On Feb 24, 2022, Russian forces began to invade Ukraine by attacking its capital city, Kyiv. The invasion of Ukraine escalated an ongoing conflict that began when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Ukrainians in our community are being impacted by the war in Ukraine because of their strong sense of pride for the country of Ukraine. Many also have family and friends who are in Ukraine right now fighting off Russian forces and are unable to leave the country.  

Senior at Evergreen High School Mykyta Lepikash said, “I have my family and friends over there [Ukraine]. Most of them are in Kyiv at the moment [because] they don’t have anywhere else to go. They feel very scared and nervous. Most of them are staying in their apartments [because] they don’t want to go to the bunker because it’s very old, overcrowded, and cold. I talked to my aunt. She hears explosions and sees rockets flying over her house. They all just hope and pray for the end of it as soon as possible so they would be able to come back to their normal lives.”

The war in Ukraine is impacting people across the world who are seeing the invasion of Ukraine through the eyes of the Ukrainians who are in the country. Union High School junior Rosty Koval said, ”I have a lot of friends, classmates, teammates, and family members that reside in Ukraine right now. Aerial alerts are heard everywhere which makes all the people hide in bomb shelters all the time.”  

Stories of communities coming together to do anything they can to support the fight against Russia are inspiring many around the world. While many are required to stay and fight, others make the choice to stay and deliver food and other necessities to those who are staying in the country. There have been stories of Ukrainian people taking down road signs and markers for the purpose of confusing Russian troops, and Ukrainian bars making molotov cocktails to throw at incoming Russian troops. “They try to volunteer by donating blood, barricading the city, gathering produce and clothes for the military and refugees who are evacuating from the more dangerous cities at the moment,” said Koval.  

The country of Ukraine is known for the pride that its people have for their country. Ukraine’s beautiful and vast landscape is praised by everyone who has had the opportunity to see it in person. However, the war is causing these once beautiful places in Ukraine to be bombed and destroyed by Russian troops.  

“The city I grew up in and have all my friends in is also in danger right now. I was born and lived most of my life in the city of Cherkassy, which is in the central part of Ukraine. [It is] a beautiful city situated on the banks of the river Dnipr. I loved to travel through the beautiful cities in Ukraine, spending our family vacations at the Black and Azov seas which are now occupied by Russia,” said Koval.  

“I was born in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, and lived there 16 years before moving to the USA.”  Lepikash said, “it was a calm and peaceful life, everybody there just wanted a better future for their country.”  

Our hearts go out to those Ukrainian people suffering overseas as their home country is forcefully invaded by the Russian troops. “It is a horrific thing. Almost anybody couldn’t have even imagined something like that to happen in Ukraine,” Lepikash said.  

“I was truly heartbroken when I found out the news that Russia had invaded Ukraine. In my opinion, no country can just come to another independent country with its own history and culture and try to take [it] over by destroying cities and killing innocent civilians.” Koval added, “[To those in Ukraine right now] all of you are on our minds right now. You all are real heroes that fight for the freedom of our country. We are keeping you in our prayers. All will be Ukraine!”