Street roots., August 12, 2016, Page 7, Image 7

Street Roots • August 12-18, 2016
News
Page 7
Left, Leonid Maslov shares stories from the
front lines of the war in Ukraine with
members of Portland’s Slavic community in
the backyard of a West Hills home. A lawyer
and mathematician, Maslov volunteered to
fight with the Ukrainian Army against
Russian separatists.
Below, this military medal for civilians was
awarded to Portlanders Michael Zaslavsky
and Mikhail Mitkov-Baklanovsky for their
role in supplying the Ukrainian Army with
equipment and medical items. Leonid
Maslov explained that it depicts a civilian'
using a tire and a handmade shield as a
symbol of the fight for freedom.
A fighting chance
A Ukrainian soldier gives Portlanders a glimpse into war,
and honors those who supported the troops from afar
BY EMILY GREEN
STAFF WRITER
n the backyard of a spacious, upscale
home tucked away in Portland’s rolling
West Hills, an outfitted soldier showed a
small gathering of local Slavs snapshots of
army life in war-ravaged regions of their
homeland.
“At the time, I was in Kiev working for a
very big company,” Leonid Maslov told his
audience as he flipped through the slides. A
photo of himself in full military garb cast
across the projection screen. “I finished
work at 6 o’clock, took off my suit, my tie,
and put on all this. So did many of my
colleagues.”
Before he was dismissed in September,
Maslov was a member of the Ukrainian
Army’s 92nd brigade, which became known
for its capture of two Russian officers who
were later exchanged in May for jailed
he said.
Ukrainian pilot, Nadiya Savchenko.
“The uniforms lacked the proper
The officers, it was reported, were
everything,” he continued, as he showed a
Russian servicemen fighting alongside
photo of a soldier wearing a 12-pound 1960s-
separatists. Maslov had uploaded a cell­
era combat helmet. “Almost like guerilla
phone video of one prisoner’s interrogation.
fighters. Terrible, terrible ammunition,
Posted May 15, the video has been viewed
clothes, they use the running shoes.”
on his YouTube page 1.4 million times.
As Street Roots first reported in April
He and his colleagues were all volunteers
2015, members of Portland and Vancouver,
- many in their 40s and 50s, he said.
Wash.’s Slavic community banded together
Initially they were told they were too old to
after the war began to send shipping
join the army, so instead they donated blood
containers full of medical and military
to support the effort.
supplies to Ukrainian soldiers fighting
Later, as the war escalated, former Soviet
against Russian-backed separatists in the
Army soldiers such as Maslov and his
Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine.
comrades were welcomed despite their age,
The barebones Ukrainian Army depended
I
largely on the donated supplies.
The Ukrainian Association of Washington
had flown Leonid Maslov, along with
volunteer medic Victoria Milutina, from
Ukraine to the U.S. to share their stories
from the front lines with donors and
members of the Ukrainian community who
have been supporting the resistance against
Russian separatists from afar.
Maslov visited Portland, Seattle and the
San Francisco area in recent weeks,
attending local Ukrainian gatherings as the
guest of honor along the way.
That evening in the west hills, Maslov
presented military-issued civilian medals to
Portlanders Michael Zaslavsky and Mikhail
Mitkov-Baklanovsky for their role in
supplying his brigade with equipment and
medical items.
Street Roots first met Mitkov-Baklanovsky
last year when he showed us his extra room
filled with a stockpile of supplies he was
getting ready to ship to Ukraine.
Although the war has stagnated as it
enters its third year, the ceasefire is largely
ignored each night after European ceasefire
observers leave for the day and the death
toll continues to rise each week, The New
York Times reported in late July.
According to the U.N., the Ukraine
conflict has taken the lives of nearly 10,000
people since it began.
Whereas before battle involved heavy
artillery, machine guns and tanks, Maslov
said now it’s limited mostly to rifle fire.
“Shells and rifles are different,” he said,
“but journalists give the same news.”
“The need for other medical supplies is
still enormous,” said Mitkov-Baklanovsky.
He continues to ship dressings for open
chest wounds’, bandages, tourniquets and
other first aid items.
“Due to inflation, the Ukrainian people is
very impoverished and has less ability to
help,” he said. “People have no money. They
are tired of war. But they are faced with
deaths and injuries every day. It is very
hard.”
Maslov’s visit to the U.S. was very
important to the Ukrainian community here,
said Eduard Dudar, Ukrainian Association of
Washington board member. About 70
Ukrainians and friends attended Maslov’s
presentation in Seattle on Aug. 1, three days
after his evening in Portland.
“The longer you stay away from Ukraine,”
he said, “it fades with time. So when people
describe the war, and that it’s still going on
and people still need help, they feel more
connected and willing to help.”
During Maslov’s presentation in Seattle,
he also awarded Pavlo Pylypenko with a
civilian medal for his contributions to the
war effort, said Dudar.
American media coverage of Ukraine’s
conflict, like most conflicts, had become less
frequent as the war continued, said Dudar.
“It went up again with Trump - everyone
is talking about it again, but it will fade. It’s
obviously very sad for Ukraine. It’s a great
tragedy and we must try to help them,” he
said.
He said his organization plans to continue
working with politicians, seeking help from
Congress and reminding people of the crisis
in Ukraine.
Republican presidential nominee Donald
Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort,
See FIGHTING, page 9