A Ukrainian soldier is in Cincinnati this week, sharing his experiences of the war. Denys Yaroslavskyi of Kharkiv says there are big concerns for Cincinnati's sister city surviving the winter. He spoke Monday afternoon with WVXU through a translator, Alexander Eltin.
“We know about the Russian plans, they would like to deliver a final blow in November, to wipe out our power,” he says. “With all the power outages, the entire water supply and wastewater systems will be out of commission.”
Yaroslavskyi says Russian strategy has been to chase civilians from a city, and then level that city.
He says he understands how and why the rest of the world may be paying attention to other issues right now, after nearly 29 months of fighting in Ukraine. And he says he understands politicians may have trouble explaining to voters why the U.S. should support Ukraine.
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“Just like at some point, Americans were fighting for their independence, Ukraine decided to maintain its independence from Russia,” he says. “Americans respect the concept of fighting for freedom and democracy. And because we are fighting that fight, we are facing what we’re facing.”
Yaroslavskyi says he just wants his country to continue to exist.
He is a commander in the 57th Brigade, and says he's not only had to defend his home city, but had to fight to reclaim his house from Russian soldiers. “So I had to do everything I could to get my house back, and that’s what I did. And I’m certainly grateful for American assistance and to my American friends who fought alongside.”
Yaroslavskyi says an Ohioan helped recapture his house. He says he has fought alongside volunteers from Brazil, Russia, and the United States.
Yaroslavskyi is in Cincinnati rallying support for Kharkiv, as a guest of the Cincinnati-Kharkiv Sister City Partnership, until Wednesday.
