A pair of Ukrainian mayors visited Columbus last week seeking equipment and expertise so they’re ready to rebuild their cities once the shelling stops. Oleksandr Syenkevych of Mykoliav and Andrii Besedin of Kupyansk participated in a conference hosted by the Strong Cities Network, an organization aimed at fighting hate, extremism and polarization.
After two and a half years of fighting, the mayors said they are more than a little frustrated with American politicians ready to end the war quickly even if the terms benefit the aggressors. Still, they’re steadfast in their commitment to fighting off Russian forces and ready to make their case to anyone who’ll listen.
During the presidential debate earlier this month, President Donald Trump refused to say whether Ukraine winning the war was in the country’s best interest. Instead, he criticized European governments for contributing less than the U.S. for Ukraine’s defense (they’re not) and argued he’d “get it settled before I even become president, if I win when I’m president elect,” (a potential Logan Act violation).
“I think it’s the U.S. best interest to get this war finished and just get it done,” Trump said. “Negotiate a deal, because we have to stop all of these human lives from being destroyed.”
The mayors’ message
Kupyansk sits six kilometers (about four miles) from the frontlines. Through an interpreter, Besedin explained once they rebuild, they’ll essentially be starting from scratch. But that work can’t happen until the Russian army is pushed back.
“There’s been total destruction,” George Jaskiw, a psychiatrist and president of the United Ukrainian Organizations of Ohio, translated.
“Once the Russians are pushed back, they’re going to need help in all spheres,” he went on. “The physical sphere — building, infrastructure, roads, buildings, etc. They’re going to need help with humanitarian support — governments, hospitals, everything else. Basically, the city’s been ruined.”
Jaskiw and former UUOhio president Marta Kelleher said one possibility they discussed with state leaders was sending soon-to-be decommissioned equipment from the Ohio National Guard. After years of delivering private charitable donations, they noted, the logistical hurdles are relatively low. Kelleher described shipping supplies from Lake Erie ports and having them arrive in Ukraine within two weeks.
The greatest threat at the moment, Besedin described, are glide bombs. The munitions are essentially traditional free-falling bombs with an after-market wing and guidance kit strapped on. The system allows Russian planes to launch the bombs miles behind front lines and well outside Ukrainian air defenses.
He, like many Ukrainian leaders, wants the green light from Western governments to use long range weapons to attack targets within Russia. Glide bomb and ballistic missile strikes are destroying local infrastructure, Besedin said, but they’re also hitting Ukrainian front line troops and people trying to bring humanitarian aid to front line cities.
“What he’s underscoring,” Jaskiw explained, “is that Ukraine wants these weapons to hit military targets, military infrastructure versus the Russians, who are destroying everything.”
Syenkevych was quick to note Western governments are supposed to be protecting Ukraine. Under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, the former socialist republic agreed to denuclearize in exchange for defense assurances.
“We got rid of our nuclear weapon, our bombarding aircrafts and all the infrastructure,” Syenkevych said. “We destroyed it by this memorandum, and we got like assurance from three countries, United States, UK and Russia.”
“So, whether you want or not, as a president, your country is obligated to protect our territory,” he argued.
Syenkevych’s home city of Mykolaiv has been struggling to provide clean water since Russian forces blew up the pipelines it relied upon early in the war. He explained they’re working on building a pipeline to an alternative water source, but they’re also improving their water treatment facilities within the city. He said part of his visit was to seek out technical assistance for those facilities.
As for the hostility expressed by former president Trump and his running mate Ohio Republican U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance to ongoing Ukrainian aid, Syenkevych argued the fight has much larger implications for the world and he would meet with Vance if he could.
“It’s easy to be general of army when you look at the war from outside,” he said. “It’s easy to make a decision about the war in Ukraine, not being in Ukraine.”
“It’s less about the war,” he added. “It’s more about global threat of Russia, and it’s not a war in Ukraine — it’s war between two worlds, the Western civilization and Russia, Russia-ism.”
“I’m ready to meet him,” he said of Vance. “If he needs something, he knows where to find me.”
Eager to avoid misinterpretation, he added “it’s without any, you know, humor or something like this.” He noted the city recently hosted Germany’s head of foreign affairs and he’d be happy to host Vance, too.
Asked how he’d respond to those in the U.S. who oppose supporting the Ukrainian war effort, Besedin made a similar case, arguing the conflict’s consequences are global, not regional.
“The U.S. is the undisputed leader of democratic world and can’t be replaced,” Jaskiw translated. “And if Ukraine falls, that will only embolden other people like North Korea, like Iran like Russia to do more, and that will backfire on the US in a terrible way.”
“This is an investment in your security.”
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