Couple Discusses War in Ukraine

Olena Poplavska says the ongoing conflict in her homeland of Ukraine stems from the Ukrainian people’s desire to create their own country.

Other countries, such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, formed independent nations following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But Ukraine remained under the direct influence of Russia.

“Until recently, we’ve been a puppet state of Russia,” said Poplavska, who grew up in Zhytomyr, a city of about 300,000 people in Ukraine.

“We are seeing the birth of a nation in a very painful and devastating way. Ukraine is finally developing itself as a nation.”

Poplavska spoke about the situation in Ukraine this week to a group at the Grand Rapids office of the Christian Reformed Church.

Her husband, Luke Theule, spoke as well. He is a donor relations specialist for World Renew. Olena works in donor relations for Bethany Christian Services, an adoption agency in Grand Rapids.

The couple met at LCC International University in Klaipeda, Lithuania.

“Wounds have been festering for a long time in Ukraine. I’m not sure what the future will be, but I’m afraid we have reached the point of no return,” says Poplavska.

The struggle began in Independence Square in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, in November 2013.

Protests were triggered when former President Viktor Yanukovich failed to sign Ukraine’s Association agreement with the European Union.

“It began with several dozen students, and then the people came out in force to protest in the square,” said Poplavska.

“People had had enough of the corrupt system and wanted a new system. They wanted to clean the government of those who had been in power for many years.”

The situation escalated once Russia got involved, leading to the fighting now occurring in the eastern portion of the country, said Poplavska.

Poplavska follows the ongoing conflict in Ukraine by corresponding via Skype, Facebook, or other means with friends and family members who live in Ukraine.

“The sentiment I receive from my friends is of fear--fear of war, fear for their children,” she says. “There is this intense feeling that the economic situation is worsening. There are fewer jobs.”

For the broader view, she watches live Ukrainian television news shows over the internet and reads scores of media accounts.

Poplavska says the statistics tell a deeply disturbing story of this unfolding  humanitarian crisis.

Nearly 6,000 people have died, thousands have been injured, and more than one million people have fled from their homes.

“Many people have been caught in the fighting. They do not have food or shelter. Families have been split. There has been a lot of trauma and tension.”

Poplavska also says the fighting, contrary to how many media outlets portray it, is not a civil war. Most media accounts refer to those who are battling the Ukrainian military as “Russian-backed separatists.”

The Kremlin itself continues to reject claims by Ukraine and the West that its regular troops are fighting alongside the rebels.

“It is Russia and the Russian military--along with some Ukranians--who are fighting on one side in this war,” she said.

On the other side are Ukrainian army and volunteer battalions.

“A certain  portion of the older generation want Ukraine to be more integrated with Russia, but that is not true of a large part of the people,” said Poplavska.

Much of the fighting is now occurring in the Debaltseve area, which has strategic importance because of its access to railways.

Recently, the “pro-Russian rebels” took over the Donetsk airport. On Monday,  there was a  large explosion after a bomb hit a chemical plant in Donetsk.

Playing an important role in this struggle are the various Christian churches that stood side by side with protesters in Independence Square, also known as Maidan Square, during the early days of the struggle.

“The churches were right there with the protesters, reciting the Lord’s Prayer, living in tents on the square, ringing bells when they wanted to alerts protesters to things that were happening,” says Luke Theule.

Today, religious life is booming in the Ukraine, except for the parts where the fighting is taking place.

Whether they are Protestant, Roman Catholic, or Orthodox, churches are full, worship is rich, and congregations are doing all they can to help those who have escaped the fighting, says Theule.

But in the war zone, churches are now being shut down, and the people persecuted. “In terms of supporting the people, the Russian Orthodox Church is on the other side,” says Theule.

One of the issues that has drawn a lot of attention in this struggle is  the use of the Ukrainian and Russian languages, said Poplavska.

The Ukrainian language is a state language of Ukraine, and Russian is being used widely and freely. However, said Poplavska, the Russian language has been used in politics as a means to win the support of a certain group of people.

Russia uses the right of “protecting the Russian-speaking population” in Ukraine to foster conflict, she said.

But language is not the issue at all.

“A new Ukraine is developing, and people want to take care of themselves, but it has nothing to do with what language you speak,”  said Poplavska, who speaks both Russian and Ukrainian, as do many in her homeland.

“It is not about ethnicity or language. What happened in Ukraine in 2013/2014 was a revolution of dignity, a desire of people to have a say in how the country is being governed and where it is going. The current war is a result of that revolution.”