HARTFORD, Conn. – An overflow crowd of 400 concerned citizens packed the auditorium at the Ukrainian National Home in Hartford on Monday, March 9, to hear U.S. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) share their concerns about the current crisis in Ukraine. The unusual early morning visit drew people from across Connecticut and beyond, including friends from the Baltic and Polish communities and non-affiliated supporters. The event drew a swarm of area reporters, photographers and cameramen.
Both senators insisted on more economic and military aid to help Ukraine rebuild its economy and withstand Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Putin is attempting not just to break Ukraine,” said Sen. Murphy. “He is trying to break Europe, to break the trans-Atlantic alliance, and if he is not stopped there, then we have no idea what the end point will be. We believe that this is one of the greatest threats that the world order has ever faced…”
In December of 2013, Sens. Murphy and McCain traveled together to Kyiv where they addressed a massive crowd of over 500,000 demonstrators on Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosty) at the height of the national uprising that has since become known as the Euro-Maidan or the “Revolution of Dignity.”
“As long as I live, I will never forget that incredible sight,” said Sen. Murphy, who expressed deep admiration for the demonstrators who withstood weeks of sub-zero temperatures and vicious police attacks to demand the restoration of democracy and an end to the corrupt regime of Viktor Yanukovych.
In explaining his motivation for supporting more aid to Ukraine, Sen. McCain added: “No one could have stood in that square, as Chris and I have, seeing so many people in freezing weather, without doing everything we can to help them succeed.”
Following a warm welcome by Hartford-area community leader and activist Myron Kolinsky, the forum opened with an invocation by Bishop Paul Chomnycky, Ukrainian Catholic eparch of Stamford, Conn. The Yevshan Ukrainian Vocal Ensemble then sang the American and Ukrainian national anthems and a musical setting of Taras Shevchenko’s “Zapovit” (Testament) – appropriate both for its solemn tone and to note the March 9 birthday of Ukraine’s greatest national hero, poet and abolitionist.
In his introduction, Alexander Kuzma, the chief development officer of the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation (UCEF) welcomed both senators and thanked them for their “impassioned advocacy of human rights and justice for Ukraine.”
Sen. McCain received a particularly warm welcome from a large group of Ukrainian American veterans sitting in the front row across from a large group of Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox clergy.
The Arizona senator warned that Vladimir Putin is on a mission to restore the old Russian Empire. “We have seen this movie before,” he said. Sen. McCain added that if Mr. Putin were to invade any of the Baltic countries that would require a direct military response from NATO.
With tongue in cheek, Sen. McCain recalled the moment when President George W. Bush said he looked into Mr. Putin’s eyes and thought he could see into the Russian leader’s soul. Sen. McCain quipped that he also tried looking into Mr. Putin’s eyes, but all he could see there were the letters “K-G-B.” This received a hearty round of applause and laughter from the audience.
On a more serious note, Sen. McCain warned that the city of Mariupol was next on Mr. Putin’s agenda for conquest. Sen. McCain said that the Russians have an unfair advantage in their assault against Ukraine. Both senators urged the Obama administration to provide the military aid, defensive weapons and intelligence that Ukrainians need to defend their sovereignty.
Sen. Murphy thanked Sen. McCain for taking the time out of his schedule to visit Connecticut. He praised him as one of a small handful of courageous “bridge builders” in the Republican Party who are not afraid to reach out across the aisle to build bipartisan support for important initiatives. Returning the compliment, Sen. McCain said that Sen. Murphy was a “worthy successor” to his good friend, Connecticut’s retired Sen. Joseph Lieberman. The former presidential contender also joked that “if I were as good-looking as Chris Murphy, I might be president today.”
The statements by the senators were followed by a lively question-and-answer period during which members of the community addressed specific issues of interest. Dr. Marta Bojko of Yale University urged the senators to support “integrated medical aid” to help soldiers and civilians recover from injuries and post-traumatic stress. Eugene Babij of Manchester asked the senators to help expedite the $17 billion from the International Monetary Fund that Ukraine needed to stabilize its economy. And Roma Hayda of Fairfield County asked the senators to help counter Mr. Putin’s propaganda machine.
During an especially poignant moment during the question and answer session, both senators left the podium to personally greet two young Ukrainian war veterans, Roman Lutsiuk and Roman Dzivinskyi, who are undergoing treatment for wounds they sustained while fighting Russian troops and separatists in eastern Ukraine – Mr. Lutsiuk at Yale-New Haven Medical Center and Mr. Dzivinskyi in Philadelphia. The image of Sen. McCain shaking hands with the wheelchair-bound Mr. Lutsiuk was carried along with front-page stories in the New Haven Register and other publications.
As the question-and-answer period drew to a close, Sen. McCain praised the Ukrainian-American community of Connecticut for its humanitarian aid efforts and for its advocacy in support of Ukraine. Quoting Winston Churchill during the bleak early days of Hitler’s attacks on Great Britain, McCain told the audience, “You must never, ever, ever give up!”
At the close of the program, Michael Sawkiw Jr., director of the Ukrainian National Information Service, and Tamara Olexy, the president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America and a Connecticut native, presented Sen. McCain with a Friend of Ukraine award, similar to one they had bestowed earlier on Sen. Murphy and other supporters of Ukraine’s freedom.
The March 9 program received extensive coverage in many Connecticut media outlets, including over 20 feature stories in newspapers such as the Hartford Courant, the New Haven Register, the Journal Inquirer, the Connecticut Post, as well as public radio station WNPR and TV station Fox News Connecticut.