After White House Zelensky meeting, Modesto residents reaffirm Ukrainian support | Opinion

Last week, the Modesto-Khmelnytskyi committee at the Modesto Sister Cities International had a warm and meaningful Zoom meeting with our friends in our sister city of Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine — an important showing of goodwill and peace between two groups separated by 7,000 miles.

The agreement of cooperation and friendship between Modesto and Khmelnytskyi was signed back in 1987 when Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union.

This virtual meeting was requested by the governor of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Serhiy Tyurin, only one day before it occurred. When I inquired about the purpose of the meeting, Tyurin’s representative told me that they were eager to know whether the American people “still” support Ukraine.

The Ukrainians were truly discouraged and deeply upset by the treatment of President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House last month by U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance. They told us that they felt bluntly betrayed by the U.S., as Russian President Vladimir Putin was never once mentioned as the aggressor, and Ukraine was blamed for provoking the war by defending its freedom, independence and sovereignty.

Trump unfairly and unjustly accused Ukraine of being non-compliant with Russian demands to abstain from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in an attempt to remain protected and independent from Russia.

This sentiment is blatant victim blaming — the act of partially or entirely blaming the victim of a crime or other consequential incident for what happened to them. It would be as if an aggressive neighbor with an assault rifle invaded and occupied a quarter of your home, then “offered” you the opportunity to negotiate for a peace deal. Right now, Russia occupies 20% of Ukraine. Certainly, occupied Ukraine should not be pressured to negotiate a deal.

Despite the 10-hour time difference between California and Ukraine, the current chair, current committee member and past president of the Modesto-Khmelnytskyi committee at the Modesto Sister Cities International immediately agreed to a call. We all felt sincere empathy for the Ukrainians’ confusion and urgent desire to communicate.

The 90-minute meeting was a reassuring, inspiring gathering on Zoom. Tyurin expressed his sincere gratitude to Modestans, Californians and Americans for their unwavering support of Ukraine’s defense of its sovereignty, freedom and democracy in the face of Russia’s brutal and unprovoked all-out war.

“During these extremely difficult times, your support is of utmost importance,” he said. “We share human values and a common vision of our democratic future. American support is not limited to diplomatic or financial help, it is also moral and spiritual. And we are very grateful for that.”

During the call, we noticed the lightening of moods and the return of hope on the Ukrainians’ faces.

Modesto Sister Cities International recently spearheaded several important fundraisers to help our sister city in Ukraine since the all-out war that began three years ago. Those include but are not limited to a Borscht Dinner that raised $75,000 to provide generators for the children’s hospital, and “The Uprooted” documentary about the Russian abduction of Ukrainian children, which gathered $10,000 for the prisoner of war children’s rehab center.

The people of Modesto, Stanislaus County and California are not giving up on Ukraine. It is more imperative than ever that we stand with our Ukrainian brothers and sisters as champions for freedom, democracy and peace.