IT’S ALL TODAY ON FLASH POINT.
♪
>> WELL, AS DIFFICULT AS IT’S
BEEN TO WATCH EVENTS UNFOLDING
IN UKRAINE.
IF YOU’RE UKRAINIAN IT’S SO MUCH
MORE SO.
MICHIGAN IS HOME TO NEARLY
40,000 UKRAINIAN-AMERICANS AND
ALL HOPING AGAINST HOPE THAT THE
RUSSIAN ARMY CAN BE HELD AT BAY.
LET’S TALK TO BOTH OF THE
MEMBERS OF THE UKRAINIAN
RESPONSE COMMITTEE OF MICHIGAN.
I’M SO SORRY FOR WHAT YOU’RE
GOING THROUGH.
CAN YOU GIVE ME WHAT IT’S LIKE
FOR YOU UNFOLDING THE LAST
COUPLE OF DAYS?
>> THE EVENTS UNFOLDING FOR THE
LAST COUPLE OF DAYS ARE
DEVASTATING AND TROUBLESOME AND
WE’RE IN ANGER.
THE UKRAINIAN COMMUNITY IS
GRATEFUL FOR THE AMERICAN
SUPPORT PARTICULARLY SHARING
EQUIPMENT AND INTELLIGENCE.
AT THE SAME TIME SO MANY OF
MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITIES ON
THE SANCTIONS PACKAGE LAUNCHED
FEBRUARY 24TH BY PRESIDENT
BIDEN.
AND FOR NOW, OUR PEOPLE, WE’RE
IN DEEP GRIEF AND WE SUPPORT
UKRAINE AND PEOPLE WHO ARE IN
HOME, OUR FAMILIES, OUR
RELATIVES, OUR FRIENDS, THEY ARE
SUFFERING TREMENDOUSLY.
AND THEY’RE SUFFERING MINUTE BY
MINUTE AND IT JUST RUINING OUR
HEARTS AND WE FEEL HELPLESS.
>> Devin: I CERTAINLY CAN
UNDERSTAND AND SYMPATHIZE WITH
THAT SENSE.
IT DOES FEEL HELPLESS.
>> BORIS, WHAT IS IT LIKE FOR
YOU TO WATCH?
>> WELL, OUR COMMUNITY HAS CAME
TOGETHER BACK ON THURSDAY FOR A
LARGE RALLY PRIOR TO THAT WE
HELD TWO PRAYER SERVICES AND OUR
PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND OUR
NEIGHBORS AND THE OTHER ETHNIC
COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN SO
SUPPORTIVE BY COMING OUT AND
EXPRESSING THEIR CONCERNS AND
THEIR GRIEF RIGHT ALONG WITH US.
SO, IT’S BROUGHT US TOGETHER TO
SHARE OUR CONCERNS, BUT AT THE
SAME TIME, THE SITUATION IN
UKRAINE HAS REACHED SUCH A
CRITICAL TIPPING POINT WHERE THE
COUNTRY IS FIGHTING AND OUR
BRETHREN, MY NEPHEW IS IN THE
TERRITORIAL DEFENSE OF KYIV, AND
I LEARNED TODAY THAT RUSSIAN
AGENTS, SO-CALLED, ARE IN THE
HEART OF THE CITY BLOWING UP
BUILDINGS AND KILLING PEOPLE AND
IT’S OVER THE TOP.
>> Devin: IT CERTAINLY IS.
OLENA, I’M CURIOUS, I WANT TO GO
BACK A COUPLE OF DAYS.
WHEN VLADIMIR PUTIN GAVE THAT
LONG RAMBLING, TO MANY PEOPLE’S
WAY OF THINKING, VERY STRANGE
SPEECH, HE TRIED TO REACH BACK
INTO THE 17TH CENTURY AND WENT
WAY BACK AND FELT TO
HISTORICALLY THAT UKRAINIANS AND
RUSSIANS BELONG TOGETHER.
THAT YOU’RE THE SAME.
DOES THAT ARGUMENT, DOES HIS
RATIONALE MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL
TO YOU?
>> OF COURSE IT’S A LIE, AND AS
YOU KNOW, PUTIN IS ALWAYS USING
ALL OF THESE LIES TO BRAINWASH
THE OLD PEOPLE AND TO MISINFORM.
IN CENTURIES UKRAINE IS A VERY
LONGSTANDING COUNTRY AND HAS A
VERY, VERY LONG HISTORY.
AND RUSSIA, WHAT WAS NAMED
RUSSIA, IT WAS BEFOREMOSKOVIA AN
UKRAINE IS AN INDEPENDENT NATION
RIGHT NOW AND THEY FOUGHT FOR
THEIR INDEPENDENCE FOR MANY,
MANY YEARS AND LAST 30 YEARS,
WE’RE INDEPENDENT AND PUTIN
COULDN’T STAND IT.
HE WANTS TO MAKE THE HISTORY HIS
HISTORY BECAUSE HE DOESN’T HAVE
HISTORY.
HE WANTS TO ENSLAVE UKRAINIANS
BACK AND HE WANTS TO EXTINGUISH
THEM AND THAT’S WHAT HE’S DOING
RIGHT NOW.
>> Devin: AND HE ALSO, WE THINK
OF THE SOVIET UNION OF BEING
ATHEIST, AND HE SEEMS TO BE
TALKING ORTHODOX FAITH, THAT THE
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX FAITH GOT ITS
BEGINNINGS IN KYIV AND SOMEHOW
THAT THAT JOINS THE TWO OF YOU
TOGETHER.
IS THERE A FAITH COMPONENT OF
THIS THAT ANYBODY BUYS AT ALL?
>> SO HE TALKS OUR ORTHODOXY
RELIGION AS HIS OWN BECAUSE THE
ORTHODOX RELIGION STARTED IN
KYIV BACK WAY IN UKRAINE AND AS
UKRAINIANS BELIEFS, BUT CLAIMS
THAT IT’S HIS BIRTHPLACE FOR
THEIR RELIGION, BUT FOR THE
SOVIET UNION, ALL CHURCH,
RUSSIAN CHURCH WAS MOSTLY BY KGB
AGENTS AND HE RUINED UKRAINIAN
ORTHODOX CHURCH.
BY CLAIMING AND SHIFTING A POINT
THAT’S WHY HE CLAIMS THAT
ORTHODOX CHURCH INTO RUSSIA.
>> Devin: IT DIDN’T FEEL LIKE
ANYBODY IN UKRAINE ARE BUYING IT
AND I’M NOT SURE IF THE FOLKS IN
RUSSIA ARE EITHER, IT’S
DIFFICULT TO TELL HOW THEY’RE
PROCESSING INFORMATION OUT OF
THE KREMLIN.
BORIS, WE’VE ALL BEEN TOUCHED
AND MOVED BY THESE INDIVIDUAL
STORIES THAT WE’RE HEARING OF
BRAVERY.
THE SOLDIERS ON THE ISLAND AND
BASICALLY TORNADO THE RUSSIAN
WARSHIP AND I CAN’T REPEAT IT ON
TELEVISION, BUT WE’VE WATCHED
PEOPLE CONFRONTING SOLDIERS AND
I DON’T IMAGINE ANY OF THAT IS
SURPRISING YOU AND WHAT YOU KNOW
ABOUT THE UKRAINIAN CHARACTER?
>> IF I CAN JUST BRIEFLY
REFERENCE THE PREVIOUS QUESTION.
>> Devin: SURE.
>> FOUR YEARS AGO THE HEAD OF
THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN THE
WORLD, BARTHOLOMEW, PROCLAIMED
UKRAINE’S ORTHODOX CHURCH
TOTALLY SEPARATE AND INDEPENDENT
OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH.
THIS WAS A HUGE STEP TOWARDS
GLOBAL RECOGNITION OF UKRAINE’S
SOVEREIGNTY, INDEPENDENCE, AND
ITS WILL TO PRAY, LIVE, AND BE
FREE AS THEMSELVES.
AS TO THE HORRIFYING PICTURES ON
OUR SCREENS, CERTAINLY WAR IS
WAR.
UKRAINE KNOWS WAR.
FOR EIGHT YEARS, I’VE BEEN TO
THE WAR FRONT OVER 25 TIMES.
I’VE TAKEN DELEGATIONS FROM
WASHINGTON FROM CANADA, FROM THE
EUROPEAN UNION.
THERE HAS BEEN AN EIGHT-YEAR
WAR.
THERE ARE OVER 300,000 VETERANS,
RESERVES FROM THAT WAR.
THERE’S A 250,000 STANDING ARMY
THAT’S FIGHTING NOW AND THE
RESERVES AS WELL.
>> Devin: YEAH.
>> UKRAINE KNOWS WHAT IT MEANS
TO SPILL BLOOD, BUT UKRAINE ALSO
KNOWS HOW PRECIOUS AND HOW YOU
NEED TO FIGHT FOR YOUR FREEDOM.
FREEDOM IS NEVER GIVEN.
YOU HAVE TO FIGHT FOR IT.
>> Devin: AND WE’RE WATCHING
THEM DO THAT, WE’RE WATCHING
EXTREME ACTS OF BRAVERY.
OLENA YOU’RE MOSTLY WORRIED
ABOUT UKRAINE OF COURSE, WHERE
ARE YOUR FEARS WHERE THIS IS ALL
ULTIMATELY HEADED?
I DON’T IMAGINE YOU, LIKE MANY
OTHERS, BELIEVE THAT VLADIMIR
PUTIN IS GOING TO BE FINISHED
ONCE IT’S JUST UKRAINE.
>> MY FEAR IS THAT UKRAINE RIGHT
NOW WILL BE DEMOLISHED
COMPLETELY AND PEOPLE WILL BE
SUFFERING ENORMOUSLY AND WHAT’S
GOING ON RIGHT NOW, THE SUFFER,
THE FEAR OF UNKNOWN AND PUTIN’S
SPECIAL FORCES, THEY ARE TAKING
UKRAINE OVER IN ALL PARTS.
AND THAT WOULD BE HUGE PROBLEM
FOR SURROUNDING COUNTRIES
BECAUSE AS WE CAN SEE RIGHT NOW,
THAT PUTIN, HE’S LEVERAGING HIS
FORCES AND HE’S SURE THAT HE
COULD TAKE UKRAINE AND HE WOULD
BE PUNISHED FOR IT AND ALL
COUNTRIES AROUND UKRAINE, THEY
KNEW THAT PUTIN WILL NOT STOP
THERE.
BECAUSE BY KILLING DEMOCRACY IN
UKRAINE, HE’LL MOVE FARTHER AND
HE’S LEVERAGING HIS FORCE.
>> Devin: BEFORE I LET YOU GO.
AND QUICKLY FOR AMERICANS WHO
WANT TO SHOW SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE
AND UKRAINIAN-AMERICANS, YOU’VE
GOT A COUPLE OF EVENTS COMING
UP, INCLUDING ONE THIS AFTERNOON
AT HART PLAZA.
>> YES, WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A
FLASH MOP AT 1:00 AT HART PLAZA.
AND ALL OF OUR FELLOW AMERICANS
WHO CARE ABOUT UKRAINE ARE ASKED
TO COME OUT.
THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE A LONG
EVENT.
A FLASH MOBS ARE USUALLY VERY
BRIEF, BUT IT’S A CHANCE TO SHOW
OURSELVES TO OUR FELLOW
DETROITERS AND GET THE WORD OUT.
THERE’S ALSO TOMORROW THERE’S
GOING TO BE A VERY SOLEMN EVENT
AT THE UKRAINIAN GENOCIDE
MEMORIAL IN WASHINGTON D.C.
REPRESENTATIVE ANDY LEVIN IS
GOING TO BRING OUT A COUPLE OF
DOZEN CONGRESSMEN FOR A SPECIAL
PRAYER AND RECOMMITMENT TO
UKRAINE BY HIMSELF AND HIS
COLLEAGUES AT THIS MONUMENT THAT
REALLY REMINDS EVERYBODY WHAT
COULD BE IN STORE FOR UKRAINE.
>> Devin: A COUPLE OF
OPPORTUNITIES THERE.
OLENA AND BORIS, THANK YOU FOR
YOUR TIME.
OUR HEARTS ARE WITH YOU AND BE