When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Weinberg first-year Uliana Zelenko was at the border of Poland and Ukraine. Working with an organization called the Ocalenie Foundation, Zelenko helped receive a massive influx of refugees. The incoming refugees were in shock, and there was a lack of translators and personnel to help them, Zelenko said.
“They needed to just speak to someone who can understand their background,” Zelenko said. “Who can reassure them that everything is going to be okay, who can ask them what exactly they need, give them food and basic necessity items and distract them from all the chaos that’s happening around.”
In the club Northwestern for Ukraine, Zelenko has continued her support for her home country. Three years after the invasion and amid chaotic developments in the war, the group still works to raise awareness and support for Ukraine. The organization fuses culture with activism by holding community events, planning fundraisers and attending rallies.
“Every Ukrainian feels a sense of responsibility and a sense of duty to participate in everything related to the support of our country,” Zelenko said.
The Trump administration has signaled a friendlier stance toward Russia, departing from U.S. policy precedent and looking to make a peace deal with Russia. In an explosive dispute on Feb. 28, Trump accused Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy of instigating the war, despite Russia invading Ukraine. After the exchange, Trump paused military aid to Ukraine.
“I really hope for Trump’s impeachment,” said Yuliia Tkachuk, Weinberg second-year and club vice president. “I’m not a religious person, but I would start praying for it every day if that would help.”
The recent events have fueled the Ukrainian club’s cause, Tkachuk said.
“I try not to just feel upset about it all the time because sadness is not going to change anything,” she said. “I streamed my sadness into a productive anger that motivates me to talk about Ukraine and make people read the news and educate them about the lies that Trump tells about Ukraine.”
To commemorate the three-year anniversary of the full-scale invasion, the organization painted the Rock the colors of the Ukraine flag and wrote the phrases “Justice for Ukraine,” “No talk about Ukraine without Ukraine,” “Stand with Ukraine,” as well as the names of occupied cities. The club also attended a Chicago rally in February, shared Ukrainian food at a traditional restaurant and sold flowers at the rock to raise money for prosthetics for war injuries. The club aims to celebrate Ukrainian culture and take action.
“It’s not just about the constant sadness we have, but it’s also about our culture, and we really want to share it with other people,” Tkachuk said.
For club president Yuliia Chernova, the group also provides a sense of community. The day after the Russian invasion, the Weinberg second-year fled across Ukraine, moving from Kharkiv in the east to Lviv in the west in search of safer conditions. She lived in Lviv for a year and a half during the full-scale war before moving to the U.S. for college. Her family is still there, and she said she hears air raids when she speaks to them on the phone.
“[The Ukrainian club] is an important part of my experience here because there is a certain experience we share even though we are from different parts of Ukraine.” Chernova said. “It’s important to know that I’m not alone here, and there are other people going through this struggle with me.”
Tkachuk also said the organization helps her form bonds.
“That was the easiest way for me to connect to people I knew I would be friends with because we share a history,” she said. “It’s the sort of people who have been through the same struggles with war as I have.”
Medill first-year Mira Trofymchuk was born in Ukraine and lived there until 2022, when she fled to Germany after Russian forces occupied her hometown Kakhovka. The continuing occupation prevents her return home, where her grandparents still live. For Trofymchuk, it is important to speak up for her community and correct misconceptions about the war.
“A lot of people say ‘Just have an agreement, give some of your territory, find a solution that works for you,’” Trofymchuk said. “But my home is occupied, and if we give the territory to Russia, it means I will never come home, and I will never see my grandparents again.”
The club also often works with Northwestern academic departments and faculty members to hold events to promote education about Ukraine. On Feb. 25, it partnered with the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs to host a showing of WE ARE U, a film spotlighting Ukrainian teen activists, including Trofymchuk.
Besides raising awareness, the group wants the Northwestern community to pitch in to support Ukraine.
“It doesn’t have to be anything big,” Tkachuk said. “Staying in touch with Ukrainians, donating just 50 cents to any of the organizations that help soldiers at the front lines and just regular civilians that were hurt by Russian strikes.”
The current news has been emotionally harrowing for many Ukranians, but the club does what they can to support the war-torn country.
“People are still dying at the front line, and they are dying for a reason,” Zelenko said. “That gives me hope that people who actually stand for freedom and for justice in the world will not abandon Ukraine and will make extra effort to end this war in a fair way that shows people’s efforts and lives were not wasted.”
