Gallery • 7 Photos

Photo courtesy of Liana Gorobchuk

Gorobchuk received photos from family still living in Ukraine of the destruction.

Ukraine has been undergoing a war with Russia, officially beginning as of February 24, 2022. Throughout the course of this war, many Ukrainians have been displaced from their homes, or even their own country, due to Russia invading their main cities. Despite this being an issue on the other side of the world, 9% of students at the high school are Russian and 31% are Ukrainian. Considering this, there are students within Harrisonburg that are dealing with this issue, such as sophomores Liana Gorobchuk and Anna Vetosheva.

Gorobchuk has relatives who are helping refugees in Ukraine. With this, she’s able to get the real picture of what’s really happening in Ukraine. 

“As many people know, Russia is invading Ukraine, especially Mariupol and Bucha near Kyiv. There’s a lot of people dying [and] it’s so sad. Also, lots of kids and women [are getting] raped. My aunt is currently in Poland helping Ukrainian refugees, and she’s sending pictures [and it’s really bad],” Gorobchuk said. 

Vetosheva’s family is primarily supporting Russia in this war. Keeping up with the news, she and her family are hearing various points of view about the war. 

“My family is more on the Russian side and they understand the news [they are hearing on their] side, so they see two different things. They say the Ukrainians [are] lying about [what’s going on],” Vetosheva said.

Having family living in Ukraine is worrisome for Gorobchuk. However, knowing that they’re safe at the moment makes things better. 

“[My family is] in Vinnytsia which is in central Ukraine, but only a couple hours from Kyiv, so whenever the sirens are going [off] they go in their basements. They’re safe so far, but it’s tiring constantly,” Gorbchuk said.

Vetosheva’s family has explained the Russian-Ukrainian war to her as Ukraine not understanding the message Russia is attempting to convey. 

 “[My family] explains it as the Russians are trying to help the [people of] Ukrainian, but the Ukrainians don’t understand that,” Vetosheva said.

Due to issues with translating, Vetosheva has also seen misleading information on the news. 

“[I have seen news that’s completely inaccurate to what’s going on]. There was something [that] the Ukrainians said that didn’t translate right in Russian,” Vetosheva said.

With misleading information comes misconceptions about what’s really occurring during the war. Gorobchuk has encountered people who believe the Russian-Ukrainian war is a myth, which makes dealing with the travesties of the war, far more difficult for her. 

“I know lots of people who personally don’t believe [that the war] is real. Thousands of people are dying daily, civilians who have no reason [to die], absolutely no reason. It’s hard because people just think it’s [not real],” Gorobchuk said.