Milwaukee Ukrainians: The War Goes On, the Local Population Grows (and worries)

Local residents with strong ties to Ukraine say they are still trying to cope with the horror of war, through various thoughts and actions four years since Russia's full-scale invasion began.

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News Features

War in the Middle East is dominating the headlines and television news reports. But some Milwaukeeans say their attention is mostly directed toward a conflict 1,500 miles away from Iran, in their beloved Ukraine.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began just over four years ago. Local residents with strong ties to the attacked country say they are still trying to cope with the horror of war, through various thoughts and actions.

The impact on these people has been substantial.

Local teacher Karina Tweedell arrived from Ukraine 19 years ago, but regularly hears from relatives and former classmates still in harm's way. Tweedell says her college roommate, living in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, is mostly concerned about the psychological state of her two kids.

“While physical things they can survive, her oldest one is 12 and he's terrified to go outside to play, because he's so afraid there will be bombs falling, or drones,” Tweedell says.

Kyiv is frequently attacked. For example, reports by the New York Times and other sources indicate that on March 7, Russian missiles and drones wounded three people in Kyiv and left 2,000 buildings without heat.

High Anxiety

Another local educator, Dina Borysenko, came here with her husband in 2000, but often thinks of her relatives and friends in Ukraine. “The anxiety is extremely high. We check news, constantly listening to news. You keep hoping it will get better. It's not getting better,” she laments, adding, “In fact, my nephew in Kyiv, just last month he was just freezing there—without heat, without light or anything. So, you worry all the time.”

These Milwaukeeans, and others concerned about Ukraine, say they develop coping strategies.

For Borysenko and Tweedell, it's donating to, or volunteering for Wisconsin Ukrainians Inc., a non-profit group that has provided non-military aid to Ukrainian citizens and soldiers. For a time, the group sent boots and other clothing. Lately, the focus has been on helping obtain medical care and prosthetics for Ukrainian soldiers who have lost limbs.

Other locals, like Father Mykola Lymar of St. Mary the Protectress, a small Ukrainian Orthodox Church on Milwaukee's near South Side, go the spiritual route. 

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“Constantly, I pray to God, and because of that faith, it makes me feel better. We always have faith in God,” said the religious leader, who came to the U.S. in 2019, and has served at St. Mary almost four years. But Lymar also praises the people of the United States, calling them "good partners, allies that will help Ukraine.”

U.S. Aid?

The Council on Foreign Relations, a non-partisan think tank, quoting a U.S. Special Inspector General, says as of the end of last year, the U.S. Congress “had made available $188 billion in spending related to the war in Ukraine” with $127 billion of that amount has been direct support of Ukraine.

But there has been no new U.S. military aid package for Ukraine during President Donald Trump's second term, as the Republican has pressured Europe to provide more funds and occasionally criticizes Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Still, some people in the U.S. try to help the Ukraine military. St. Mary attendee Andrew Tyshynsky was born in Milwaukee to parents who came from Ukraine after World War II. He says, “When I heard that for $400, I could buy a drone that might kill a Russian tank, I sent money out.”

Sophia Torcivia, born in Ukraine during WW II, but living in Milwaukee for 70 years, says she doesn't have a lot of money, but has dreams. “To win Mega Millions or Powerball, and the first thing I always think of—look at all the drones I can buy for all those millions (to fight the Russians.)” Torcivia says if she could, she'd fight the Russians herself: “I know how to shoot a gun.”

Refugees of War

Despite the passion for Ukraine and the outside aid, many people have left the war-torn country. Wisconsin Ukrainians estimates between 2,500 and 3,000 people have come to Wisconsin in the last four years, most settling in the Milwaukee area. That's on top of the roughly 10,000 Wisconsinites with strong ties to Ukraine who were already in the state.

Alla Baizuldina, her husband, and most of their children came to Milwaukee in late 2022. Baizuldina is Dina Borysenko's sister and had visited here many times. Baizuldina has found the safety she sought, but at a cost. She had to give up her career as a medical doctor and is instead an assistant accountant. She also misses life back home.

“I try to assimilate here. But because my (English) language not perfect, I still feel not in my normal place,” Baizuldina says. She emphasizes she likes Milwaukee.

But one of Baizuldina's daughters, Anna Moschenko, who attends a suburban Milwaukee high school, says she feels very comfortable here, and hopes to enroll at UW-Madison. Still, Moschenko hasn't forgotten her homeland and teaches English online to kids in Ukraine. “I'm just hoping that can help them a little bit, to listen to world news in English,” Moschenko says. 

ICE Worries

The arrival of Ukrainians has largely halted under this Trump Administration. A popular entry program known as Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) is basically on hold, and humanitarian groups say processing of renewal requests required for immigrants has been slow.

As a result, Wisconsin Ukrainians President Halyna Salapata, who moved to the U.S. in 1999, says those who have come here under U4U are very worried about being caught in roundups by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other federal agencies.

“First of all, they don't have green cards or passports. The newcomers only have Form I-94, an employment authorization card. So, it means even if they take you into a detention center, it could be like two weeks to release you. What do you do if your family is at home and you can't go to work for two weeks? What happens to you?” Salapata asks.

Salapata says many of the recent immigrants from Ukraine are afraid to leave their house, so her group cancelled an annual public rally marking the anniversary of the start of the full-scale invasion. They did hold a benefit concert for Ukraine last month at St. Robert Roman Catholic Church in Shorewood.

Salapata says there is legislation in Congress that would provide long-term help for the immigrants, but the bills appear to be held up. Another large uncertainty is whether the war in the Middle East will affect Russia's war against Ukraine. The conflict in Iran appeared to stall U.S.-Russia-Ukraine peace talks that were scheduled this month.  

The Trump Administration has requested Ukraine's help with technology to shoot down Iranian attack drones, and, in return, Zelenskyy is seeking high-end interceptor missiles.

While Milwaukee Ukrainians say they haven't given up hope for peace, there is pessimism about reaching an acceptable deal. So, the worry and coping may continue.