More than 20,000 Ukrainians live in Berlin. They hope that Germany will take a clear stance against Putin.
Prayers and guns: If Putin attacks Ukraine in the next few days, Andriy Ilin (33) knows what he will do: “I’ll bring my parents from Ukraine here to Berlin and then I’ll go back with my father and I’ll be mine.” defend the country.”
Ilin was born in Ukraine and has been living in Friedenau with his family for five years. A few years ago he co-founded the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Hermsdorf. There he will continue to pray for peace in his homeland with many other Ukrainians on Sunday.
Ilin works as a lawyer in Germany, his parents live in western Ukraine: “That’s why I don’t think they are threatened at the moment, but you don’t know what will happen either.” During his last visit, the border guards said that many young Ukrainians from Western Europe and England are currently returning to the country to fight in an emergency.
He is one of 20,000 Ukrainians living in Berlin. Most have friends and relatives in the country, which is threatened like no other by Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.
“Putin can be trusted with anything”
Andriy Ilin is also involved in the community in the aid organization “Ukraine-Hilfe”. “We collect medicines and other relief supplies for the people in the war zones,” he says.
Like most of his compatriots, he is not waiting for Germany. “Germany and Russia have a close relationship. So I no longer hope for anything from the German government.”
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In 2014, Russia occupied Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine. For weeks, the President has been threatening to conquer other parts of Ukraine. The US is convinced that Russia will attack in the coming days and is just waiting for an excuse.
“Putin is capable of anything,” says the director of the Wall Museum, Alexandra Hildebrandt (62). She was born in Kiev and, like all Ukrainians, is worried about her homeland. “February 23 is the 100th anniversary of Russia’s ‘Defender of the Fatherland Day’. Maybe Putin wants to celebrate this day with a war,” she says.
Like most of her compatriots in Berlin, she is in constant contact with friends and relatives and is very concerned about their safety: “There hasn’t been any panic so far,” she says, “it’s impressive how calm most people are dealing with the situation. You can just tell that the Ukrainian people have been through a lot.”
And she says: “I have spoken to people in eastern Ukraine several times. They say that troops have been concentrated there for years. The civilian population has long since left these areas. The country is being raped.”
Prepare for escalation
In the office of the “Understanding Ukraine” project in Mitte, the employees are also preparing for the escalation. Julia Eichhorn (32) and her team regularly provide information about the conflict in Ukraine and put pressure on German politicians and actors. She calls for more support: “There is no question who is attacking whom here. That’s why Germany should stand by Ukraine’s side,” she says, “despite its economic dependency on Russia.”
your colleague dr. Iryna Soloneko also calls for military help: “The better Ukraine can defend itself, the more Putin will be deterred, which is why Germany should also supply weapons. There can be no peace unless Russia is deterred. Ukraine is a democracy and that scares Putin.”
Everyone here has relatives in Ukraine and is in constant contact: “There is unrest, but no panic,” says office manager Lisa Tomileds (27). Nevertheless, many Ukrainians are preparing to take friends and relatives to safety should war break out.
“The uncertainty is great. Many pack an emergency case if they have to flee,” says Julia Eichhorn, “at the same time there is a wave of patriotism. My mother works in a kindergarten and there are now first aid courses there. At the same time, many are taking self-defense courses and preparing to protect their country.”
Irina P. (65, name changed) was born in Russia and emigrated 40 years ago. Her mother (94) still lives in St. Petersburg. “I haven’t slept for days out of concern that there will be a war,” she says. “The Russians follow Putin’s propaganda and feel right. It is terrible that there is no resistance from there.”
Musician Marina Bondas (43) emigrated to Germany with her parents from the Ukraine 30 years ago. She was on the Ukrainian front line as recently as November. With the “Heart for Ukraine” project, she organizes aid deliveries and supervises projects for children and young people. “The mood is depressed, but basically the people there have been at war for eight years. Since the 2014 occupation.”
Every day and night she receives messages from friends in the war zone: “A friend recently wrote that she is now sitting on a volcano that could erupt at any time.”
She, too, is disappointed by German politics: “Of course it’s good if Olaf Scholz finds clear words,” she says.
“But that is not enough. Tough sanctions are needed. Europe should have done that a long time ago. Economic cooperation must be ended. Russian real estate should be confiscated and funds frozen,” she demands. “It’s all possible, you just have to want it, but it seems to me that Germany is trying to sit on two chairs at the same time.”
Meanwhile, the news from Ukraine is getting more and more dramatic. Putin seems determined to attack the country. The first battles are reported from the occupied areas in Donbass in the east of the country.
Museum boss Alexandra Hildebrandt still hopes for peace: “As long as no blood has been shed, we have to talk. In 1961, the tanks faced each other here in Berlin at Checkpoint Charlie. At that time, the war was prevented by talks. We have to do that again today.”