Waking up in a borrowed room in northeastern Washington and getting into a borrowed car every morning, racing against time: the death toll in Ukraine is rising by the day and the due date is approaching.
The girl will arrive on April 12th.
To date, 36-year-old Ukrainian MP Oleksandra “Sasha” Ustinova has cut sneakers – which she could only wear when she was 37 weeks pregnant – in congress halls for charity as the death toll rises. In a war zone where you have to give birth.
“We are still negotiating for help. “I tell them that every negotiation day is thousands of lives,” 36-year-old Ustinova said as she took a short break from lobbying over the weekend. “For every Ukrainian, we are afraid to open Facebook every night to see the news on who was killed that day.”
He was there for 24 days, in meetings, calls and every image he could. His country needs MiG to fight the Russians in the air. (“We have pilots ready to fly them,” he said.) They want a no-fly zone over Ukraine to drop bombs on Russian planes. They want economic sanctions against Russia. And they need humanitarian aid.
Congressmen were watching Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s urgent request for military assistance last week as he addressed them with a T-shirt during the war and included footage of the massacre in his presentation.
The Ukrainian president asks for direct military assistance from Congress
“Russia has made the Ukrainian sky the source of thousands of deaths,” Zelensky said, through a translator. “Russian troops have already fired about 1000 rockets, countless bombs on Ukraine. They use drones to kill us with precision. “
It was strong.
But not as immediate and personal as Ustinova’s visit with her fluent Californian English: she studied at Stanford University after working for an anti-corruption organization in Ukraine. – and the splendor of the third trimester, overshadowed by many deaths.
“Very enlightening,” Congressman Billy Long (R-Mo) tweeted. Democrats.
part of my work at home #Democracy The group of partners we met today #Ukraine Member of Parliament Alexandra Ustinova. he is #Washington DC. when #Russia occupation #UkraineAnd he hasn’t returned. It is very enlightening. pic.twitter.com/UALlF5RPGv
– Billy Long (@ auctnr1) March 16, 2022
“Oksandra Ustinova, member #Ukraine Parliament told me about the genocide #Put in Stable in his country. She was in the United States when the war started and now she can’t go home anymore. We will not forget his words, because we are working to end Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine, “she said. Also on Twitter.
and then him He has gone Two days later, a no-fly zone dispute over Ukraine broke out in News Nation. This is one of the places where Ustinova hits hard on the summit.
Overall, the current administration has provided 2 2 aid packages to Ukraine, including the latest $ 800 million aid package, which includes 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 2,000 Javelin missiles, 1,000 light armored vehicles, 100 grenade launchers, 5,000 guns, 1,000 guns, more than 400 guns, billions of dollars in aid, millions of shots. Small arms ammunition, grenade launchers and mortar shells and more.
“I tell them they have to understand, we are fighting the second largest army in the world,” he said. “And we do it for ourselves”.
Americans go to war to help Ukraine on the ground
So far he has spoken to about 50 members of Congress. Not everyone will be able to meet him, but he keeps reading.
“We, as Ukrainians, are very clear about what we want,” he said. “It’s not just ‘help us’. It’s not just Javelins and Stinger. We need planes. Only airplanes can stop the bombs. “
He explains the need for economic sanctions and a no-holds-barred zone and the dangers of Vladimir Putin’s aspirations.
“If you don’t stop it now in Ukraine”, he warns, “it will go further”.
Being the only member of his parliament in the United States when Russia invaded was not his plan.
Hoping to connect with his network and alert Capitol Hill to the urgency of the situation in Ukraine before it was too close to his date of birth, he booked a flight to the United States 10 days before the war began.
But Vladimir Putin threatened. And Ustinova started a campaign on the Capitol.
He needed a place to stay, so a friend in Brookland gave him a guest room.
He has trouble walking too far and Ubers is robbing a bank. He talked about it in a phone call with a friend in California. Within an hour, someone in Washington who supported the struggle in Ukraine came to his home to lend him a car.
“Americans are great,” Ustinova said. “I have never seen so much help offered. They tell me: “If you need to have a baby, we will help you. Whatever you need, we will help you. “
Her husband works for a Texas company and was visiting them in Austin when the war started. She is now very close to giving birth to go home and fly to the war zone, so they are preparing to bring her son here even though he is not ready.
“We don’t have a name yet,” he said. “I warned my husband that I would call him Javelin if we didn’t agree on a name.”
He will continue to meet with US officials for as long as possible.
“Whenever I have a seizure or pain, I remember it,” Ustinova said. “I think she’s like, ‘Sasha, you’re in a much better position now than any woman in Ukraine. ‘Go on’. “
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Source: Washington Post
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.