Iranian drones attacking Kyiv worry University of Missouri Ukrainian students

Roger McKinney, Columbia Daily Tribune
·2 min read
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Iranian-supplied drones are striking Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.

It's where the parents and sister of University of Missouri Ukrainian student Vlad Sazhen live.

"They are terrified because of all the hassle Russia brings" but there's little they can do about it, Sazhen said. "They are living their lives."

Russia has used Iranian drones before, Sazhen said. They primarily are targeting infrastructure.

"It's just another example of the terrorist mindset they have," Sazhen said.

Ukraine is shooting down 86% of the drones, said Sazhen's girlfriend, MU Ukrainian student Alina Rohulia.

Because of Russia's targeting of power supplies, Ukrainians are being asked to curb power use, they said.

"It's just nonstop," Rohulia said. "Our government asked Ukrainians to stop using as much electricity."

Otherwise there could be outages, they said.

If Iran provides Russia with ballistic missiles, that is a real concern, Sazhen said.

"Our army is prepared for every possible attack," Rohulia said.

When Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, some were caught by surprise; now everyone knows what can happen, Rohulia said.

"Now in Ukraine, there is no safe place at all," Rohulia said.

Her mother is in Poltava, and her brother and father are in the army.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's declaration of martial law in the occupied territory has little effect, they said.

The Russian propaganda machine is very powerful, Sazhen said was a message from a friend near the front line.

Another friend recommended a book, "The Torture Camp on Paradise Street" by Stanislav Aseyev, who detailed his time in a Russian concentration camp under occupation.

Rohulia received a grade of 93% on her differential equations exam at MU.

"It's great here," Rohulia said. "Everything so far is perfect."

She was also really looking forward to the new Taylor Swift album.

Ukrainians don't really celebrate Halloween much, they said.

Roger McKinney is the Tribune's education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on Twitter at @rmckinney9.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Drone attacks on Kyiv rattle family of MU Ukrainian student