RIVER FOREST, IL (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - For a local college professor, the war in Ukraine is more than just an international event, it's the story of the tragic struggle of her native land.
Elvira Kizilova, Assistant Professor of Marketing and International Business at Dominican University in River Forest, was born and raised in Russia, and moved to Ukraine when she was 10-years-old.
"Ukraine is now defending its freedom, because the main issue is that Putin and Russia just do not allow Ukraine its sovereignty, they do not allow Ukraine to be a free, independent country and make its own choices. This is the main cause of this war," Kizilova told WBBM.
And Professor Kizilova says it's troubling that there seems to be some support for Russia here in the U.S., and misinformation, everywhere.
“(There’s) a lot of influence through Russian social media and Russian media broadcast in the United States and in Europe. There are lots of Putin supporters among the far right groups and it's far important to stop these lies," she said.
"We also know about Russian influence on the elections in Ukraine, elections in the United States, so this just has to be stopped. It's everywhere. There are Putin supporters here."
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And she was asked if Russian President Vladimir Putin has a far reach into the Republican Party in the U.S. and she said, "I think so...I think so."
Professor Kizilova also believes the economic pressure being put on Russia by the U.S. and other countries will eventually influence Russian leadership.
"I don't think Putin cares about the people (of Russia) but I think this will make some changes in society. We have a saying that people who are sitting between the TV and the fridge, and those two devices are competing, so now the TV and the propaganda are winning, but when they don't have anything in their fridge, the fridge may win," Kizilova said.
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