War touches Trojans’ families: “Hope is on our side”

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Laryssa Sadoway hasn’t heard from her family in the village of Myrne, doesn’t know where they are or even if they are safe. 

“They haven’t picked up the phone so we think they might have fled,” said Sadoway, CVHS choir teacher and Ukrainian American. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine engendered a devastating humanitarian crisis that extends more than 6,000 miles to Castro Valley. CVHS community members are anguished and concerned for the safety of their friends and family abroad. 

Sadoway described how her family lives in a “low tech part of the country” near the city of Ternopil where they lack internet or voicemail, creating an environment where communication between them is barren. 

Similar stories follow other Ukrainians who are seeking refuge and ways to stay connected with their loved ones in the U.S.

In the weeks since the attack began, 2.8 million refugees have fled the country as the eastern and southern parts become more and more consumed by Russia.

Russia has bombed major cities such as Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and has even targeted Ukrainian citizens, blowing up civilian homes, hospitals, and schools. 

Moreover, Ukrainian and Russian journalists are under threat, facing up to 15 years in prison or even assasination for calling out Russian President Vladimir Putin and reporting the facts of the war – and for simply calling it a “war” or an “invasion” rather than a “conflict.”

“Putin can just go to hell. This is just insane of him,” said Ukrainian American and CVHS freshman Dima Serebrenyy. “Me and my family, we’re all from the south side of Ukraine in a small village a few miles off the small city of Nikolaev. I was born and raised there in the first few years of my life as well.”

While his family does have access to the internet, they too have limited communication, spotty wifi and electricity. “We stopped all video calls and we try to keep our actual messages on the phone short so they’re not on the phone as often. We want to keep them protected,” Serebrenyy said.

Both he and Sadoway have families in Ukraine with the desire to find a safer place to stay.

“My grandparents have said that they’re hiding in the hallways and can’t really escape, but that’s all they can do with the gunfire that’s just right outside,” Serebrenyy said.

Even if they could escape to their bunker, Serebrenyy’s great grandma’s age makes it difficult for her to even walk.

Similarly, Sadoway’s family (from her father’s side) in the city of Kyiv had the opportunity to flee to a place without electricity but away from the violence. However, she too has older family members and, as she pointed out, “it just seemed unsafe for someone in their 80s to go to a shack.”

Max Boychuk, Ukrainian American and CVHS freshman, described how men from his village are being drafted into the main conflict. Boychuk’s family comes from the village of Rosokhach, near the city of Chortkiv, on the western side of Ukraine and close to Poland, a NATO country. Boychuk is the first in his family to be born in America. All his relatives were born in that village.

Men from Rosokhach are being drawn into the main conflict and are “patrolling the surrounding area since there are multiple military bases around the village and spotted all around the country of Ukraine,” Boychuk said. 

“Ukraine is doing the right thing to keep fighting,” he continued. “They have limited resources on what to do. Russia has better chances of winning but the Ukrainian people are very determined; they won’t crack and let them win.”

CVHS students who have family in Russia share a similar belief that this war has dragged in innocent lives. 

“It’s not the Russian people at war; it’s a political war,” said Anna Teplov, Russian American and CVHS junior. “It’s not just people in Ukraine who don’t want this. It’s Russia too.”

Teplov’s family is from Kyrgyzstan in the former Soviet Union. Her roots, however, extend to Ukraine. 

“A lot of people think these are two completely different people,” she said. “In reality, we have very similar cultures. We’re both part of the Slavic ethnic group and we both originated from the same place. Right now it’s really hard to find a Russian person who has zero connections to Ukraine.”

“My grandmother – she’s half Ukrainian. I’ve got Ukrainian blood in me,” she continued. “I don’t see Ukrainains as enemies. I put them together because they are both my people.”

    Peter Shlychkov, a Russian American and CVHS junior who has family in Moscow, worries about the risk of this war turning global. “Ukraine’s response is completely justified,” he said. In terms of American involvement, Shlychkov asserts that the U.S. “can’t really escalate it any further or we could risk war between two major superpowers.” The Ukrainians, though, “have a right to defend their homeland – everyone has the right to do that.” 

Serebrenyy noted how a Ukrainian fighter pilot nicknamed the “Ghost of Kyiv,” rumored to have shot down six Russian jets, illustrates how “hope is on our side.”

This circulating story has provided hope to a desperate and beleaguered Ukrainian resistance that’s been fighting for the life of their country.

Still, Serebrenyy believes it is imperative that countries help Ukraine beyond the current actions taken by countries like the U.S.

“Sanctions and stifling all flow of Russian oil: good. But nowhere near enough… America and the rest of the world need to step in. This can get way worse from here,” he vocalized.

Similarly, freshman Arthur Tatarkhanov, whose uncles, aunts, grandparents, cousins live in Russia, believes that Ukraine needs military and financial support from the U.S., but points out how there is “definitely a conflict about whether or not they [NATO] should go in.” 

Boychuk shared his thoughts. “The U.S. has been sending humanitarian aid and putting sanctions on Russia, but they can’t send troops,” he explained. “That would start WWIII.”

Teplov agrees. “Getting all these countries mixed into this conflict would just create even more disasters and we want to avoid as many people from getting hurt,” she advised. “So donate. Donate to organizations that provide direct resources. Just pray.”

Sadoway mentioned, however, that a challenge people have with support is wondering if the money is getting in the hands of people who need it most.

“I don’t know what’s best at this point,” she confessed. “What does seem to be clear is how fiercely loyal the Ukrainians are to their home country after all that they’ve been through and the stories they’ve heard through generations.”

“There’s a fearlessness to the people,” she continued, “that just seems unparalleled – that they are willing to just stand in front of a tank and say ‘take me, this is where I live.’”