By Emily R. Condon

From the men’s basketball team to the administration, the University of Maryland community is speaking out about the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian basketball player Pavlo Dziuba showed support for his home country by displaying its flag at games. President Darryll Pines sent out an email voicing solidarity with Ukrainian members of the UMD community. A vigil for Ukraine and collections for humanitarian relief have even been seen on the steps outside McKeldin Library in recent weeks. 

The war continues to escalate, but many have not given up on Ukraine yet.

Alec Worsnop, assistant professor in the School of Public Policy, weighed in on the situation earlier this month. 

“It’s the biggest use of force in Europe since World War II, and I think a lot of people weren’t expecting it, but what I can really speak to is that militarily, it really isn’t going the way that Russia expected it to go,” Worsnop said.

Worsnop, a research fellow with the Center for International Security Studies at UMD, also explained that the terrain in Ukraine may make it easy for Russians to attack. 

Unlike Vietnam or Afghanistan, Worsnop said, parts of Ukraine tend to have no mountains and little cover, and guerilla warfare – the type of fighting being conducted in Ukraine with smaller groups fighting a larger militant force – is known to be successful in rougher terrains.

“So southeastern Ukraine in particular is not very easy to hide. It is very flat and tends to be urban based,” Wornsop said.

He also said that Russia may easily obtain intelligence.

“A lot of ethnic Russians and Russian speakers are there. So even though a majority, I think, even in the east, of Ukrainians support Ukrainian independence, there would be a captive audience that supports the Russians and can supply information,” Worsnop said.

As for Ukraine’s strengths, Worsnop explained that the “weapon of the weak” is in their favor. This term describes methods such as evasion, sabotage and false compliance that smaller guerilla groups could use in retaliation. 

Worsnop said U.S. conflicts with Iraq and Afghanistan prove it is possible for strong military forces to be defeated by insurgent groups. 

The professor also estimated that there are not enough Russian forces in Ukraine to pull off the mission. He mentioned reports that Russian troops in Ukraine lack cohesion. 

Worsnop was somewhat optimistic about the Ukrainian forces’ odds. UMD students focused on their concerns for the whole country.

Freshman neuroscience major Adam Didouchevski’s parents were born in Ukraine but immigrated to the U.S. 

“It is so heartbreaking to me that we are promptly faced with the possibility of invasion, war and innocent lives being taken whenever we make the slightest effort to Westernize out of the ever-so-alive ‘Iron Curtain,’” Didouchevski said.

Didouchevski tries to stay in touch with his family living in Ukraine as much as possible through Skype.

“It breaks my heart that my youngest relatives, who are so bright and wonderful, have little future as it stands in a place so threatened by Russia,” Didouchevski continued. “I pray that one day, some day, Ukrainians can be given the privilege of hope. Because for generations, hope has just been so hard to come by.” 

Ethan Paul, a junior government and politics major, is not Ukrainian. Paul commented on the political and humanitarian side of the conflict

“This conflict is going to displace millions of people from their homes in both Ukraine and in Russia, which some Russians will try to escape due to the economic costs of the war,” Paul said.

Paul, a member of the College Democrats, expressed his view on the importance of politically backing Ukraine.

“It is critically important for us all to stand in solidarity with Ukraine, a democratic nation that is trying to fight back against aggression from Putin’s army.”

Paul said he approved of U.S. intelligence.

“It’s clear now that the intelligence community was correct to warn for months that Russia intended to invade Ukraine, and that doing so helped potentially delay the Russian action and give time to coordinate among other countries,” Paul said.

Stories Beneath the Shell reached out by email to the Russian Student Association and College Republicans, but neither responded before publication.

Freshman neuroscience major Adam Didouchevski wears a Ukraine ribbon in his Denton Hall dorm room. Photo by Emily R. Condon.