About thirty University of Alabama students got a firsthand lesson about the crisis in Ukraine. Alabama Public Radio moderated a forum on Vladimir Putin’s attack on that former Soviet nation. Attendees included people with family in Ukraine and Russia who voiced concern over the safety of their relatives. Oleg Kyselov* is a visiting Fulbright scholar from Ukraine. His mother is trying to escape Kyiv by taking a train to Odessa. Kyselov says Russian artillery is nearby.
“She bought a ticket today for Odessa,” But, like…you know, she bought ticket and then a rocket was near that train station.”
Kyselov’s mother wasn’t injured in the rocket attack. Students heard from one Russian attendee who has concerns of her own for relatives living in the Ukrainian capitol of Kyiv. Another is worried that his brother faces financial ruin because of Western sanctions. Kyselov also observed how public opinion is changing on Ukraine’s President. He says intellectuals originally opposed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy*, but things are changing…
“But, what I’m seeing in the social medias, everybody likes Zelenskyy. Because…because we didn’t expect that he would be so brave,” said Kyselov.
This monthly forum is called “Tuscaloosa Takes On The World.” It takes place at Monarch Espresso Bar, an APR underwriter. Previous topics have included the United States’ place in global affairs, and the world’s responsibility to the environment.