Ukrainian Americans rally in Warren, ask Rep. John James to vote for Ukraine aid

Warren ― Nearly three dozens members and supporters of Metro Detroit's Ukrainian American community rallied outside U.S. Rep. John James' office in Warren on Monday to push the congressman to back more aid for Ukraine.

Some waved the blue-and-yellow flag of Ukraine along Van Dyke Avenue. Others held signs, including one that read, "Children should dream of rockets in space. NOT HIDE FROM ROCKETS THAT TAKE LIVES." At one point, the group sang a patriotic Ukrainian song.

"It's a matter of life and death," Stephen Pobutsky said of the aid to Ukraine. "People are dying."

$60 billion in aid for the eastern European country is stalled in the Republican-controlled House. The Senate approved a $95 billion package to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan last week, but House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has not yet put forward a plan for passing it in the House.

Michigan is home to nearly 38,000 people of Ukrainian descent, according to 2022 data from the census. Olena Danelyuk, one of the organizers, said the community is asking James to take "a different look" at the problem and support Ukraine. She said they want James to vote for aid for Ukraine and convince other Republican leaders to support it.

Danelyuk said Ukrainians are usually "a very silent nation."

"We are protesting when it's really, really bad," she said.

Organizers held a smaller demonstration on Van Dyke Avenue in the morning.

Noah Sadlier, James' spokesperson, said the Shelby Township congressman is a "staunch friend" of Ukrainian Americans in Michigan. He said James has worked directly with the Ukrainian American Civic Committee of Metropolitan Detroit to "advance numerous priorities of theirs."

"John and our team have hosted the committee in our offices for numerous meetings, and look forward to continuing our partnership in the months and years ahead," Sadlier said in a statement.

Sadlier didn't address whether James supports the $95 billion foreign aid package. In an interview with Fox News last summer, James touched on the war in Ukraine, including President Biden's decision to approve the mobilization of reserve troops to Europe.

“Simply saying you’re going to hold Russia accountable and stand by Ukraine is not enough," he said then. "We need a clearly articulated mission to make sure that we can protect our interests at home and abroad. We must do both, and our homeland defenses cannot be put on the backburner. Defending America first must be our No. 1 priority."

The war in Ukraine reached its two-year anniversary Saturday. Ukraine forces abandoned the eastern city of Avdiika this month after regaining significant territory earlier in the year from Russian forces.

In a country of 41 million people, Ukraine has seen 30,457 civilian casualties, including 10,582 killed and 19,875 injured, but the actual numbers are likely to be significantly higher, according to the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

Ukrainian Americans in Michigan rally for Ukraine

Marie Zarycky of Warren said the group wasn't protesting James. She said his support of Ukraine was "evident from the moment he took office."

"However, we want to remind him of our great trust in him and his continued support, especially when it comes time to vote in Congress," she said.

Clarkston resident Anna Lysa said she immigrated to the United States 20 years years ago. She has friends who are living in Germany with their children while they husbands fight in the war.

"They left their homes," she said. "They left their jobs. They left their lives, husbands."

Aid for Ukraine

Johnson, the U.S. House speaker, is caught between a wide swath of House Republicans who support the Ukraine aid and a vocal faction who strongly oppose it. Some have threatened to try to remove him as speaker if he puts the aid package up for a vote.

Organizer Danelyuk said a group of 25 Ukrainian Americans met with James in December to discuss their concerns. She said James had questions about transparency, or how Ukraine was spending the money it was getting from the United States. She said the community said the aid is being spent in a transparent way.

Danelyuk said the majority of aid to Ukraine is being spent in the United States. Natalie Melnyczuk, a former NATO representative to Ukraine and a doctoral student at Wayne State University, said Biden has been sending weapons in the country's stockpile to Ukraine; the U.S. government then uses aid money to buy new weapons from defense contractors in the United States to replenish the stockpile.