Ukrainians: Putin could come for Europe next

Sydney’s Ukrainian community has issued a stern warning to Europe — step up to fight Russia or things could get a lot worse.

Ukrainian-Australians are placing the blame of war solely at one person – Russian president Vladimir Putin.

A church service at St Andrew’s Ukrainian Catholic Church saw 150 members of the community come together to share support and pray for their friends and family sheltering as Russia invades Ukraine.

They all shared a mixture of shock, anger, sadness, and resolve.

Andrew Mencinsky, director, Ukrainian Council of NSW, said it’s another tragedy instigated by Russia that will spill the blood of Ukrainians.

“People in our community are sad, and they’re incredibly angry that the evil of one man is causing so much grief to Ukrainians again,” said Mr Mencinsky.

“Who knows how many hundreds were killed yesterday on the first day of war.”

Ruslan Sovinsky, 27, was born and raised in Ukraine, and has lived in Australia for three years. He has been trying to keep up with family and friends, who were blindsided when the invasion started.

“Nobody expected Putin to go all in and attack regions so close to the west. At 5am the bombs just dropped,” said Mr Sovinskyy.

“I don’t have any family fighting currently, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they have to pick up arms”.

Ruslan Sovinsky says his family in Ukraine might need to take up arms.

He was reassured by the presence of Russians also protesting the invasion at Martin Place in Sydney yesterday.

“It’s good to see that we’re all against one person. Not people against people”, said Mr Sovinskyy.

For young father Tim Lanycia, the struggle against Russia runs deep. His grandfather at 16 fought alongside his friends against the Soviet Union.

“It was whatever it took to push the Russians,” said Mr Lancyia.

“Europe needs to come to the party and do a lot more than just sanctions in our time of need. Ukraine just wants to be free.”

Olexa Matriouk grew up in Sydney’s west, near Lidcombe where many Ukrainian immigrants set up in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and said it’s still the centre of the community.

He has family in Ukraine, who own small businesses and are trying to keep them open to serve the community.

That includes an retired serviceman uncle who works as a security guard at a military facility in central Ukraine.

When the fighting broke out, they feared for his safety, especially when relatives in Ukraine could not get in contact with him.

“We acted as a bridge between them until she could patch in via the cell phone network,” said Mr Matriouk.

Matriouk’s partner, Anna Martyniak, wants Australians to write to their local member of parliament

“We’re really grateful for the people in Russia who are also protesting this war.

“There’s some comfort in knowing that so many people are banding together and are fundamentally against what is going on in Ukraine.”

Ms Matriouk paints a bleak picture of what may happen next.

“If we don’t stop [Putin] he’ll do it again. His first attempt was with Georgia in 2008, now it’s Ukraine. Who knows who’s next,” said Ms Matriouk.

About eight kilometres across Sydney, The Russian Club in Strathfield was quiet but its doors were unlocked and reception staffed.

An employee, who did not wish to be named, distanced the club from the Russian military action in Ukraine.

“This is a Russian social club — we don’t do politics or opinion here,” she said.

The exasperated employee didn’t want to wade into fielding any opinions.

“Of course we don’t want war, we want peace. But we’re not going to go out and demonstrate in support of Ukraine, either side for that matter.

“We all choose to live in Australia, in freedom.”
Two other members of the Russian community in Sydney explained the difficult position they find themselves in, as Russians and Ukrainians in Australia have to date been able to coexist seperate of the political turmoil overseas. That’s a blessing that they appreciate.
Even at the Russian Orthodox Church, many members are also Ukrainian, or Russian-Ukrainian. Members are multilingual, and read coverage of the invasion from Russian, Ukrainian, and English sources, adding to schisms of opinion.

They said they pray and hope it the conflict will be resolved as soon as possible so that less lives are lost, and that no-one unfairly targets the community here.
They did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, citing the vandalism of Rookwood Cemetary in 2015 as an example of how the Ukrainian-Russian conflicts can spill into Sydney.