LJCC Trainer Yakov Lyublinskiy appeared on Thursday’s 10 o’clock news to talk about the war in his native Ukraine. He was interviewed at The J by Anchor/Reporter Jeff Eliasoph from local NBC affiliate WVTM Channel 13.
“Ukraine is a young democracy,” Yakov says. “Even with all its problems and issues, it was on the right track. I think lately it’s become a better democracy, an open democracy. And that democracy [presents] a danger to any autocratic regime — especially Putin” — by showing Russians that freedom is possible.
“So I think the war was purely designed to destroy any hope for a new democracy in Europe or Russia. Putin [has] committed a crime not only against the Ukrainian people, but against Russian people with this war.”
Yakov wakes up every morning with only one hope: That the war will end soon.
Watch both the two-minute news story and Jeff’s full 13-minute conversation with Yakov.
Yakov landed in Birmingham as a young immigrant from Ukraine 25 years ago. Read more about his journey, and visit our humanitarian aid links to learn how you can help.