Man on mission to "fight back" against Russia by founding U.S. college in Ukraine
Kyiv - The founder of a soon-to-open American University in Kyiv, scheduled to offer its first classes starting next month, says he's sticking to his launch plan despite the current international crisis on Ukraine's borders as a way to "fight back" against Russian aggression.
"As a citizen of America, I'm staying here in Kyiv, and I'm working to open up this institution that serves as sort of a beacon of light in the middle of a very dark tunnel," Roman Sheremeta, an economist who holds both Ukrainian and U.S. citizenship, told CBS News.
He described Ukraine, where he was born and raised, as a "really one-of-a-kind nation that stands on the brink, or at a crossroad of these two different, very different worldviews."
Sheremeta, who went to graduate school in the United States and then became a U.S. citizen, said Ukraine's education system has changed very little since the country was part of the Soviet Union.
Much of the tension between Russia and Ukraine, he said, is over the country's move away from Russian influence, and Sheremeta believes education is part of that.
"If we are able to transform this system, educational system here in Ukraine, you will have a ripple effect on other institutions where we will be more... The people will take charge of their own destiny in their own hands," he said.
The buildup of Russian troops on Ukraine's borders initially looked set to scuttle Sheremeta's plan to open the university. But he persevered, working out a contingency plan that he said will let him proceed with the launch, which includes remote learning.
Now, Sheremeta said he's most concerned about the damage the crisis is inflicting on Ukraine's economy.
Moscow, he said, wants "to show an example that if you don't want to be a part of this eastern worldview that Russia has, this authoritarian regime, you want to join [the] West, [the] West is not going to help you."
He said the crash of Ukraine's currency, financial markets and tourism industry — all a result of the buildup of Russian troops along the borders — were hurting the Ukrainian people without a single Russian soldier having to step onto the country's soil.
"The most unfortunate scenario that is happening right now is that Russia kind of put Ukraine in a stalemate, where they keep the tension on the border — they're not attacking — so technically, the world is not reacting to that, but Ukraine is suffering drastic consequences," he said.
Sheremeta said he wished the West would impose sanctions on Russia now to show Moscow that inflicting damage on Ukraine the way it is isn't acceptable, regardless of an invasion.
"All Putin has to do is just keep the situation in this tension for another half a year," he said, "and he will accomplish probably even more than he would with the war because war would cost him a lot, and this tension doesn't cost him much."
