reporter Nick Evans on Twitter.
