DeKalb city officials react Ukraine crisis, clerk calls for refugee resettlement aid

DeKALB – As the crisis in Ukraine continues, DeKalb city elected officials acknowledged the current events and urged city officials to encourage the community to help in any way they can.

DeKalb City Clerk Sasha Cohen said during a recent DeKalb City Council meeting his heart goes out to the people of Ukraine as they fend off a Russian invasion.

“I’m heartened by the stories of heroism from everyday citizens using Molotov cocktails and hastily distributed arms to fight back against a literal army,” Cohen said.

Ukraine’s east side was first barraged less than two weeks ago by military bombardment as Russian troops entered the country through Belarus. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, an attack that included air and missile strikes on Ukrainian military facilities before troops and tanks rolled across the borders from the north, east and south.

“As someone who has ancestors who came to this country fleeing Ukraine, this hits close to home,” Cohen said.

Cohen asked the city to prepare a plan for resettlement for Ukrainians, if refugees come to DeKalb.

“This could be by reaching out to local businesses and local landlords and asking, ‘Would you be willing to hire refugees? Would you be willing to provide temporary housing until they land on their feet?,’ " Cohen said. “Not with an investment of city dollars, but an ask to our community to come together.”

At the time of the invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin deflected global condemnation and new sanctions – and referred to his country’s nuclear arsenal as he threatened any foreign country trying to interfere with “consequences you have never seen.”

Biden announced new sanctions Feb. 24 targeting Russian banks, oligarchs and high-tech sectors. The U.S. and its allies will block assets of four large Russian banks, impose export controls and sanction oligarchs.

DeKalb First Ward Alderwoman Carolyn Morris said that, although she knows there’s plenty “going on at home as well,” she also wanted to acknowledge what has been happening near the Ukraine-Russia border.

“My family came from that area of the world as well,” Morris said, later specifying she has family from Lithuania and Poland. “And it’s heartbreaking.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.