Ukraine families divided by Russian occupation hope to be reunited : NPR

Displaced Ukrainians weave camouflage netting for the military in Zaporizhia Youth Center on March 19.

Anton Shtuka for NPR

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Anton Shtuka for NPR

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — On a recent Saturday morning, several dozen volunteers at a youth center are weaving strips of cloth to make camouflage netting for the Ukrainian army. They are in the capital of Ukraine’s southeastern province of Zaporizhzhia, about two-thirds of which is controlled by Russian forces. The front line is 25 miles from here. But this city — the biggest in the province, and a major industrial hub — remains firmly in Ukrainian hands.

Many of those helping in the war effort here today fled homes that are now in Russian-occupied territory further south. That’s the case for 36-year-old Kateryna Kyshkan, one of the volunteers, who lived for a year and a half under Russian occupation.

“It was terrible,” she says. “It was very scary because there were a lot of tanks and bombs. And they would come into my house.”

Anton Shtuka for NPR

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Anton Shtuka for NPR

Many people fled immediately. Kyshkan says she stayed so long because she believed the Ukrainian army would save them. By the summer of 2023, it was increasingly difficult and dangerous to get out.

Kyshkan shows the route she and her 14-year-old daughter took in July 2023 on a map.

To enter Ukraine from occupied territory, you have to pass through Russia or a third country, such as Belarus. It also means going through Russian checkpoints, where soldiers search your phone, your belongings and your person, in a process called “filtration” that Kyshkan describes as “frightening.” All the more so because she has a patriotic Ukrainian tattoo showing the vyshyvanka, a traditional needlepoint that has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, on her forearm that she says she hid under long sleeves.

Kateryna Kyshkan weaves strips of cloth into camouflage netting. She worried that her patriotic Ukrainian tattoo would get her arrested at Russian checkpoints.

Anton Shtuka for NPR

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Anton Shtuka for NPR

One of Moscow’s demands for ending its war in Ukraine is the recognition of four Ukrainian provinces, including Zaporizhzhia, as belonging to the Russian Federation. The other three are Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk.

While the Kremlin’s forces do not entirely control these regions, Russian President Vladimir Putin claims their residents chose to join Russia in referendums. But those referendums, held in the fall of 2022 at gunpoint, were condemned as illegal by the U.N. General Assembly and had no validity under international law.

Kyshkan remembers Russian soldiers coming to her house with the ballots. She says she locked her door and hid upstairs. Many people either hid or voted as the Kremlin wished, out of fear. The family once had a house, owned a bakery, and traveled. They thought they could stay, but conditions became lawless and unsafe. They were forced to leave as fear spread. Young women dressed unattractively and never went out alone. Russian soldiers had complete power – they could kill, confiscate property, and do as they pleased. The family witnessed drunk soldiers killing an entire family on their street. Those who could, left. Another family from Crimea now lives in their house, taken care of by neighbors. Despite the hardship, they have no choice but to bear it. They were shocked by remarks from President Trump’s envoy about Russian rule in eastern Ukrainian regions. The family finds it frightening and terrible, as it is their home. Before the war, both Russian and Ukrainian were spoken in the area. “We used to live in harmony regardless of the language spoken,” she remarks. However, the Kremlin cited the protection of Russian speakers as one of its reasons for the war in Ukraine. Serdyuk now finds speaking Russian, which she refers to as the language of the occupier, repulsive. The entire family has switched to using Ukrainian instead. The Trump administration has hinted at recognizing Russia’s claim to Crimea, which it invaded and annexed in 2014, as well as Zaporizhzhia and other territories currently under partial Russian occupation since 2022. This move is part of a one-sided peace agreement being negotiated with Putin. The governor of Zaporizhzhia province, Ivan Fedorov, insists that Ukraine will never accept the loss of its occupied lands. However, he acknowledges that without support from Britain, Europe, and America, they cannot reclaim these territories. Fedorov believes that if a ceasefire is implemented in Ukraine, it will only be temporary before the conflict resumes. He emphasized that while Trump may have authority over U.S. territories, he does not have the same power over Ukrainian land. Family discussions are limited to neutral topics, while Sergey Vasylko’s grandparents, aged 69, continue to live under Russian occupation. He calls his grandparents every day, and they answer the phone with joy in their voices. They talk about sports, his job as an emergency worker, and catch up on daily life. They carefully avoid discussing sensitive topics that could put them in danger, like the war or the Russian soldiers in their area.

Despite the challenges they face, Sergey always ends the call by telling his grandparents he loves them and hopes to see them soon. They long for the day when they can be reunited with their family and attend Sergey’s wedding in September. Despite the ongoing war in their region, they will likely have to move forward without the necessary resources. The New Step medical wellness center, a vital establishment, has been devastated by a Russian missile strike. This loss will undoubtedly impact their ability to provide essential services to the community. The situation is dire, but they must persevere despite the challenges they face. The image below captures the destruction caused by the missile strike, a stark reminder of the harsh realities of war.

*Image credit: Anton Shtuka for NPR* following sentence:

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