LAUNCHED BY THE SPEAKER AND
SUPREME COURT JUSTICE MICHAEL
GABLEMAN.
OTHER NEWS, LOCAL EFFORTS TO
HELP IN THE CRISIS HALF A WORLD
AWAY CONTINUE AS WISCONSINITES
FIND WAYS TO SUPPORT UKRAINE.
ONE SUCH EFFORT CALLED
"WISCONSIN UKRAINIANS" OUT OF
GREEN BAY IS RAISING FUNDS AND
AWARENESS, GATHERING RESOURCES
AND STORIES.
THE GROUP'S FOUNDER, JONATHAN
PYLYPIV JOINS US NOW.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
>> GOOD MORNING, THANKS FOR
GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO
HELP SHARE THE MESSAGE AND WHAT
WE ARE DOING AS AN ORGANIZATION,
THANK YOU.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
AS A NATIVE OF UKRAINE, WHEN YOU
LOOK UPON WHAT IS HAPPENING
THERE, YOU HAVE SAID THESE ARE
OUR FRIENDS, OUR FAMILIES, AND
OUR ANCESTORS.
HOW EMOTIONAL IS IT FOR YOU?
>> BOY, I MEAN, IT'S ALL VERY
RAW WHEN YOU HEAR OF SOME OF
THESE CITIES NOW THAT ARE BEING
LIBERATED AND THE WAR CRIMES,
THE ATROCITIES BEING DONE BY THE
RUSSIAN INVADERS, IT'S JUST --
NOT ONLY LIKE HEARTBREAKING BUT
ALSO JUST ENRAGING BECAUSE LIKE
UKRAINIAN PEOPLE WANT TO BE IN
PEACE AND OUR ANCESTORS, I THINK
OF MY GRANDMA AND LETTING THEIR
BODIES REST IN PEACE AND SO YOU
KNOW, IT MOTIVATES US ALSO TO DO
WHATEVER WE CAN IN WISCONSIN AND
REALLY ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TO
GALVANIZE THE SUPPORT LOCALLY
WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES, TO HELP
BRING POSITIVE CHANGE OF SUPPORT
BUT ALSO HELPING TELL THE STORY
SO PEOPLE HEAR THE UKRAINIAN
VOICE AND A DIRECT CONNECTION TO
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN UKRAINE.
>> TELL US WHAT YOUR GROUP IS
DOING.
I SEE THAT YOU ARE SITTING
BEFORE A STORAGE ROOM OF GOODS.
TELL US WHAT UKRAINIANS IN
WISCONSIN IS DOING.
>> YES, SO, WISCONSIN UKRAINIANS
STARTED AS A Facebook PAGE IN
2014, BUT NOW WE ARE A 501C3
PENDING ORGANIZATION AND WE HAVE
BOARD MEMBERS AND PEOPLE ALL
OVER THE CITY.
I HAPPEN TO BE IN THE FOX CITIES
AND A LOT OF US ARE IN THE GREEN
BAY AREA, COLLECTING MUCH NEEDED
ITEMS, WORKING WITH TRUSTED
PARTNERS IN UKRAINE TO HELP
LOGISTICS, TO GET ITEMS FROM
POINT A TO POINT B, AND THE
ITEMS YOU SEE BEHIND, THIS IS AT
ST. MATTHEW'S CHURCH, ONE OF
MANY DRIVES WE HAVE BEEN DOING
AND IT'S KIND OF AN ONGOING
EFFORT, AND ALSO FUNDRAISING, SO
WE CAN BUY SOME HIGH IMPACT
ITEMS.
WE ARE GETTING READY TO DONATE
FUNDS SO A LOCAL NON-PROFIT IN
UKRAINE CAN BUY A VAN TO NOT
ONLY TRANSPORT REFUGEES BUT ALSO
GOODS AND SUPPLIES MUCH NEEDED
LIKE MEDICINE AND OTHER ITEMS
LIKE THAT.
>> HOW HARD IS IT TO GET THOSE
DONATIONS TO THE PEOPLE IN
UKRAINE?
>> WHEN WE FIRST STARTED, A
GRASSROOTS EFFORT, A LOT OF US
FROM ALL OVER THE STATE JOINED
FORCES TO DO MORE TOGETHER.
THIS MORNING I WAS HELPING A
FRIEND WITH AN ART INSTALLATION,
I SAW THE CURRENT OF THE RIVER
HOW STRONG IT WAS, AND
REFLECTING ON IT THAT ALL OF US
IF WE MOVE TOGETHER AND WORK
TOWARDS THE COMMON GOALS OF
HELPING THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE WE
WILL BE STRONG AND POWERFUL
TOGETHER AND I THINK GETTING THE
ITEMS TO UKRAINE WE HAVE
MULTIPLE WAYS.
ONE IS BY WORKING WITH TRUSTED
PARTNERS LIKE HELP HEROES
UKRAINE, IN CHICAGO, AND LOCAL
TRUSTED PARTNERS IN UKRAINE AND
POLAND.
WE ALREADY HAVE TRUST RELATIONS
WITH SO SEND SOME FUNDS FOR
PEOPLE WE KNOW AND TRUST AND
THEY CAN PURCHASE SOME ITEMS
LOCALLY IN MANY INSTANCES AND
THEN GET THEM TO THE PEOPLE
REALLY QUICK, LIKE WE DID WITH
GENERATORS, GETTING THEM TO
POLAND AND THEN UKRAINE TO THE
MOST IMPACTFUL AREAS THAT NEEDED
GENERATORS.
>> YOU AND OTHERS ARE IN
CONSTANT COMMUNICATION WITH
PEOPLE IN UKRAINE.
WHAT DO THE PEOPLE THERE THINK
WILL HAPPEN?
>> YEAH, SO YOU KNOW, EVEN WHEN
THIS WAR -- THE INVASION
STARTED, I THINK THERE WAS A LOT
OF CONCERN THAT RUSSIA WILL KEEP
PUSHING AND YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY
IN THE LAST EIGHT PLUS YEARS AND
IN HISTORICALLY WE HAVE NOT SEEN
A LOT OF THE RUSSIAN LEADERSHIP
HONOR THEIR WORD, WHETHER IT'S
THE BUDAPEST MEMORANDUM WHEN
UKRAINE GAVE UP NUCLEAR WEAPONS,
WHETHER IT'S 1932 AND 1933,
MILLIONS OF UKRAINIANS WERE
KILLED AND STARVED, SO VIEWING
IT AS ANOTHER GENOCIDE OF THE
UKRAINIAN PEOPLE.
THEY ARE KILLING CIVILIANS,
TARGETING CHILDREN, WOMEN, THEY
ARE NOT LETTING PEOPLE FLEE TO
SAFETY AND THEY ARE CUTTING OFF
FOOD AND WATER.
BASIC NEEDS.
AND SO WE ARE -- AND THEN SOME
OF THESE AREAS ARE BEING RETAIN
BY THE UKRAINIANS, HORRIBLE
ATROCITIES.
SOME OF THE RUSSIAN TERRORISTS
ARE DEFICATING ON THE CORPSES OF
UKRAINIAN PEOPLE.
HOW LOW AND DEPRIVED THIS
INVASION IS.
SO, WE ARE NOT ONLY FRUSTRATED
AND UPSET, BUT WILL EXPOSE THE
TRUTH THAT'S HAPPENING.
>> THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR YOUR