Ukrainians who fled homeland face 1st anniversary of invasion
From left, Nikita Lyman, 2; Valeriia Lyman, 8; Ivan Tkachenko, 15; Yehor Tkachenko, 10; Illia Kisel, 11; and Matvey Kisel, 13, on Thursday, Feb. 23, hold Ukrainian flags as they prepare for a Ukrainian rally on Friday, Feb. 24, in Pittsburgh. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle
‘A war for nothing’
Every morning Irena Tkachenko starts her day the same way: by telephoning her relatives and friends in Ukraine to see if they are still OK.
Tkachenko, her husband, and two school-aged sons, along with Anna Kisel and her two sons, fled their war-torn hometown of Kharkiv in June for the safety of Cranberry Township.
The families arrived with no money and one suitcase per family.
They were sponsored by their friends, Maksym and Yana Yarmatsevych, who were able to bring the two families to the United States through President Joe Biden’s Uniting for Ukraine program.
The families are from Kharkiv, a larger city in the eastern half of the country near the Russian border to the north.
