Ukrainian students at the University of Missouri resilient after a month of Russian war in their homeland
Irynka Hromotska's sister started high school in Poland this week, while Vlad Sazhen received communication from a friend in Mariupol about horrific conditions he is enduring there under Russian bombardment.
Both are Ukrainian students at the University of Missouri. Hromotska, 26, is a first-year graduate student in photojournalism and a Fulbright Scholar. Sazhen, 19, studies aerospace engineering as an exchange student.
The Russian invasion of their country began a month ago this week. According to news reports, a Ukrainian counter-offensive had pushed the Russian military farther away from the capital of Kyiv.
Hromotska's sister turned 16 three days before the start of the war and hasn't yet celebrated the birthday, Hromotska said.
Her mother and sister have arrived in Poland traveling from their home in Lviv, among hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees there. U.S. President Joe Biden was to visit with Ukrainian refugees in Poland on Friday.
More: How people in Columbia can help displaced Ukrainian refugees
"My sister just two days ago started school there" in Poland, Hromotska said. "At least she's going to have some structure, which is good."
Her partner and the rest of her family are back in Lviv, in western Ukraine, 43 miles from the Polish border.
"Our family is very close to each other," Hromotska said, adding that everyone is safe.
"People in my family, they're staying put," she said. "They're staying positive."
She and her family are confident of a Ukrainian victory in a war she described as a battle of light against darkness.
Local family donates to "Stand with Ukraine" fundraiser
Hromotska, with other Ukrainian "Fulbrighters" in the U.S., has begun a "Stand With Ukraine" fundraiser for humanitarian relief for Ukraine.
It is coordinated through the Ukrainian Association of Washington State, which has a PayPal page for donations. There's also the option of donating with a debit or credit card on the site.
She received information this week about a donation from a local family.
"I was just really happy" about the donation, Hromotska said.
It was Jo Manhart and her family that donated $1,000 after negotiating unfamiliar technology.
"This is something we can do," Manhart said.
She directed her donations toward necessities for refugees, she said. Reading in the Tribune last week that the effort had raised $12,000, she said her family wanted to boost the total.
More: Missouri Ukrainian student joins other 'Fulbrighters' to raise money for Ukraine humanitarian aid
"Let's do something dramatic," she said of the donation.
Manhart called Hromotska and Sazhen "outstanding citizens of the world."
Ukrainian photography exhibit delayed
Hromotska is still working to organize an exhibit of work byUkrainian photographers in the Reynolds Journalism Institute at MU.
It turns out pursuing photography in a war zone has complicated the plan, Hromotska said. One of the photographers left his photos on a hard drive in Kharkiv and he can't return there, she said.
"It's taking a little longer than I anticipated," she said. "I'm being patient and waiting for all the files."
She hopes the exhibit can take place sometime after spring break, she said.
Though she didn't attend classes after the war started, she has resumed her school work, following the advice of her partner and parents, she said.
"I promised my family I would go back to classes," Hromotska said.
She's relieved to have a chance to catch up on some of her assignments, she said.
"It was like hovering over me," she said.
Russia is trying to restore its empire with the invasion, Hromotska said.
More: Vladimir Putin made 'terrible mistake' invading Ukraine, University of Missouri prof says
"This is a huge imperialist country regaining its territory they have colonized before," she said.
Ukrainians aren't fighting just to defend their homeland, she said.
"We're fighting for democracy," Hromotska said. "We're fighting for Europe and the whole world."
Details of the horror in Mariupol
Sazhen is from the heavily shelled and bombed eastern city of Kharkiv, 25 miles from the Russian border. His parents, his girlfriend and her father have moved to Poltava in central Ukraine. His grandmother remained behind in Kharkiv to care for her 10 cats.
Before a Friday interview, he said he had been talking with his girlfriend, both practicing their German-language skills.
He read a message he received from a friend, 19-year-old Vitaly Kaluhein, who is in the besieged city of Mariupol.
Kaluhein works in the city's hospital, responsible for keeping the generator and elevators working, Sazhen said.
"We are just being killed, that's all," Sazhen translated from his friend's message.
Houses bombed by Russia collapse instantly, Sazhen read from the message.
There are patients with open fractures and bullet wounds in the hospital, Sazhen said.
"We pile corpses under the surgical building," Sazhen read, with his friend adding when the weather warms, the corpses will rot "and then we're screwed."
His friend wrote that if he survives, he will study to become a doctor.
More: Ukrainian MU exchange student's family in relative safety after fleeing beleaguered Kharkiv
"I can't describe the whole picture, all my thoughts are mixed up," Sazhen translated from Kaluhein.
Kaluhein wrote he was walking beside a doctor immediately before the doctor was hit by a Russian shell and killed.
"I used to be afraid of corpses but now I walk among them and don't feel anything," Kaluhein wrote.
Sazhen became emotional when citing news accounts of Russian cruelty against Ukrainians.
On his tablet computer, Sazhen showed photos of some who have died in the Russian attacks.
"I'm showing these because I want you to see the faces of heroes," he said.
He's happy about the Ukrainian counter-attack in Kyiv. he said.
"The Russians right now are trying to defend the positions they already have," Sazhen said.
Unity after a month of war
After a month of war, all Ukrainians are remaining strong, Hromostka said.
"This past month has been just an amazing unifying experience," Hromotska said.
She feels like she has aged several years in a month, but also feels exhilarated, she said.
"The amount of love we feel, the unity we feel, is amazing," she said.
All Ukrainians are remaining strong, she said.
"I couldn't be more proud to be Ukrainian."
Roger McKinney is the education reporter for the Tribune. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on Twitter at @rmckinney9.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Ukraine students at MU endure after one month of war in their country
