Connecticut-based efforts at providing Ukrainian civilians with humanitarian aid continues despite uncertainty over continued federal support and fundraising concerns, as the war continues into its fifth year.
Teryn Kuzma, a Ukrainian American, grew up in Hartford and credits the community for continuing to raise local awareness about the crisis.
“I'm finding that these groups of people are really working together harder than ever to try to make people listen and remember and not forget, and to donate, because it's more important than ever,” Kuzma said.
Kuzma, a musician and a trained opera singer, performed at a recent benefit concert for Ukraine at the Westport Country Playhouse in early March.
Kuzma said while residents and state officials continue to express support for Ukraine, popular opinion is now divided, which has spilled into her personal life. Another challenge has been sustaining American public interest in the war. Because of this, it has become a challenge to sustain fundraising efforts which advocates say, is a crucial lifeline for thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire.
Marshall Mayer, the executive director of Fairfield based Ukraine Aid International (UAI), said the concert raised around $40,000.
“We could be supporting tens of thousands of people with clean water,” Mayer said. “We could be providing numerous vehicles. We can be doing a lot of work with that, and we will be putting that to work over the next several months.”
Mayer said despite the success of the concert, the pace of donations overall, has dropped since the start of the war.
“When the war was new, people were willing to donate,” Mayer said. “Donations flew in freely. These days, unfortunately, it's been on a steady decline ever since now. It doesn't mean that people aren't feeling for Ukraine, but you can think about the last four years, other wars that have come up, natural disasters, major political events."
Much else has changed since 2022. Ukraine and Russia have suffered close to 2 million in casualties since the start of the war, according to the Associated Press. Russia, according to NPR, has proven to be much more resilient than expected, and has mass produced drones helping turn the war into a brutal World War I style conflict.
Mayer said UAI has also been forced to adapt.
“Recently, we've started having to carry around drone detectors, which allow us to tap into the feeds of any drones that might be overhead and see what they see,” Mayer said. “Hopefully, thankfully, we haven't been in any of those feeds, and we hope we never do.”
Despite those risks, Mayer said none of his team members have been seriously injured or killed so far while delivering supplies to the frontlines.
Mayer said the organization has its challenges, but expressed continued support for its humanitarian mission. Sen. Richard Blumenthal traveled to Ukraine along with other federal lawmakers earlier this year. The visit comes as the country's support for the war appears to have dropped according to a Gallup poll. Blumenthal said in a statement from February he believes Ukraine can still win the war.
"This trip convinces me that redoubled U.S. support – more than rhetoric – is essential to Ukraine’s battlefield strength and peace," Blumenthal said. "The false narrative that Russia is winning must be dispelled. Ukraine’s fight is our fight. They can win it.”
Kuzma, who was previously interviewed by Connecticut Public in 2023, said more people in her social circle have either been killed or wounded.
“I know people who are like mutual friends, who have died, who are just closely connected to me and so, it just still rattles me, or young artists, young musicians who are just killed by bombs in their home,” Kuzma said.
But Kuzma also said popular opinion outside of the diaspora is divided. She said she has increasingly gotten into confrontations with people expressing distrust of Ukraine or opposition to military aid.
The federal government has also expressed skepticism towards supplying Ukraine with continued aid while it is actively pursuing a peace plan with Ukraine and Russia, according to the Associated Press.
Despite those challenges, Kuzma said her support for the war effort has only gotten stronger, especially after visiting the country in 2025 and seeing how resilient the population has been.
“It helped me really understand on a deeper level,” Kuzma said. “I still don't obviously, I was only there for a month, but, also going there and seeing people there, it's such an amazing experience, because they just live their lives. They go on.”
