Displaced Ukrainians who fled war zone for Alaska give opinion on Vladimir Putin visit to adopted home

Irish Independent

2 days ago

The couple haven't seen each other since she and her son Mark (15) fled Ukraine after Russia launched a full-scale invasion more than three years ago and missiles struck near her hometown near Dnipro.
She and her son managed to find refuge 7,500km away in Alaska under a Joe Biden-era programme offering Ukrainians a safe haven in the US.
But Ms Pokidcenko fears she could lose her husband any day, as she has lost friends and relatives fighting on the front lines.
'It is my biggest pain, and this is what my tears are all about,' Ms ­Pokidcenko told The Telegraph.
'All I want to have is my husband back and to be with him and be together, every birthday my son wishes for his dad to be with us, and unfortunately I cannot fulfil his birthday wish.'
Tomorrow, she will come the closest she ever has been to the man responsible for her family's devastation when Vladimir Putin arrives in Anchorage − the city she fled to.
His meeting with Donald Trump, which marks the first time Putin has visited the US in a decade, has sparked fears across Europe that the two world leaders will carve up Ukraine while Volodymyr Zelensky is frozen out.
I have to believe that this will be the beginning of an agreement
But rather than feel frustration and anger that Putin is coming to town, Ms Pokidcenko is optimistic it could mark the beginning of the end of the war.
'I have to be very hopeful that this will be something that then moves the world,' she said.
'I can't trust him [Putin], and I can't believe everything that he says, but I have to believe that this will be the beginning of an agreement.'
Ms Pokidcenko's hope is echoed by several of the 1,000 Ukrainian refugees who fled to Alaska since 2022 with the help of New Chance, a Russian-language church.
Ms Pokidcenko moved to Alaska with her friend Olena Demchenko, and her two children, Aleksander (15) and seven-year-old Sofia. She now works in a care home in Anchorage.
Ms Demchenko (38) can remember waking up to the sounds of bombs blowing up when Russia invaded.
Her family boarded a train to Poland, where they stayed for several months, before Zori Opanasevych, who works with New Chance, messaged them on Facebook saying she could help evacuate them to Alaska.
'I told my mum, and she said, 'no, I oppose this very strongly. It's colder, there's polar bears, you're going to freeze there, you're not going to survive'. All we knew about Alaska, but what we knew was, it was snow-covered mountains with Eskimos,' Ms Demchenko said.
They arrived in 'an unbelievable place where the sky was so close to us', she said. Her children enrolled in school and learnt English and she found a job as a supermarket cashier.
But when asked about how she feels about Putin's upcoming visit to Alaska, she told The Telegraph: 'This may sound strange, but when I heard this, I had hope that this meeting will be a period or a dot for this terrible, long war.'
Ms Opanasevych said while some Ukrainians have expressed 'anger' at Putin's upcoming visit and have said they will protest, the majority are choosing to keep their distance as they can't bear the pain of revisiting those emotions.
Amid the backdrop of this meeting, refugees like Ms Demchenko live in fear that they will not be granted permission to remain in the US.
The Trump administration has slowed granting extensions to a halt, leaving many families in limbo.
At least a dozen Ukrainian refugee families have already left Alaska after a lapse in their status granted under the Uniting for Ukraine programme, Ms Opanasevych said.
'It just feels like we're being pressured, and the strongest ones will survive and kind of not crack under this,' Ms Opanasevych said.
Ms Demchenko said she worries her parole will not be renewed to remain in the US next year. She tries not to think about Russia increasing its presence on the Bering Strait, which separates the US and Russia.
'It does not make me happy, I just would never want the same thing to happen to us, to repeat that story,' she said.
It is very, very stressful. It is something I think about every day, and all day
Ukrainian refugee Tetiana Kuznitsova's legal status to remain in the US expires next week.
Ms Kuznitsova (50) said finding refuge in the country allowed her 'to breathe in relief' and feel safe.
Shortly after moving to Alaska she met her fiance, John Tull (58), a US citizen, but she wants to enjoy the engagement and does not wish to rush the wedding.
'It is very, very stressful. It is something I think about every day, and all day,' she said.
Zoya Koval is also hopeful some progress can be made.
She and her husband Vitalii Koval had just spent four years renovating their dream home, which had a sprawling garden with apple trees and flowers, when they fled their hometown Okhtyrka, which is close to the front line, with their three sons.
On the night of Russia's invasion, Ms Koval said she saw explosions in the distance while her husband went to get petrol to flee the city.
Mr Koval (37), who works in construction, was able to leave the country with the family as he had three children, and they moved to Poland for six months before relocating to Alaska with the help of New Chance.
Of Putin's upcoming visit, Ms Koval said: 'I really hope that this brings a purpose to this meeting, so that it would end the war, and not just for a little short while, but end the war.'