‘Fighting for their country’

Local Ukrainians decry Russian invasion of their homeland



FINDING STRENGTH—At right, from left, Lina Burlaka, Iryna Nuzhna, Leyla Memetova, Oxana Proctor and Lyudmyla Smolyanyuk gather to talk about their families and loved ones still in Ukraine on Tues., March 1. Above, Memetova and Proctor embrace as they discuss the impacts the war is having on their families here and in Ukraine.

FINDING STRENGTH—Above, from left, Lina Burlaka, Iryna Nuzhna, Leyla Memetova, Oxana Proctor and Lyudmyla Smolyanyuk gather to talk about their families and loved ones still in Ukraine on Tues., March 1. Below, Memetova and Proctor embrace as they discuss the impacts the war is having on their families here and in Ukraine.

For many Ukrainians living in the United States, it’s been gut-wrenching to watch Russia’s invasion of their country play out in the news. Thousands of miles away and powerless to help, they fear for their homeland and worry constantly about the safety of family members still living there.

Every morning, Ukrainian-born Lina Burlaka of Simi Valley said she tries to connect with her family in Ukraine. She hopes for the best, but always expects the worst.

Burlaka is relieved, momentarily at least, whenever she is able to talk with her disabled mother.

“Are you OK? Are you still surviving?” she asks, already knowing the conflict has taken a terrible toll on her mother’s physical and mental health.

“It’s really a nightmare what Russia is doing to us, to this small little country,” said Burlaka, who remains hopeful the international community can help save Ukraine.

Sitting at a local coffeehouse, Burlaka joined four fellow Ukrainians— Lyudmyla Smolyanyuk of Simi Valley, Oxana Proctor and Leyla Memetova of Moorpark, and Iryna Nuzhna of Agoura Hills—to talk with the Acorn about the situation in Ukraine and how locals can help.

Photos by RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers

Photos by RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers

“Everyone right now is watching Ukraine drowning in blood. This is the 21st century and unacceptable,” Burlaka said. “Every single country now should stand strong and help do everything they can to prevent this from happening.”

On Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a large-scale military invasion of Ukraine, one of Russia’s neighbors to the southwest, marking an escalation to a conflict that began in 2014.

Russian ground forces entered Ukraine and missiles were launched into Kyiv, the country’s capital, which is home to some 3 million people. Other key cities are being attacked, too.

On Tuesday, Russian forces escalated their attacks on crowded urban areas, sending hundreds of tanks and other vehicles to Kyiv and the central square in Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city.

 

 

Ukrainians in the United States have been getting firsthand accounts and videos from family and friends, who now find themselves in the middle of a war zone. Homes, hospitals and schools are being targeted, and many civilians have been killed, including children.

Memetova shared pictures from Kyiv of families and children hiding in cold subway stations. Some were there merely for protection; others were using the underground tunnels as shelter after their homes were destroyed.

Many of those who don’t go underground, Memetova said, stay inside their homes watching Russian tanks go by as their towns are occupied. Afraid to attract attention and become targets, they keep their apartments darkened.

Proctor said families can’t get food and needed medicine because stores are closed, and they are scared to travel because Russian soldiers are manning checkpoints and watching their every move. People can’t use their cars, so if they do require necessities, they must walk for miles to find an open store. There are shootings and bombings all around them, she said.

‘IT’S REALLY A NIGHTMARE’—From left, Lina Burlaka, Lyudmyla Smolyanyuk and Iryna Nuzhna describe what their loved ones in Ukraine are going through as Russian forces invade the country.

‘IT’S REALLY A NIGHTMARE’—From left, Lina Burlaka, Lyudmyla Smolyanyuk and Iryna Nuzhna describe what their loved ones in Ukraine are going through as Russian forces invade the country.

“We’re a bunch of nerves here hearing what is happening. When we talk to our families, we cannot cry or tell them how scared we are for them,” Proctor said.

At first, Burlaka said, Ukrainians were in disbelief that their country was being invaded. Now, she said, some residents are becoming angry and starting to resist in hopes of preventing their country from being “nonexistent.”

“It’s true that if Russia stops fighting, there won’t be a war. If Ukraine stops fighting, there won’t be a Ukraine,” she said.

Burlaka said Ukrainians are drawing strength from their president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and doing everything “with bare arms” to prevent Russia from taking over their country.

The families of all five women have the option to flee to Poland, but Proctor said they are choosing to stay and defend their land even though they know it’s not an equal fight.

SUPPORTING EACH OTHER— From left, Iryna Nuzhna, Oxana Proctor, Leyla Memetova, Lina Burlaka and Lyudmyla Smolyanyuk urge local residents to show their support for Ukraine, hoping it will encourage politicians to step up their efforts to stop the invasion. RICHARD GILLARD Acorn Newspapers

SUPPORTING EACH OTHER— From left, Iryna Nuzhna, Oxana Proctor, Leyla Memetova, Lina Burlaka and Lyudmyla Smolyanyuk urge local residents to show their support for Ukraine, hoping it will encourage politicians to step up their efforts to stop the invasion. RICHARD GILLARD Acorn Newspapers

She said she understands that standing up to a superpower like Russia is a monumental task, but she believes Ukrainians will ultimately prevail because of their spirit and the fact that they’re “fighting for their country, their lives, their homes and their families.”

Nuzhna was born in the Soviet Union, but said she’s proud to be Ukrainian.

“When Ukraine became independent in 1991, it was (a point of) pride because everyone wanted for so many years to get out of the Soviet Union,” she said.

On Tuesday morning, Nuzhna said she spoke to her mother, who was going back down to an underground metro station and would lose internet reception. As the invasion rages on, her mom is collecting warm clothes and giving them to those in need. She refuses to leave Ukraine, saying it’s her home and that she wants to fight for her land.

“Ukrainians want to live in a democratic country. They don’t want to be in Putin’s regime. Russian people do not understand this,” said Nuzhna, adding that even those in Ukraine with different political views have put aside their differences to unite.

Nuzhna said Putin has driven a wedge between Ukrainians and Russians. She believes many Russians are being brainwashed by Putin, who is falsely telling them that what he’s doing is for the benefit of the Ukrainian people.

“We have Russian friends here, and now we look at them and try to assess, ‘Are you an enemy or are you still a friend?” she said. “I try to fight those thoughts, but Putin has poisoned everything.”

She called what Putin is doing “genocide” and wishes the international community, including the United States, would do more to help beyond the sanctions that have already been imposed.

Smolyanyuk said her mother in Ukraine is helping others despite risking her own safety.

“I said, ‘Mom, be careful, it could be dangerous.’ She said that it’s better to help and do something instead of hiding.”

Smolyanyuk said the worst thing people can do while watching the devastation in Ukraine is to be silent and ignore the situation.

“Because it’s not just about Ukraine. It’s about the whole world. We don’t know if Russia is going to invade Poland or if it’s going to be World War III,” said Smolyanyuk, who hopes NATO will step up to defend the airspace over Ukraine.

“There are no safe places in Ukraine now,” Smolyanyuk said.

The women have been doing what they can locally, attending protests and signing petitions against the war and Putin’s regime. They encourage others to do the same.

Smolyanyuk started a local nonprofit organization, called World for Ukraine, after Russia’s hostile annexation of the Crimea territory in 2014 and its military actions in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. The goal then was to provide assistance to individuals and families whose health and welfare were severely impacted as a result of the war in the Eastern regions of Ukraine. She said she may restart the organization.

She encouraged people to show their support for Ukraine by going on social media and posting that they oppose the war and want peace for the country, so politicians can see that and be encouraged to take action.

Smolyanyuk said she still has hope for Ukraine.

“I have an idea that God has a plan for us, for Ukraine and whatever we need to go through, but in the end it’s going to be something good for Ukraine,” she said.