The Russian invasion of Ukraine could not be more alarming and more personal for local man, Grygorii Rozdorozhniuk, who currently resides with his wife Iryna, in Griffin, SK.  Rozdorozhuniuk shared that both he and his wife have extended family who currently lives in Ukraine, which includes their parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews.  

Rozdorozhniuk’s family resides in Kyiv and also northeast of Kyiv, approximately 70kms from the Russian border.  The attacks are happening very close to where his family lives. 

“He (Rozdorozhniuk’s father) can hear explosions all the time around his village,” said Rozdorozhniuk.  “Nothing is going on yet, in the village, I think because there’s no major bridge or highway to fight about, he can hear explosions going on 50 to 60kms away.” 

To deter Russian aggression in their communities, some local governments are instituting blackouts in the evening to provide some semblance of safety for their residents. 

“In the west part of Ukraine, in Ternopil, the local government turned off power overnight just to avoid the sieges,” said Rozdorozhniuk.  “They attack all of Ukraine, west, east, north, and south, everywhere.” 

When asked if his family was able to seek asylum in neighboring countries, Rozdorozhniuk explained this was impossible because the closest major highway of where his father lives is occupied by the Russian military, the second route was a bridge, this was hit by a Russian airstrike.  The third and final possible way of escape is the Dnipro River, a major water route that runs north and south.  All the points along the river are currently too dangerous to enter and are congested with heavy traffic. 

Rozdorozhniuk’s brother along with his wife and children who live on the outskirts of the city of Kyiv also found it impossible to seek asylum because of the current Russian occupation, this, combined with heavy local traffic made refuge efforts impossible. 

“After first couple hours of Russian invasion, it was already impossible to get out of Kyiv there was so much traffic,” said Rozdorozhniuk. 

When asked if he could put words to what he and his family were feeling at this time Rozdorozhniuk was at a loss. 

“I don’t know how to find the right words to describe this, I think if you try to imagine their situation you will probably feel what is going on there,” said Rozdorozhniuk.  “They hear explosions everywhere, all the time.” 

During this crisis, sheltering in place and clinging to civilian neighborhoods is the only proactive measure Rozdorozhniuk’s family is currently able to initiate.   

Rozdorozhniuk said, “Ukranian military forces are strong and very motivated, but they need help from the world, they need resources, weapons, ammunition and lots of different supplies." 

Rozdorozhniuk does not find a lot of hope in the current sanctions, “This will hit Russia’s economy over time, but the thing is, we need help now, we need help today, we don’t have much time.” 

“What the western world should have done in my opinion, is at least put a ban on Russian oil and gas, that would have been much more effective than these sanctions because Russian economy really depends on oil and gas,” said Rozdorozhniuk. 

The Ukrainian government has called on civilians to take up arms, the state handed out military weapons to approximately 18,000 civilian men and women who are currently defending Kyiv, many casualties have already been reported. 

The tensions between Ukraine and Russia are not new to Rozdorozhniuk, in 2014 many members of his family joined the military after the Crimea crisis.  Rozdorozhniuk shared he has had communications with his family that are currently in the military, but due to security reasons, they were unable to give any details. 

In 1994, the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, and Ukraine signed the Budapest Memorandum.  Rozdorozhniuk references the agreement, which called for the removal of nuclear weapons from Ukraine, which at the time, Ukraine had the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal, in return Ukraine would have security assurances against threats or use of force against the territorial integrity for the political independence of Ukraine.  President Putin is now in violation of this international agreement.