Residents decry Russian invasion

Why do we have to wait until that point to go assist and help these innocent people?”

Nina Babayev, West Hempstead

West Hempstead residents of Ukrainian, eastern European and Jewish backgrounds, including two community members who lived under the Soviet Union, condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on Feb. 24 and called for peace.

The United Nations reported on March 9 that 516 civilians, including 37 children, have been killed during the conflict, figures that are widely believed to be undercounted.

“I think the Cold War has definitely played on Putin’s mind,” said Nina Babayev, a resident of West Hempstead who resided in Uzbekistan when it was part of the Soviet Union, and is now home to the Russian Federation that invaded Ukraine last month.

Babayev, who is Jewish and is part of the Zichron Kedoshim synagogue in West Hempstead, moved to the United States in 1994, four years after the fall of the USSR.

“I don’t understand why he had to go back and capture it,” she said of Putin’s move to take over Ukraine, adding that she believes the Russian leader has aspirations to regain Soviet Union-era power, structure and size for Russia.

The invasion of Ukraine has grown increasingly destructive since it began last month.

A Russian airstrike hit a maternity hospital in the southern city of Mariupol, injuring 17 people as of March 9. At least 1,170 civilians have been killed in Mariupol alone amid the invasion, and the port city is without water, food and electricity.

The U.S. and Europe have imposed a number of sanctions on Russia since the invasion began over two weeks ago, crippling the Russian economy and decreasing the value of the country’s currency, the Ruble. The U.S. House of Representatives finalized a package on March 9 that would send $13.6 billion in humanitarian, economic and military aid to Ukraine, as well as funding to target Russian oligarchs.

Babayev recounted the suffering she experienced while living under the USSR, recalling memories of empty shelves of food at stores in Uzbekistan. “There’s nothing to eat,” she said, likening the invasion of Ukraine today to Soviet-era devastation of its surrounding countries.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainians are currently living without food, water or electricity.

Babayev said the large Jewish population in Ukraine, which numbers up to 400,000, is suffering amid the Russian war. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Jewish people fled to other countries throughout eastern and western Europe, including Ukraine.

Earlier this month, Russia bombed Babyn Yar, a site that commemorates tens of thousands of Ukrainian victims of the Holocaust that were killed there. Five people were killed in the attack on the Holocaust memorial. A fire raged and a structure collapsed at the Babyn Yar memorial site, adjacent to a Jewish cemetery, following the attack, which included a missile attack and shelling.

“He’s wiping out all the proof of the Holocaust and its existence,” she said, calling Putin a “repeat of Hitler.”

Babayev said Russia’s attempt to take over a sovereign nation disregards the struggle of the Ukrainian people for their independence, which was declared in August 1991, the same month as her native Uzbekistan.

“People are enjoying their prosperity; they’re enjoying their independence,” she stressed.

Babayev called on the U.S. and the world to do more to help Ukraine.

“What’s mind-boggling is that the whole world is just sitting and watching and not coming to their aid,” she said. “Why do we have to wait until that point to go assist and help these innocent people?”

“I can’t believe this senseless war is taking place,” said Joe Varon, a resident of West Hempstead who is involved with various synagogues throughout the community that have organized fundraisers on behalf of Ukraine. “This is the same type of cruelty to innocent people that took place in World War II,” he said.

“Ukraine wasn’t bothering anybody,” Varon said. “They were just going about their daily lives; they weren’t attacking Russia. This is a pure war of aggression.”

Varon noted that a children and maternity hospital was attacked in Ukraine on March 9 and that the invasion has led two million refugees to flee the war-torn nation.

“I watch the news and I see people in wheelchairs and on walkers being evacuated and their houses are destroyed… what did the Ukrainian people do to provoke this? Absolutely nothing,” Varon said.

While he lamented that the post-World War II order that prized not invading sovereign nations may be over, Varon expressed optimism at the Biden administration’s commitment to sanctioning the Russian economy, an effort that has brought Europe and the U.S. together.

“Maybe the world is more unified now,” Varon said, comparing Ukraine to the Biblical story of David and Goliath. “I’m really praying that the little Ukraine is going to be able to survive,” he said.

Varon urged people to donate funds and food supplies to Ukraine. Click this link for a list of top-rated charities helping Ukraine: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/09/heres-a-list-of-top-rated-charities-to-help-the-ukraine-relief-effort.html.