Baltimore's lifeline to Ukraine as war rages 4 years after Russian invasion

Baltimore has a special bond with the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa, which has been ravaged by years of war since the Russian invasion.    

The Associated Jewish Federation of Baltimore has provided millions of dollars in aid to the city. The nonprofit provides support to the Jewish community, and leaders reflected on the lifeline that assistance has meant to Odesa on the somber fourth anniversary of the conflict. 

Life in Ukraine 

Oksana Nelina spoke to WJZ Tuesday from Odesa, her home city still under siege. 

She pleaded that her community not be forgotten after years of conflict. 

"It does not matter if you live in Ukraine or if you live in Germany or if you live in the United States, the war is very close, and the people should know that," Nelina said.

Asked to paint a picture of life today in Odesa, she said, "The attacks, they are just endless. We are under attack during the day and during the night. Nonstop. It means nonstop shelling."

Nelina called this winter "the hardest since the beginning of the full-scale invasion."

"We live without electricity. We live without heating, and we live without water," she said. 

More than 5,000 miles away from the chaos, The Associated Jewish Federation of Baltimore has provided more than $2 million in assistance. You can read more about their partnership here.

"It saves lives because it's not about the funding. It's not about the generators. It's about human stories. It's about humanity," Nelina said. 

Help from Baltimore 

The Associated has provided power banks, blankets and more to Odesa, even messages of support during the holidays.

"They have no power. They have no heat," said said The Associated's president CEO Andrew Cushnir. "We're able to provide a little bit of help, so in the community centers we funded, we've provided generators so people are able to get a little bit of heat. They're able to charge their phones, and they're able to have a small sense of normalcy in the midst of this terrible war."

Cushnir visited Odesa two years ago. 

"You could feel when you were there in Odesa the connection to the Baltimore community. Everywhere I went I saw signs that thanked us. I met people who had been to Baltimore or who were in relationships with people in our Baltimore Jewish community," Cushnir said. "It's hard to fathom what four years of war must feel like to our family in Odesa. When I was there, you could feel the pain of two years, and you could see it everywhere you went. People were tired. People were traumatized, and now at the four-year mark, it's impossible to imagine how difficult life is there."

Jessica Gorsky Halle has helped to coordinate communications between the sister cities. Her family has deep ties to Odesa. 

"It's just so tragic, and it feels so unnecessary. It's just so difficult, and we are constantly in contact with our partners on the ground in Odesa," Gorsky Halle said. "It's heartbreaking to know that the city that my mother grew up in and loves so much has been so decimated."

She asked of the conflict, "When is the end? When will it come? It's very difficult to see what they go through on a daily basis."

Yet there is hope. Some of it is anchored in the backing from Baltimore.

"This support gives hope that [we] are not alone, that the world does not forget about [us]," Nelina said from Odesa. "And we have this Jewish community connection which is a kind of hope for the best."

"We try to believe that it's going to end somehow because every war has an ending," she said. "Sometimes the world pretends that this is not about them—that this war is somewhere far away. But the war is much closer than you think."

The Associated's Odesa partnership began in 1992.