A voice for Ukraine

It was around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when she got a text.

Nineteen-year-old Annie Vladovska was on a call with a college friend when her mom messaged her.

“They heard explosions,” Vladovska said.

She dropped the call and called her mom right away.

It was about 5 a.m. in Ukraine.

“I was confused, still am,” Vladovska said. “Scared. Trying to find out how I can be of any help.”

The explosions were coming from the direction of Ukraine’s largest airport, Boryspil International Airport, about 40 minutes from Vladovska’s family home in Kyiv.

Her grandparents, parents and 10-year-old sister are among almost 3 million others living in the capital of Ukraine.

Vladovska’s mom told her the explosions woke them up but they didn’t know what they were. She was then updated that the invasion had started.

“I asked them, ‘Where are you going?’” Vladovska said.

Her mom responded that people were evacuating and there were sirens going off.

Around noon Ukrainian time, Vladovska’s mom said they were leaving Kyiv to drive to a safer area. Many residents, along with Vladovska’s family, were evacuating, and others sought shelter in the underground metro stations.

Vladovska said her mom told her the explosions were getting worse during the night.

Now, Vladovska isn't just worried. She's angry.

“I’m mad at the aggressor and the things that are happening,” she said. “It's not the first time it’s happened, the aggression toward Ukraine from (Russia), and they try to eliminate the culture and the history.”

Russia unleashed a full-scale invasion of the country on Thursday, sending troops and tanks and launching airstrikes on cities and military bases.

Vladovska said some people think Ukrainians were never nice to Russians.

“It’s completely untrue,” she said.

She said Russians were always welcomed to Ukraine. There wasn’t a language barrier either as Ukrainians also spoke Russian along with their own language.

She said it’s important to her that people understand the difference between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t say she’s Russian or part of the Soviet Union because she can speak Russian.

“What makes me mad is that potentially, Russians can destroy facts and things that belong to Ukraine,” she said. “And then rewrite history.”

She said these things should be preserved for future generations.

“They have certain value,” Vladovska said. “For me it is important that these historical artifacts stay untouched.”

She said photos are very important. Vladovska said even if everyone with information about the family photos were to die, people who found the photos might not know the people but would be able to learn how they dressed and what foods they were preparing.

“What we consider memories for someone else are historical artifacts,” she said.

Vladovska said she’s also worried about the future of her country. Ukraine celebrated 30 years of independence from the Soviet Union in 2021.

“Ukraine has a lot of potential,” she said. “I’m scared after the war ends, people will have to start over again like they did 30 years ago.”

Vladovska's father, a jeweler, had to leave his office and equipment in Kyiv.

“It was his main income,” she said. “He doesn’t have his instruments. That’s the thing, having to leave your office and things you cannot bring with you.”

As of Press time Thursday night, Vladovska last heard her family was in heavy traffic because of the evacuations. Her mom said they were stopped, not moving anywhere.

“(I’m) confused and scared for my family,” Vladovska said. “I’m scared that my family will die.”

While she left Ukraine in 2019 to study at North Idaho College, Vladovska can still see photos of destroyed buildings and read of casualties in the country where she was born and raised.

“Two different lives are happening right now,” Vladovska said. “People are getting married, people are happy … they’re just living their life. And there is my family in a country where they have to run, and they stand in the line not knowing if they will be able to make it to the border.”