Vira Koldyk has experienced an emotional year, as her family has remained in Ukraine despite the ongoing war with Russia. Her 78-year-old mother still lives there, while her brother-in-law and nephew are on the front lines. Koldyk was born and raised in Ukraine, but moved to the United States in 2008, where she now lives with her husband and twin daughters.
Koldyk has been receiving real-time updates from her family overseas, and has seen the devastation unfold from thousands of miles away. “You have little villages that are completely wiped out,” she said. “You’ve got towns that turned into the ghost towns … you’ve even got some big cities where there’s hardly anything left.”
Watching the war from afar has been unimaginable for Koldyk, who said her days have been filled with praying for her loved ones’ safety. “It’s like your heart is being stabbed,” she explained. “You’re bleeding and bleeding and you just try to persevere. It was a big lesson in perseverance for me.”
Koldyk believes the war is far from over, stating “I think we’re closer to World War III than we were a year ago.” She wishes the United States would do more to help Ukraine, citing the American Revolutionary War as an example of when France helped the United States.
President Joe Biden unveiled a $2 billion military aid package last week for Ukraine, along with additional sanctions on Russia. Rhode Islanders are also doing what they can to help, with Koldyk sending care packages overseas and organizations across the state holding fundraisers, vigils and donation drives.
Vira Koldyk has had an emotional year, as her family has remained in Ukraine despite the ongoing war with Russia. Her 78-year-old mother, brother-in-law, and nephew are all still in Ukraine. Koldyk was born and raised there, but moved to the United States in 2008 with her husband and twin daughters.
Koldyk has been receiving real-time updates from her family overseas, and has seen the devastation unfold. She said, “You have little villages that are completely wiped out, towns that turned into the ghost towns … you’ve even got some big cities where there’s hardly anything left.” Watching the war from afar has been unimaginable for Koldyk.
Koldyk believes the war is far from over, stating “I think we’re closer to World War III than we were a year ago.” She wishes the United States would do more to help Ukraine, citing the American Revolutionary War as an example of when France helped the United States. President Joe Biden unveiled a $2 billion military aid package last week for Ukraine, along with additional sanctions on Russia.
Rhode Islanders are also doing what they can to help, with Koldyk sending care packages overseas and organizations across the state holding fundraisers, vigils and donation drives.