Yuliia Karkusha is a Ukrainian exchange student attending 11th grade at Hauser Jr.-Sr High School.
Photo provided
The war in Ukraine continues to hit home in our area, demonstrating anew how connected our world is.
Earlier this week, The Republic’s Jana Wiersema brought you the stories of two more Ukrainian students studying in our area — Vladyslav Bobuskyi, a first-year student in Indiana University’s J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program, and Yuliia Karkusha, an exchange student currently attending 11th grade at Hauser Jr.-Sr High School in Hope.
Their lives, like other Ukrainians living or studying here, are now dominated by worrisome calls home to check on family and friends while watching developments from afar with a sense of helplessness.
“At first, when I just read what happened, the first thing I said was, ‘I want to go home, and I want to make sure that my family is safe,’” said Karkusha. “And I was ready to just go home, because I was feeling so confused, because it’s my home. And I cannot help anybody because I’m here.”
Karkusha sees a need to continue to stand united. She believes much more than her homeland is at risk if Russian aggression isn’t checked. “… The previous line of Russia was to ‘reunite’ our country, but what they did — instead, they united the whole world together.”
The Republic and parent company AIM Media is standing with the people of Ukraine against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion and war of aggression. If you’d like to support relief efforts, our website AIMMediaCares.com/Ukraine links to reliable international humanitarian aid organizations that are doing all they can to meet human needs on the ground.
A true hero addresses Washington
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had the floor and the world’s attention this week as he addressed Congress via video. The former TV comedian has been thrust into a leading role on the world stage. A master communicator, Zelenskyy has evoked Winston Churchill and William Shakespeare while defiantly defending a democratic state against a Russian invasion that has galvanized the free world behind him and the people of Ukraine.
“We need you right now,” he told members of Congress. “I call on you to do more.” Likening his nation’s situation to that facing our country after the attacks of Pearl Harbor in 1941 and Sept. 11, 2001, Zelenskyy broke from his native Ukrainian tongue to say in English, “I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths.”
Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation. They are prepared, as is President Joe Biden, to give Zelenskyy and Ukraine all it can in defensive weaponry and support for its beleaguered population. We should all support this without question.
What the US is unlikely to give Ukraine, and what Zelenskyy diplomatically acknowledged, is the declaration of a no-fly zone over his nation. Defending a no-fly zone would draw the US and NATO nations into direct armed conflict with Russia, all but guaranteeing all-out war between European nations and Putin’s Russia.
Zelenskyy is an inspiration not just to his nation but to all freedom-loving people the world over. It’s our duty, and a privilege, to support him and the Ukrainian people.
North gymnast saves best for state
Congratulations to Columbus North senior Emily Moore, who last weekend won state gymnastics titles in beam, floor and all-around competitions. She is just the third athlete from the school to win the state all-around title.
In doing so, Moore topped her own personal best on the beam, repeating her state dominance in that event.
“I’ve been working hard the past four years, and I’ve been getting closer every time,” Moore told The Republic’s Ted Schultz. “… To win it my senior year, it’s really exciting.”
Congratulations as well to Moore’s North teammates who also competed at the state tournament.
