Senate resolution expresses support for Ukraine
With family in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv, Stepan Bilogan has paid close attention to the Russian invasion of his homeland, praying daily for their safety and hoping for an end to the war that is entering its second week.
“It’s been difficult. Every day I talk to my mother and brother, they are nervous,” said Bilogan, who is the rector of St. Mary Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Jones, about 20 miles east of Oklahoma City.
Bilogan, along with several members of his congregation, was at the state Capitol Monday, where the state Senate approved a resolution highlighting the state’s historic ties with Ukraine and condemning the “illegal and violent invasion by Russia.”
“Anything that brings attention is important,” Bilogan said about the resolution.
Sen. Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, first traveled to Ukraine in 1994 as part of a church trip and has continued to do outreach in the nation. “This is very personal to me,” Thompson said from the Senate floor before the unanimous vote for the resolution. “It is a people who believe in freedom, it is a people who are born with resilience ... and those are the same values we hold dear in Oklahoma.”
The resolution noted Oklahoma’s history of Ukrainian immigrants searching for land, farming opportunities, and jobs in the coal industry.
“Many Oklahomans of Ukrainian heritage still have friends and family in that country,” the resolution stated.
This story is provided in part through a grant by the Kirkpatrick Foundation. To support work like this, please consider purchasing a digital subscription today at https://cm.oklahoman.com/specialoffer/.