MU Ukrainian student discusses Russian attack on residential building, prospect of jets

University of Missouri Ukrainian student Vlad Sazhen on Wednesday had just learned of yet another Russian rocket strike on an apartment building in Ukraine, this time in Kramatorsk.

"There are people under the rubble currently," Sazhen said, speaking in Gateway Residence Hall. "Rescuers can hear them screaming."

There were at least three confirmed dead from the rocket strike.

"A little girl was rescued from underneath the rubble," Sazhen said.

When he talked with his parents in Kharkiv, he said he told them he was preparing for his weekly interview, but always hopes he has nothing to report. He always does, he said.

"I really wish there was nothing I could share with you," he said.

Kharkiv, where he and his girlfriend Alina Rohulia grew up, is shelled frequently, Sazhen said.

The rockets are launched from the town of Belgorod in Russia, a short distance from Kharkiv.

"It's just geographically located so close to that swarm of Russian rockets," Sazhen said.

At the beginning of the war nearly a year ago, Russians were marching toward Kharkiv, advancing at one point to within 1,200 feet of where Rohulia lived with her parents, Sazhen said.

Rohulia was studying for an exam on Wednesday.

He has exams coming up soon, he said.

"I procrastinate a lot," Sazhen said. "I'm trying my best to prepare for exams."

Sazhen praised a statement by Estonian diplomat Jonatan Vseviov that he found on YouTube.

In it, Vseviov said Ukraine is fighting not just for its territory.

"Russia is attacking every core principle upon which we've built international and European security over the past 70-plus years," Vseviov said in the video.

This week Britain rejected sending fighter jets to Ukraine, a hope for Sazhen and Rohulia.

The U.S. and Germany are still holding out, while France and the Netherlands are considering sending the jets.

The effort is supported by Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

"The fact that we're not getting a definitive 'no' from the U.S. is very promising," Sazhen said. "I think eventually we will receive support for F-16s. We see the need and I don't see why Western countries shouldn't give F-16 support to Ukraine.

The first tanks are scheduled to arrive by the end of March.

"I wish they could arrive faster," Sazhen said. "It's good they will arrive at least."

Ukrainian soldiers already have trained with the tanks and they will be useful for attacking Russians, he said.

The news of the death of former Navy Seal Daniel Swift in Ukraine also reached Sazhen.

"Every death is a tragedy," Sazhen said of Swift. "Every Ukrainian is grateful to people like him."

He's looking forward to a program on campus this week when Ukrainian international agricultural expert Svitlana Synkovska speaks on the topic of the war's impact on global food security It will be at noon Wednesday, Feb. 8 in room 114 of the Physics Building at MU.

Sazhen also was hoping for views of the green comet over the weekend away from Columbia's light pollution at Mike Boessen's Crooked Creek Observatory.

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: MU Ukrainian student discusses apartment attack, fighter jets, comet