Against the backdrop of the updated “peace plan” proposed by the US, the Ukrainian community in Chicago is skeptical about the prospects for ending the war, believing that surrendering to the aggressor is unacceptable.
This was reported by ABC7 Chicago.
It is currently known that Russia rejects the proposals for the updated plan and continues to terrorize the civilian population of Ukraine with new shelling. Therefore, Ukrainians in Illinois remain resolute in their position - no concessions to the aggressor.
“People support this mission. We must win the war. We cannot give up our territory - this is wrong. The peace plan cannot be implemented if Russia does not agree to at least a ceasefire,” said Vitaly Kutniy, CEO of Selfreliance Federal Credit Union, a financial institution created for the Ukrainian diaspora.
A similar opinion was expressed by the head of the Illinois branch of the Ukrainian Congressional Committee of America, Maria Dmytriv-Kapenyak.
“Ukrainians will not give up their territories and their freedom. If they wanted to do it, it would have happened in 2022,” said Dr. Dmytriv-Kapenyak.
At the same time, given Russia’s opposition to establishing peace, the community believes that it will not be possible to achieve a ceasefire in the near future. However, there is also a positive: the unification of European allies around this process.
“The positive is that all of Europe has finally united into one bloc. And they did it: they all participated in negotiations with the United States,” she added.
According to Dmytriv-Kapenyak, the United States should not have acted alone, but cooperated with Europe to end the war and put pressure on Putin.
“The solution is for the United States and Europe to cooperate to end the war and increase pressure on Putin, because he is the only person who can really stop this war,”
summarized Dmytriv-Kapenyak.
Despite the Thanksgiving holiday, activists hope that attention to the peace process will not wane.
“The reality is that there is no future in cooperation with Russia or Putin. Russia is increasingly becoming a “paper tiger” that terrorizes civilians in Ukraine only because it is losing on the battlefield and losing the support of the world. What gives hope is that the support of the American people has never weakened, and more and more elected officials from both parties are starting to talk about it openly. Russia can only deceive the world so many times – and this limit has long been exhausted,” commented the situation on her Facebook page Maria Dmytriv-Kapenyak.
Photo: Mariya Dmytriv-Kapeniak
Author: Inna Mikhno