Ukraine’s future is on the line as the world prepares for the US presidential elections. As of 2021, there were nearly 1 million Americans with Ukrainian ancestry living in the US. Around 270,000 Ukrainians fled to the US since Russia’s full invasion. Nearly 187,000 of them arrived through the Uniting for Ukraine sponsoring program. This wave of newcomers brought diversity and complexity to the fragmented Ukrainian American Community. The large Ukrainian community in Washington State is one of the reasons Ukrainian refugees chose the state during the full-scale conflict. They are now the fastest-growing European community in Washington. Photo: Mikhail PavenkoKent tweeted in 2022, “Zelenskyy’s goal is to push his nation westward while virtue-signaling woke ideology and utilizing Nazi battalions in order to crush his opponents.” Donald Trump recently participated in a Tele-town Hall to support Kent’s campaign. In 2022, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a congresswoman from Washington State, narrowly defeated a Trump-endorsed veteran. This brought southwest Washington under Democratic control, for the first time since over a decade. Manelyuk told how he met Joe Kent during a rally. He and his brothers waited for him to be alone before he gave them his full attention. They spent about two hours discussing their views, hoping to influence Kent’s opinion. He said that he tried to convince Kent that Ukrainians fight for the same values as the Republican Party–freedom and faith–but Kent refused to change. These individuals were attracted to the US by policies that encouraged emigration for Jews and Evangelical Christians fleeing Soviet persecution. Ukrainian immigration to the US can be divided into four waves. The first wave was from 1890-1914. The second wave was from 1922-1936. The third wave is from 1989 to present. Among these groups, those from the third wave were “more urbanized, better educated, and more passionate about defending Ukrainian identity and independence,” says Ukrainian American academic Anastasia Kharitonova-Gomez.Post-World War II Ukrainian migration was largely driven by oppressive Soviet policies and a crackdown on the independence movement, compounded by aggressive Russification efforts. This experience led to a strong commitment among Ukrainian immigrants to preserve their cultural identity in the US.
“Members often say that they felt a duty to be torchbearers for Ukrainian identity abroad, since it was severely repressed in the homeland,” says she.
The Soviet Union’s Cold War ban on leaving the nation posed significant obstacles to migration. Oleh Wolowyna of the Center for Demographic and Socio-Economic Research of Ukrainians pointed out that Soviet policies on emigration stifled immigration until the Jackson-Vanik amendment of the Trade Act. This legislation, signed by President Ford in 75, allowed those who were persecuted because of their religious beliefs to emigrate. In 1989, the US Congress passed the Lautenberg Amendment which further streamlined resettlement for persecuted minority groups from the Soviet Union. It was a great benefit to Soviet Protestant Christians including Baptists and Evangelicals. Those with “well-established persecution histories” were allowed to seek refuge in America. In the decades that followed, about 500,000 Soviet Evangelicals from Ukraine resettled as refugees in the US. Many Ukrainians who fled the war in 2022 are still Protestants. They join family and friends that had already settled in the United States.
He says that many of those who came after Ukraine’s independence had a less distinct Ukrainian identity.
Kharitonova Gomez argues that religious affiliation is the major factor behind Ukrainian partisanship. In the US Diaspora, the balance has shifted in favor of Christian denominations as compared to Ukraine. This divide has led to growing tensions between generations of Ukrainian migrants.
She says that “most Ukrainians are Orthodox, Catholics or both. Only a small percentage identify as Protestants.” In the diaspora however, this is reversed as many Ukrainians have immigrated to the United States in recent decades.
The stark contrast between backgrounds and motivations, especially in the last two waves of immigrants, has led to a growing division within the Ukrainian American Community. Third-wave migrants from the 1940s-50s blame the fourth wave of immigrants, arriving since late 1980s, on a lack of patriotism and too much Soviet influence. Many fourth-wave migrants came seeking economic opportunity, making them less fervent about Ukrainian independence–a tension point that keeps the tension alive.In sharp contrast, earlier waves of Ukrainian Americans–especially in the Midwest and East Coast–escaped Soviet oppression around World War II. They are largely Republican, inspired by Ronald Reagan’s anti-Communist stance. The deeply ingrained anti Soviet sentiment, now reignited due to Russia’s aggression is still a powerful force. One of them is Orest deychakiwsky, who was a former staffer at the US Helsinki Commission. He is a member a family of third-wave immigrants and has taken the initiative to start the Ukrainian Americans for Harris-Walz Steering Committee. Orest is leading a charge to rally Ukrainian Americans for Kamala Harris‘s presidential campaign. Diverging backgrounds have caused a growing rift between generations of Ukrainian Americans. Photo: Drew AngererKharitonova-Gomez highlights that this religious divide shines a light on the broader political fractures within the Ukrainian American community. Evangelical Protestants are more likely to vote Republican, while those with no religious affiliation or non-evangelicals tend to vote Democratic. Meanwhile, Catholics and Orthodox Ukrainians tend to take more conservative positions. This adds to the already complex political landscape of the Ukrainian American community. Instead, religious affiliation is the focus, which leads many eligible Ukrainian voters to support Trump.
Wolovyna also agrees that “Ukrainian Identity is not strong among most of the Protestants. Religion is the predominant factor in determining their identity.”
Trump’s constant attacks on Ukraine and its right to defend itself, as well as its sovereignty, have caused an increasing number Protestants to distance themselves from him. Tensions reached boiling point when Trump called President Zelenskyy the “greatest salesman” in September 2024. This remark deepened the division within the Ukrainian American Community, prompting many people to reconsider their pro Republican stance. Russell Korets is a Ukrainian American Pastor from Washington State who aptly expressed this growing resentment. The lives of regular civilians are at risk. “What else is he to do?” He wrote on his X. What a painful time. Some community members are rallying for Ukrainian Americans to support Perez’s re-election bid. Mikhail Pavenko is a Ukrainian American who hails from Donetsk Oblast and has been a volunteer Chaplain in Ukraine since 2014″For me, it’s more than politics, it’s about right and wrong.” He says that the aid she crafted in Ukraine has saved thousands of people’s lives. His family was tragically one of the first casualties in Sloviansk, 2014, when Russian proxies targeted them for their religious beliefs. Pavenko, whose Protestant faith was killed by Russia, stepped in to serve as a Chaplain for the Ukrainian Army. Photo by Mikhail Pavenko. Pavenko has been actively campaigning on behalf of Perez, but his efforts have not been without controversy. Some Ukrainian Americans have criticized Pavenko for supporting a Democrat.However for Pavenko, backing a pro Ukrainian candidate goes beyond electoral aspects: “Standing by those who fight for the lives isn’t a partisan matter — it’s American way.” Pavenko believes that he embodies Reagan-style Republican values. He is a passionate advocate of national and personal liberty, believing that Republican ideology should support those who stand up to their rights.
Pavenko said, “I am for national and individual freedom and I believe that we must support those who are fighting for freedom against tyranny or occupation.”
Pavenko, a lifelong Republican who has faced backlash from the Ukrainian American Community in Washington State is resolute to make a change as the vote for Perez may come down to a very slim margin:
“When America leads the world and stands strong, it is a safer environment.” “That’s what I think.”
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