War in Ukraine hits home in Ojai
War in Ukraine hits home in Ojai
“I’m pretty happy,” said Konstantin of his daughter Julya’s newborn baby. “At least one good thing has happened in the world that brings life, not death.”
For over a week, attacks from Russia on Ukraine came from land, air and sea, destroying parts of the country in Okhtyrkla, Kharkiv, Kherson and Kyiv in an effort to overthrow the sovereign government of Ukraine.
The Ojai Valley News has been in touch with a close contact, Nyktyta, who remains on the ground in Lviv in western Ukraine.
“There are lots of sirens,” said Nyktya on Feb. 26 in an update. “The government officials were also asking for any help like making Molotov cocktails, drones, hackers’ assistance, and drivers for transporting snacks, food, military equipment, and people…The worst part is casualties from civilians. People who accidentally were at the wrong place at the wrong time….Even an ambulance was hit today a couple of hours ago.”
In addition to Nykyta, several Ojai residents from both Ukraine and Russia have been impacted by the war with families and loved ones still abroad. For them, community remains integral.
“My parents and grandma live in a small town in the Vinnytsya region. The majority of my college friends and colleagues live in Kyiv,” said Olena Kachur, an Ojai resident who first visited the U.S. in 2007 before returning to the Ukraine. In 2008, she married her husband Etienne and together, they moved into the Ojai Valley. “Since the beginning of this tragedy, I don’t go to sleep until I hear back or see some activity online from my parents and very close relatives and friends. Each day I pray that my hometown is still standing and the people of my nation are still alive.”
With family and friends abroad, Kachur has been careful to keep the news to a minimum to shield her two-year-old son from the carnage, opting instead to focus on the beauty her country has to offer.
“Many people really have no idea how beautiful my homeland is. With vast fields of sunflowers, wheat and corn that stretch for miles and miles, green forests, mountains with breathtaking views, picturesque riverbanks and the seaside,” said Kachur. “And of course, the cultural heritage, which I pray remains intact.”
Another Ojai resident, Konstantin, who wished to keep his last name anonymous for safety concerns, was born in Moscow, Russia and later relocated to the Oak View community. Konstantin first moved to America 26 years ago and later settled in Ojai in 2013.
“It is a war. It’s a very dangerous situation,” said Konstantin “Ukraine wants to be independent from Putin’s regime…He’s trying to put his own people into the Ukrainian government to control the country.”
Fears and distrust of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin are at the forefront of concern for Konstantin’s family and friends who remain in Russia.
“He’s threatening the world right now. All people are afraid of that,” said Konstantin. “He’s trying to get all former Soviet Union republics under his control.”
But there is a sense of optimistic trepidation regarding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has turned down several offers from the West to evacuate, opting to stay and fight for Ukraine.
“Zelensky is doing his job really well,” said Konstantin. “He was already offered by western countries to hide him, to take him away from the Ukraine to save his life. But he said I don’t need a ride, I need the weapons…He’s fighting for his freedom and probably for ours too.”
Originally from Moscow, Konstantin is married to Lyuba, who was born and raised in Ukraine. The conflict has created stress for their families abroad, but strengthened their relationship with one another.
“We have lots of friends in Russia that we contact every day,” said Konstantin. “They’re afraid. Our friends know the truth, and they’re against the war, but you cannot even go on the street and say ‘no war.’ If you go outside with a single protest or a little chant of ‘no war,’ you can go to jail. You’ll lose your job, then there’s no money for surviving. It’s like a dictatorship.”
Cracks in the Russian narrative are beginning to break through, resulting in protests in Moscow where Al Jazeera reports over 5,000 demonstrators have been detained and 2,000 arrested. There is a push for unbiased media coverage on the situation to shed light on the war for residents of both Ukraine and Russia.
“There’s a very big problem because the propaganda is working very hard in Russia and is only one side — pro Putin. They don’t know any other information,” said Konstantin. “They’re just thinking Putin is making the Ukraine an anti-nazi, anti-terrorist nation.”
“I have been talking with my Aunt who has some contacts and friends in Russia,” said Nykyta. “They don’t believe our news, and they are sure it’s ‘West Propaganda’ with actors and CGI.”
Social media has created problems regarding accurate coverage in the West as well. Hours after the first explosions rocked Ukraine Wednesday, Instagram meme pages began promoting accounts purporting to be that of journalists live-streaming from the ground.
But many of the accounts turned out to be young meme admin throughout the U.S., running what are now known as “war pages,” showing shocking battleground footage out of context from several different decades in an attempt to gain followers.
“I believe we need to bring more information to the Russian people,” said Konstantin. “But how to do it?”
Kachur reflected a similar desire for truth to prevail, along with a need to showcase the travesties being committed.
“The lesson is that we are living in a global society and the effects will impact all of us,” said Kachur. “No one wants WWIII and the fear of nuclear war, but if the world had united to the same extent back in 2014, when Russia invaded Crimea and the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, this war could have been prevented and thousands of lives could have been saved.”
On March 18, 2014, Russia formally incorporated Crimea as two Russian federal subjects — the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol.
“This problem occurred eight years ago when Putin took the Crimean peninsula,” said Konstantin. “That’s why we have a bigger problem now.”
One of the key dissidents in the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine was Alexey Navalny, a Russian lawyer and activist. Navalny was later poisoned by a Novichok nerve agent in August of 2020, with an investigation implicating agents from the Federal Security Service.
After returning to Russia in January of 2021, Navalny was subsequently jailed for violating parole conditions imposed from his 2014 protest and conviction. Navalny continues to speak out against the war via social media while awaiting trial, requesting a global protest in all City Centers across the nation at 2 p.m. on March 6.
“Russian people have to rise and kick out Putin,” said Konstantin. “Nobody can do it, only the Russians can.”
In the midst of all the chaos and uncertainty, a glimmer of hope uniting cultures and communities occurred for Konstantin and his wife Lyuba.
When the OVN reached out, the couple were in the car on their way to the birth of their new baby granddaughter, Allochka.
“I’m pretty happy,” said Konstantin of his daughter Julya’s newborn baby. “At least one good thing has happened in the world that brings life, not death.”
With reports confirming television towers have been bombed in Kyiv, administration buildings have been struck by apparent rockets in Kharkiv, and military bases are under attack in Okhtyrka, a sense of community and support from Konstantin and Lyuba remains integral.
“Ukraine wants to be independent and a free country, and become a member of the European Union,” said Konstantin. “He [Putin] was trying to blitzkrieg, a short war, and in three days, take over Kyiv. But it didn’t happen, because Ukrainians can fight too.”
Olena Kachur has created a Facebook group called Undefeated Ukraine (https://bit.ly/3C6z5ds) where she shares some of the heartbreaking realities of war, as well as opportunities to donate to different organizations.
“There is absolutely a humanitarian crisis at hand and will require continued aid and assistance from governments and individuals,” said Kachur. “There is no place for this kind of violence and aggression in our global community.”
In a moment of solidarity, the city of Ojai — represented by Mayor Betsy Stix — will provide a proclamation to declare the city of Ojai stands against the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which will be read at the Tuesday, March 8 Ojai City Council meeting.
“As an International City of Peace, the city of Ojai stands against this invasion,” said Mayor Stix. “Our hearts are with the people of Ukraine.”
A 40-mile long Russian convoy of tanks, artillery and other military vehicles continues to head north of Ivankiv towards Kyiv, and updates from Nykyta in Ukraine will continue to be posted on the Ojai Valley News website at: https://bit.ly/3sHrOxF
Nykyta, his girlfriend, and their cat Jackie are ready to evacuate at a moments notice.
“I think that people of America and people of the world are getting to see the values that we all share,” said Kachur. “Unity, compassion, service, love, standing up to injustice, and fighting for the right to determine our own future, the future of our children, and the refusal to live under tyrannical rule.”