On February 24th, 2022, Vladimir Putin announced his approval of a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Four years later, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues.
The battle-scarred Ukraine has suffered between 500,000 and 600,000 estimated casualties since the start of the war, with over 140,000 deaths. The Russians have had an estimated 1.2 million casualties.
As the war enters its fifth year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the Trump administration to stand by his country as they negotiate with Russia and Putin.
“They have to stay with … a democratic country which is fighting against one person. Because this person is a war. Putin is a war. It’s all about himself. It’s all about one person. And the country, all his country is in the prison,” Zelensky said.
Tuesday, Newell Normand spoke with two figures who have bridged the 5,700-mile gap between New Orleans and Ukraine: Arnie Fielkow and Olia Hercules.
Fielkow, a former New Orleans city councilman and CEO of the Jewish Foundation of Greater New Orleans, has taken multiple trips to Ukraine since the invasion began, working to raise funds and awareness for the war-torn region.
Fielkow discusses what he's hearing about the current conditions on the ground in Ukraine. He explains that, in the midst of a brutal winter, Russia has targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure, leaving many civilians stuck in dangerous temperatures without electricity or water.
“It's freezing there. It's 20 below zero most nights. People do not have heat or electricity…It's an evil war,” Fielkow states.
“It’s unlike what the United States would do, unlike what Ukraine is doing, which would be to attack military infrastructure,” Fielkow continues. “Russia's strategy is — they aren't winning, really, on the battlefield anymore — so their strategy is: Let's make the lives of Ukrainians so horrendous that they're going to want their government to give up.”
Fielkow expresses his frustration with U.S. Congress members more concerned with party lines than ending the war.
“The vast, vast majority of members of Congress have been, and continue to be, supportive of Ukraine. They understand the situation,” says Fielkow. “But unfortunately, like in many other issues we're facing as a country right now, our Republican counterparts in Congress are hesitant to take positions unless the White House supports it.”
The former New Orleans councilman says that Ukraine has proved its resolve, and it’s up to President Trump to broker peace through action.
“It's unbelievable — four years into this conflict — that a small country like Ukraine, versus a giant like Russia, is still standing. That's a testament to the Ukrainian people,” Fielkow says. “But right now, if our president truly wants peace — and I think he does — if he wants peace, then let's take some bold action and let Putin know that enough is enough because you can't go from meeting to meeting to meeting and nothing gets accomplished. That seems to be what's been going on for the last six months now.”
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Olia Hercules is a globally recognized, Ukrainian-born chef who toured Louisiana in early March as an ambassador with Razom, an advocacy group that raises funds for life-giving aid to Ukraine.
During her visit, Hercules visited Shreveport and New Orleans to tell the story of her people and share in cross-cultural experiences to showcase connections across Ukrainian and Louisiana cuisine.
On the Newell Normand Show, Hercules shared her family's experience since the start of the war.
“During the invasion four years ago, my mom and dad were in my hometown in Kakhovka in Kherson, which is to the south of Ukraine. And they witnessed the Russian tanks roll in and explosions and murders,” says Hercules. “And my brother was in Kyiv, the capital. My brother joined the territorial army alongside loads of other people on the second day of the invasion. He had never even held a gun in his life before. They were bakers, they were famous actors, they were directors. Everyone just joined to protect our country.”
Shortly after the war began, her parents had to flee their hometown.
“And it took them 19 hours,” Hercules recounts. “So a normal journey going from Kakhovka to the center of the region takes an hour, and it takes 19 hours because there were 19 Russian checkpoints and men were stripped naked.”
Her family resettled in Berlin, but shortly after, her father and brother left to join the war efforts in Ukraine.
“My mom is still with my family in Berlin, but my dad couldn't stay. He returned to Ukraine, and he's currently building a minesweeper out of an old tractor, and my brother's still in the army,” says Hercules.
Now, her family endures the harsh conditions that result from Russia's destruction of vital utility centers.
“It's really difficult to see my dad on a video call wearing a hat and several jackets inside his little flat where he's staying now with his sister and my brother,” Hercules says. “And my brother is actually about 20 kilometers away from Russia. He's on the front line.”
Despite the ongoing hardship, stymied peace negotiations, and a rising death toll, Hercules says the will of her family and the Ukrainian people stands resolute.
“Everybody is really resistant, really strong, and the morale surprisingly is still up, at least for my family. I don't know how they do it, honestly, because it is an incredibly tough situation," Hercules says. "So we're still waiting, we're still waiting for Trump to help Iran and to help Ukraine.”
At the close of the conversation, Fielkow expresses his gratitude for Hercules's work and the support she manages to garner through her travel and culinary expertise.
“Oli is my hero,” Fielkow says. “What she hasn't said is the amount of money she's raised in the UK to help Ukrainians. It’s unbelievable. And using her culinary talents has allowed her to support her country and her family. She has a great book that I just finished. The story about her father and her is great.”
“It's very easy for people to talk about an exchange of land that Ukraine should give up, part of Donetsk, and that they should give up this land and that land," says Fielkow. "And Olia makes the point very clear. In the abstract, that's easy to say. The home that the Russians are now living in was Olia’s ancestral home. It was where her parents, her grandparents, her great-grandparents lived. And now they're occupied by Russian soldiers. No people, no country should ever be facing a situation like that. I'm so glad that Olia’s voice could be heard in New Orleans, and hopefully, we'll get her back here in person as well for another visit.”