Transcript:
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Luis Hernandez: Father Boris, it’s really a pleasure. Thank you so much for your time.
Boris Kroner: Thank you for having me on.
Hernandez: Father Boris, what are your thoughts and your emotions right now as we approach this anniversary of the war in Ukraine?
Kroner: For years now, there are people in Ukraine who have been forced to live in conditions that are absolutely unspeakable. But for us who have loved ones who have family in Ukraine, those of us who have been born there, this conflict is that much more daunting and that much more of a tragedy.
Imagine having to wake up every morning and not knowing whether your family members, your loved ones, your friends are alive. Imagine not knowing whether they have lost their houses. Imagine not knowing whether they’re going to be able to eat and have normal lives, that we all take for granted.
For us in America, we feel powerless. We feel powerless to help. That’s really daunting for all of us.
Hernandez: I wanted to go back to something you were talking about a moment ago, and I’m thinking about the members of the community in your congregation. I’m wondering if you could just tell me a little bit more about how they’re coping with this war, especially those who have family and friends still back in Ukraine.
Kroner: Well, frankly, they’re scared. They’re scared of the uncertainty. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. We don’t know whether, again, they’re going to lose their loved ones, their family members, their friends, people they grew up with. People I grew up with are fighting in the army right now. Some of them are in danger every single day of their lives. It’s very, very stressful for all of us. Of course, our suffering does not in any way form or shape compare to what they are going through, but nevertheless, it is very difficult.
Hernandez: Is the church right now doing anything working with refugees and families affected by the war?
Kroner: Sure. We’re doing quite a lot to help as much as we can. We’re not a big community, but we have not only helped our troops in Ukraine and sent over supplies, monetary funds – just now, we bought a spy drone for our soldiers – but we’re also trying our very best to help members of our community, new members of our community who have come as refugees.
Granted, we don’t have as many people here as they might have in, I don’t know, Boston or New York. But there have been a number of people who have come and we’ve opened our hearts and the doors of our church to them. It is a privilege and a blessing to be able to do that for people who have lost everything.
Hernandez: We are in an election year here in this country. So a lot of attention is going to be on that. There’s still a lot of attention on the Israel-Gaza war right now. What do you say to Americans about why [they should] keep their minds on the fact that this [war] is still an issue that is important to them as well?
Kroner: Here’s what I will say. Why is this important? This is a very good question. An imperative question, actually. When Putin came to power, he unequivocally stated that the greatest geopolitical tragedy of his lifetime was the fall of the Soviet Union. This is the same Soviet Union that spread communism throughout Europe and the world at large. Okay? This is the same Soviet Union that killed about 35 to 50 million of its own people, and then had their proxies murder up to 100 million people all over the world.
We all remember the Cold War. We all remember how much that cost us. So if he’s able to rebuild, reconstitute the Soviet Union, this will be not only a disaster for Russia’s neighbors like the Baltic states or Ukraine, it will be a disaster for all of Europe and the world. So you can think of this as a continuation of the Cold War. Putin is a KGB colonel. He hasn’t changed. The fact that he calls himself a Democrat doesn’t mean that we’re facing a different enemy. This is the same enemy wearing a different suit.
Hernandez: It seems likely that Vladimir Putin is going to win real action. Do you think it’s possible for Russia and Ukraine to coexist peacefully if he’s at the helm?
Kroner: If Ukraine has the means to defend herself [and] if Russia understands that they will pay a price greater than just all losing troops on the ground. That is not enough. Russia has no problem—and this has historically always been the case—sending legions of people to die in conflict. This has always been a part of Russian military doctrine. They will drown you in corpses, as morbid and horrible as that sounds. And they have almost infinite human resources. You know, it’s a tremendously large country. People think that if Putin goes away, this problem will be magically solved. Well, it won’t. This has been Russian policy towards their neighbors for hundreds of years.
The latest thing with Tucker Carlson doing an interview with Putin, right? I mean, yeah, he shouldn’t be doing that, but everybody’s attacking him. Yet NBC has done it. MSNBC has done it, ABC, they’ve all done it. They’ve been doing it for years with this dictator. So playing footsie with dictators doesn’t usually turn out well. Remember that Hitler was Time’s Man of the Year. I mean, Russia invades Chechnya twice, kills tens of thousands of people. Right? Russia invades Georgia. And then we’re going to go have interviews with him and have tea with him and ask him softball questions.
Hernandez: Father Boris, what would you like to say about the war to the Ukrainian community here in Rhode Island?
Kroner: I think it’s just important to remind people that this is still going on. Most people just, sort of, have forgotten about it. It’s important for people to understand who it is we’re fighting because I think that most people don’t fully comprehend it. They don’t fully understand that Putin is a KGB colonel. They don’t fully grasp the fact that he’s trying to re-institute the whole Soviet Union. That’s what this is about. This is a purely ideological conflict.
Not many people are saying what I’m saying, and hopefully people can understand that. If they do understand that, both sides of the political aisle in America will be more inclined to help Ukraine.
Hernandez: Father Boris Kroner is the pastor at St. Michael’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Woonsocket. Father Boris, it’s such a pleasure. Thank you for the time.
Kroner: Thank you very much. I appreciate the opportunity to come out and speak with you.