INTERVIEW WITH A JEWISH-UKRAINIAN STUDENT

BY YVANNA CORTI

The situation in Ukraine feels so far away, yet it is so close.

The unfortunate political events have hurt many people, including middle school student Dillinger Kashaunsky.

The Spartan Chronicle asked Kashaunsky to help us understand how he really feels as a Ukrainian.

“I am a proud Jewish Ukrainian student, and seeing the war in my country hurts me, ” Kashaunsky said.

Kashaunsky made plans to visit Ukraine, but he wasn’t able to go.

“I had planned a trip but was canceled due to the war, I was planning to stay there for a month,” he said.

The war has canceled thousands of trips, and people are longing to see their families.

Unfortunately for Kashaunsky, a family member died years ago in Ukraine.

Kashaunsky’s wishes were to to pay respect to his family.

Kashaunsky also said that seeing innocent people getting hurt in war makes him feel helpless and sad.

However, he is happy that the situation is getting better and hopefully he will get to see his family soon!

Russia has been accused by many countries, including the United States of committing war crimes. There are multiple degrees of evidence that Russia has been attacking innocent civilians, but Russia has not stopped committing these crimes.

Due to the crimes Russia has committed, the US and many other countries have announced multiple sanctions on Russia.

Russia came into this war with one of the best militaries in the world. But Ukraine is holding on to its territory. This is due to experienced soldiers, as they fought in the war for Crimea. This is also due to supplies from NATO countries, led by the US. Some thought Russia would take over Ukraine in as little as 24-48 hours. Well, here we are, 8 ½ months later, and Ukraine has not only defended itself, they have gained on the Russian Army. This is an outstanding, triumph for the free world. The first major score for Ukraine was when they drove Russia out of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Russia was trying to conquer this city, Then Ukraine used Neptune anti-ship missiles to destroy the Moskva, the flagship vessel in the Black sea fleet.

Russia took control of the famed Chernobyl power plant, but left due to heavy losses and radiation exposure. Russia also took control of Zaporizhzhia, but Ukraine has not let Russia do anything with it.

Now Ukraine has more weapons, and more people to fight, who are devoted to freedom. Ukraine has recently aquireddrones and boats and planes that carry explosives.

Some of these drones are Kamikaze drones, where they purposely crash into a ship or a land target. When the explosive detonates, it destroys everything in its path. Ukraine has used these to attack other ships.

Ukraine also blew up the only bridge between Russia and Crimea. Ukraine is using the rest of their forces to try and stop Russia’s advancement.

Volodymyr Zelensky, the first Jewish Ukrainian president, is leading his country to defend itself.

Ukraine’s bravery is one for the history books.

We should all try to help everyone struggling with the war, and be as supportive as possible, as they might be going through hard times.

Hopefully Kashaunsky, and all Ukrainian students everywhere will get through this and find ways to support their country.