Ukrainian Students At MDC React To Russian Invasion: ‘It Felt Like A Nightmare’

On Feb. 24—following months of military buildup and diplomatic discussions—the world awoke to the news that Russian President Vladimir Putin was launching a special military operation aiming for the “demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.”

The unthinkable was happening. Russia was invading Ukraine in the largest military attack in Europe since World War II. 

“It felt like a nightmare,” said Val Zinchenko, a Ukrainian student studying Spanish at Wolfson Campus. “Like you were watching a video game.”

Zinchenko is one of 36 Ukrainian students enrolled at Miami Dade College, according to school officials.

A day before the invasion, Zinchenko spoke with a friend from Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Since then, the city has been bombed by Russian troops.

Zinchenko’s aunt and several close friends remain in Kharkiv despite recommendations to leave the city. They are hiding in bomb shelters but have made a concerted effort to remain together to share resources and information. 

To help, Zinchenko created a campaign that has raised $12,000. With the money, he hopes to help Ukrainian families relocate and assist with food and shelter. 

Natalya Lapunova, a student at Medical Campus, is also from Kharkiv. Her mother and 90-year-old grandfather—who is diabetic, partially blind and recently suffered a stroke—remain in the city.

She has been glued to social media for updates.

“The day starts with checking if your family is alive,” Lapunova said. “Just simply alive.” 

Ilya Lykho, who studies hospitality management at Kendall Campus, also has family relatives in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. Since the invasion, his relatives have moved to a bomb shelter.

 “The war that they started is unnecessary,” Lykho said. “The outcome of this will show that Russia was in the wrong and Ukraine was in the right.”

According to the Office of the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Human Rights, 474 civilian deaths have been confirmed but they believe those figures are much higher.

“I didn’t think they were going to be bombing innocent people, kids [and] kindergarten schools,” said Alina Turbaievska, a pre-med student at North Campus, who has lost two friends after airstrikes. “I didn’t think they were going to be this cruel to our country.”

The voracity of the conflict has triggered a refugee crisis as Ukrainians move westward to avoid the war. According to the UN, more than two million refugees have fled to places like Poland, Hungary and Slovakia since Feb. 24.

Tetyana Boklach, a graphic design student at the New World School of the Arts, is from Chernivtsi, a Ukrainian city near the Romanian border.

Boklach, whose mother and grandmother remain in Ukraine, has donated to various fundraisers that support animal shelters in the country. 

“Everybody is volunteering,” Boklach said. “Every person is doing something.”

Worldwide, the condemnation of Russian aggression has been clear. More than 141 countries voted on a UN resolution condemning Russia for its actions. The U.S. and the European Union have also imposed severe sanctions on the Russian economy. 

“We are just waiting for this to be over [to] see our family,” Boklach said. “I don’t want people to die.”