Silent shock and audible groans ran through many Ukrainian New Yorkers last month when President Donald Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator.”
Those same reactions occurred several days later at the Oval Office when Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance verbally berated Zelenskyy, whom the Vice President accused of not saying “thank you” enough for the United States’ support of Ukraine — though Zelenskyy had publicly thanked Americans for their support at least 33 times.
The televised spat came just three years after Russia invaded Ukraine, which seemed to add to the dismay of many New Yorkers, including thousands who originate from the former Soviet Union.
From Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach to Manhattan’s Little Ukraine to Queens’ Forest Hills, and even Staten Island’s Mid-Island neighborhoods and parts of the Bronx, New York City is home to tens of people hailing from the 15 former Soviet republics. Many are keeping a close eye on the war negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, and what will happen next for their former countries.
‘A very bad look for Vance and Trump’
One of them is Brooklyn Assemblyman Michael Novakhov of District 45. Representing Brighton Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Gravesend, and Midwood, Novakhov emigrated from Russia with his family in his early 20s and was elected to the Assembly in 2022 as a Republican.
Although Novakhov respects President Trump and likes the work he is doing, he nonetheless believes Trump was unfair towards Zelenskyy.
“I disagree with calling Zelenskyy dictator,” Novakhov says. “I think the dictator is Putin, not Zelenskyy. And the second thing I disagree with is that Ukraine started the war. Obviously, it is Russia which started the war.”
Andrew Stasiw is the principal of St. George Academy in Little Ukraine, a private school founded by the Ukrainian Catholic Church in 1968. The school has an enrollment of 122 students, 82 of them refugees from Ukraine.
Stasiw himself is the son of Ukrainian immigrants and believes Trump both insulted Zelenskyy and emboldened Russian President Vladimir Putin last week in the Oval Office.
“That was a very bad look for J.D. Vance and for Trump, sure.” Stasiw says. “I think that Zelensky would have done better if he had said, Mr. President, you are the greatest United States president in the history of the country, and we are going to build you the most beautiful Trump Tower in Ukraine. I think things would have gone better, because narcissism requires that kind of a**-kissing.”
The nonprofit Kind Deeds has been providing injured Ukrainian soldiers with prosthetic limbs and even President Zelenskyy paid a visit to one of its facilities at a Staten Island hospital in September 2023.
Kind Deeds President Oleksandr Rubtsov told amNewYork Metro of his dismay with Ukraine not being included in war negotiations between Russia and the United States in Saudi Arabia.
“Many Ukrainian Americans are frustrated that Ukraine is being excluded from negotiations,” Rubtsov said in a statement. “This moment feels pivotal—not just for Ukraine’s survival, but for European security as a whole. Ukraine must have a voice in its own future. Ignoring it violates the principle of democracy and risks an unjust peace.”
It was announced Thursday that Ukraine would now be included in the negotiations.
Fears of an emboldened Putin
Even with this new development, former Soviet New Yorkers are not optimistic that the negotiations and peace deals will bring an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Instead, they fear it may only serve to bolster President Putin and his ambitions.
Oleg “Ollie” Sakhno owns, along with his wife, Keuka Kafe in Forest Hills and Keuka Wine Bar & Kitchen in Upper East Side. Originally from Kiev, Sakhno emigrated in 1990 and believes there is no common ground in the negotiations and does not see what Russia has to offer. But even more so, Sakhno thinks no former Soviet country, or even Eastern Europe, is safe from Russian interference.
“I think if Ukraine falls, and [Putin] absolutely feels victorious,” Sakhno says. “I think every part of Europe that the Soviet Union claimed for themselves after World War II, that being Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, nobody could feel safe because the Russian Empire almost had their sights on conquering the entire continent. They constantly talk about getting close to taking over the rest of Europe. The least they want is to get back to 1991 borders so nobody is safe.”
As far back as 2005, President Putin has called the fall of the Soviet Union “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] century.” The former KGB officer has hinted over the years of re-establishing the Russian Empire, and even indicated so during an interview last year with former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson.
While Ukraine has been one of Putin’s targets in setting up that empire, Georgia has been another. The Caucasus country has experienced conflict with Russia for centuries, including being invaded by the Red Army in 1921 and then uprising against the Soviet regime in 1924.
Since 2000, Georgia has been invaded by Russia and saw its neighbor support breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Late last year, tens of thousands of Georgians protested against the new Kremlin-backed government setting aside talks to join the European Union.
For Tbilisi-born Nina Mdivani, this is a repetition of a cycle. The Bronx-based art curator and writer sees history repeating itself and wonders what will become of Georgia now that Russia has turned Ukraine into ruins.
“There was Russian influence during the last election, so they can have a puppet government in Tbilisi,” Mdivani says. “But young people of Georgia have been protesting for 100 days now, just as they did 100 years ago. Back then it was a war fought with weapons, now we are using the power of ideas and the shared Western values including the right of self-determination.”
She also compares the loud arguments in the Oval Office last week to the meeting of David and Goliath.
“Zelenskyy as a leader with a vision and a real war to fight while his country is in ruins,” Midvani says. “While Trump is a self-satisfied, ego-driven talking head.”
The importance of American support
Even Stasiw compared Zelenskyy and Trump to David and Goliath. Although he likes what President Trump has done domestically, he is appalled by the President’s approach to dealing with Ukraine.
“We’re finding out Trump, like a lot of Ukrainians, believed Trump when he would say this or that,” Stasiw says, explaining how many Ukrainians voted for Trump in 2024. “But no, you can’t believe anything because he lied about Ukraine. I don’t want this to be a Democrat, Republican thing. So many people voted for Trump who are Ukrainian. That’s not true. So many people say to me that are Ukrainian, hate what’s happening.”
Kind Deeds’ President claims that Americans still stand with Ukraine despite the changing allyship.
“We’ve also seen unwavering support from Americans—through donations, volunteering, and advocacy,” Rubtsov says. “Their actions prove that the American people still stand with Ukraine, regardless of politics.”
Both Novakhov and Sakhno believe President Trump is trying to do what is best for the United States after three years of not seeing an end to the war.
“While we stand with Ukraine,” the Assemblyman says, “we must also ensure that American interests, security, and economic well-being remain our allies while maintaining a strong and focused commitment to our own nation’s future.”
A new iron curtain?
But even Novakhov and Stasiw say many of the former Soviet states are not safe from Putin, and neither is Eastern Europe.
Stasiw believes Putin will soon target Poland; the two countries have had conflicts and tension for centuries. Novakhov does not believe the Central Asian states would be Putin’s target because they do not have a similar culture and the Baltic states are now NATO countries. But he thinks Georgia and even the tiny country of Moldova are at risk. According to the Guardian, Putin may use Moldova wedged between Ukraine and Romania, against Ukraine and also the European Union.
“I would say to Moldova, and I would say to Georgia, be nice to Europe,” Stasiw says. “Send your representatives to the United States. Start lobbying now, because we know what’s ahead, and I know we’re talking well past the present.”
All of this may sound distressing to some, but there are some New Yorkers and Americans who support Putin, including media figures like Carlson and podcaster Joe Rogan.
A recent poll found 41% of Republicans see Russia as an ally. But Stasiw wants those supporters to know that Russia is only a better version of North Korea — with poor infrastructure, extreme poverty, and villages with no roads.
Novakhov says even though Ukraine has experienced corruption, Russia has as much, if not more, degradation.
Mdivani’s urges New Yorkers to educate themselves about Russia and Putin’s goals: “Watch some YouTube videos, read books. Learn about history. There’s fake news everywhere. Russia wants to become an empire again, we’re facing another Soviet empire. There will be another big war and it will be very dangerous for all.”
When asked a similar question, Sakhno says: “Every time you hear something positive about Russia. Don’t believe it. Russia is very dangerous. They know what they’re doing. They want more land, and they want power over the world. It’s the last surviving empire in the world, and like any empire, it wants to expand. And they will not stop until they are stopped by somebody.”
