Coloradans From Ukraine Wrestle With Guilt Over Being Away From Home, Searches For Ways To Support Homeland
BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (CBS4) - It's a special kind of helplessness Valentyn Kinash and Andrew Iwashko wake up to each morning, following news of the Russian invasion of their homeland, Ukraine.
"To see our whole country being bombed in one day, everything we built, everything we love to be in danger in just a moment's notice, it's absolutely terrifying," Iwashko told CBS4 Mountain Newsroom Reporter Spencer Wilson. "And our lives will never be the same."
The two live in Summit County, but both grew up in Ukraine. Iwashko's parents still live there, and had their flight canceled on their way back after visiting Colorado. They are still stuck here to this day.
Kinash's family is in the furthest west area of Ukraine, but are still living life under attack from Russian forces.
"They just go to bomb shelter every day, five times every day. They go up and down, up and down," Kinash explained.
"It just feels horrible to text my mother -- 'Are you still alive?'" he said, grim-faced.
The two are searching for ways to support their friends and family back home, but feel like anything they could do aside from picking up arms and pushing back invaders would not be enough.
"We feel lucky not to be in immediate danger, but we also have a feeling of big guilt, because as much as we try to raise awareness, show solidarity, raise funds, try to send back equipment, whether it's medical kits, clothing, food, water," Iwashko said. "It feels like it's not enough because we see our brothers or cousins and everyone that we've encountered in our daily life picking up weapons, helping build barricades, taking care of loved ones, being medics ... everyone is playing their part and us being abroad, It's a lot tougher to find what our part is, what our duty is."
They've taken to hiking parts of Summit County and waving the Ukrainian flag at the summit as a sign of strength and solidarity, and are considering putting together a fundraiser to help purchase supplies. (Editor's note: We'll include a link to that when they have it figured out in this article.)
Still, their awareness campaign is intended as a reminder that even when the fighting stops, their battle is not over.
"It's really important for everyone to know that this battle's not going to be finished in a week," Iwashko said. "And even if it does, if there's a cease-fire, you know, best case scenario, Russia withdraws. We have months we have years of rebuilding our nation to what it was."
Iwashko said spending 10-15 minutes catching up with the latest on the war is a great way to support the Ukranian people, simply to understand what they are going through and the hell they're fighting.
"When you ask someone if they're okay, every Ukrainian is not okay right now. So to be a helping hand, just a hand on the shoulder, a hug, it means the world to us to know that we're not alone."
