Mr. Maksym Kapitanchuk
In the midst of his busy schedules, we are very fortunate with the opportunity to chat with our ballroom dance teacher, Mr. Maksym Kapitanchuk, a world-renowned ballroom dancer and Academy Award nominee for the Documentary Film, “Walk, Run Cha-Cha”
Mr. Maksym is an American citizen who grew up in Ukraine. He is a great supporter of Teens4Disarmament as one of our board of directors. Amidst the war between Russia and Ukraine, the usage of nuclear weapons has been brought into the picture on quite a few occasions as the tension continues to rise. Mr. Kapitanchuk and we knew that discussing these important issues was necessary, especially because of the significant and dangerous effects nuclear weapons hold.
Without wasting a second, we asked our first question: “What are your thoughts about the war as a Ukrainian living in America?”
Mr. Maksym sighed, “It is terrifying.” On February 24th, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine due to the rising geopolitical tensions from the 2014 Russo-Ukrainian War. Both the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the invasion in 2022 caused thousands of casualties to the Ukrainian people primarily through the use of explosive weapons and serial bombings. “Nobody ever feels safe. Almost every single day [Ukraine] is being threatened by [Russian] nuclear weapons that will one day hit my homeland. This is the most terrifying thing that could happen. My heart goes to everyone who’s protecting our people, our families, and our land.”
Mr. Maksym (far left) with his family
“Given that nuclear weapons yield unimaginable power and control to a country, the countries without these mass destructive weapons are disproportionally disadvantaged and politically inferiorized. No country should be above another.”
Mr. Maksym emphasizes that nuclear weapons are the most dangerous, mass-destructive weapons in the world. “I don’t think people truly grasp the gravity of these weapons. Nuclear weapons not only hurt the victims of the location they targeted but also the surrounding lands. This bomb disseminates almost everything in its path, hurting everything in its radius.”
Mr. Maksym adds, “No country should own nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons are an immense responsibility that our world is not ready for, not to mention the decision to detonate is in the hand of very few individuals. Given that nuclear weapons yield unimaginable power and control to a country, the countries without these mass destructive weapons are disproportionally disadvantaged and politically inferiorized. No country should be above another.”
Toward the end of our interview, we asked, “When you were in high school, were you ever taught about the inhumane effects of nuclear weapons?”
Mr. Maksym paused for a second to deeply think about the question before responding. Mr. Maksyms replied, “We were not. Although teachers mentioned some of the countries that own nuclear weapons, I don’t recall them teaching about the effects. However, I think everyone should be aware of them, especially the destructive effect it brings to mankind.” If people are unaware or ignorant about dangerous issues, then change will never be made. To create positive change, you need to be able to realize and understand the problem before taking action.
We cannot even begin to think about the pain Mr. Maksym has experienced since 2022 as his family back in Ukraine still faces war every day. We hope that this war brings people back to reality and makes them realize the potential dangers of nuclear weapons are really not that far away from everyone. We hope to see the light of peace for the Ukrainian people in the soon future.