WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - War is horrible. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will result in needless deaths and injuries to peaceful people who do not deserve to see Russian tanks in their streets.  Ukrainian families deserve peace.

West Sacramento has been the destination of tens of thousands of Ukrainians who have emigrated to the United States.  We have come to know them as wonderful neighbors who have contributed to the fabric of our city and our country.  That is why the people of West Sacramento are deeply outraged and saddened by the murderous actions of an evil dictator determined to extinguish the light of freedom in the Ukraine where many of our neighbors have family and friends.

Three waves of Ukrainians have settled in the Sacramento area. The 95605-area code in West Sacramento has the third-largest percentage concentration of Ukrainians in California. An estimated 20,000 Ukrainians live in West Sacramento and the Sacramento area. A huge Slavic Baptist Church on Kegle and Sacramento Avenue in West Sacramento has long served as a gathering place for the local Ukrainian and Russian communities.  At Christmas time that church provides a beautiful, magical display for our community.

West Sacramento stands with the Ukrainian people in condemning an unnecessary, disastrous invasion of Ukraine.  Putin, the despot in Moscow, deserves our condemnation for shattering three generations of peace in Europe.  Contrary to Putin’s opinion, every nation deserves to determine its own future and not be subjugated by petty dictators.

The United States needs to put the dictators of the world on notice that it is not okay to invade other countries to build their empires.  This is a time to stand up for freedom and democracy.

The United States needs to send advanced weaponry to Ukraine.  We need to support the refugees that the Russian government is creating. We need to expel Russia from the SWIFT banking system. We need to sanction Putin personally. We cannot hold back on sanctions.  No sanction is too great to chasten the invaders.

Please note that our outrage is with the Russian government and not with the people of Russia or our brothers and sisters in the local Russian community,

We learned from World War II that appeasement is not the answer. It only whets the appetite of aggression. Britain’s greatest mistake in WWII was self-deception as to Hitler’s monstrous ambitions.  Putin’s invasion closely resembles Hitler’s reoccupation of lands it lost in war. Trump’s support for the invasion is sickening. We should not be surprised to learn that Putin has threatened to close all media reporting the invasion unless the media report only the official Russian line blaming the United States for the invasion. Putin claims to be denazifying Ukraine.  From what Nazi centenarians? Are they also running Sweden and Finland? Moreover, Putin supports Nazis in the US.  His misinformation rings hollow.

Once Russia sees that it can invade other countries it will continue.  Today, Russia threatened to invade Sweden and Finland for the same reasons it invaded Ukraine. When Russia took Crimea and the Donbas region, it did not stop; rather Russia saw that its aggression went unpunished.   Those that do not learn from history are bound to repeat it. If we do not fight Russian aggression in Ukraine, our own security will be at risk.

I intend to introduce a resolution at our next city council meeting urging our President to continue to support the Ukrainian people and ignore the chatter of cowards unwilling to stand for democracy. I ask everyone in West Sacramento to unite in prayer for our neighbors and their families.  I urge all West Sacramentans to contribute to the Red Cross to assist the refugee families.