Letters

Russia’s bombing of Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown, is another brutal chapter in a war that has sought to erase Ukraine’s sovereignty and identity.

For me, this attack is personal. My mother went to Hebrew school in Kryvyi Rih during the Great War. She spoke Russian and Yiddish at home, not Ukrainian.

Yet today, I say without hesitation: I am Ukrainian. Just as John F. Kennedy stood in Berlin and declared, “Ich bin ein Berliner,” to defend a city under threat, I stand with Ukraine, a nation fighting for its freedom and survival.

Ukraine is not Russian. The people of Ukraine have made this clear time and again. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukrainians voted overwhelmingly for independence. Even Russia recognized Ukraine as a sovereign state.

In good faith, Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal — the third of the total under Russian control at the time — believing in a future secured by international agreements. Yet, today, that trust has been betrayed.

Ukraine has chosen democracy, self-determination and closer ties with the West. But Vladimir Putin’s Russia insists that Ukraine is merely an extension of its empire. This war is not about “protecting” Russian speakers or historical claims; it is about power, control, and a refusal to accept that Ukraine belongs to its people, not to Moscow.

Kryvyi Rih, like every city in Ukraine, deserves peace, not bombs. Ukraine has the right to exist, to choose its own future, and to stand as a free nation.

And, today, I stand with it. I am Ukrainian.

Jorge Balan

Westhampton