MU's Ukrainian students 'exhausted' from bad news on 2nd anniversary of Russia's invasion

University of Missouri students with connections to Ukraine expressed weariness, anger and resolve as they reflected this past week on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of their country.

The interview inside Gateway Residence Hall at MU took place as Congress had left Washington without approving further aid to Ukraine and Avdivka in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, had fallen to Russian control.

The war in Ukraine began with Russia's invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.

Exhausted from bad news

"I struggle to speak on this on account of the fact that I am exhausted from the bad news," said MU student Alissa Skorik. "And you know, when you're overloaded with it, it's hard to keep up. But what I will say is that in December, we experienced in Kharkiv the worst attack I think ever at this point."

Skorik sometimes uses Fidelman, her mother's maiden name, as her last name.

Skorik was born in Canada, but her family is from Kharkiv, 20 miles from the Russian border. Also participating in the interview were students Vlad Sazhen and Alina Rohulia. The couple is from Kharkiv.

"It's horrific because the people who are there are constantly living under fear, no matter what," Skorik said. "They might be as brave as you like, but they are always living under fear. Because you don't know what is going to fall from the sky today."

And people like her, living away, don't know what news they may receive on their phones when they wake, she said.

Things are pretty bad in Ukraine, primarily caused by the ammunition deficit, Sazhen said.

"It's not very good, mostly because of the halt of supply from Western countries," Sazhen said. "There is a very big ammunition hunger on the front lines, so soldiers don't have enough rockets and ammo to defend the ground. Russia, on the other hand, is ramping up their weapons manufacturing."

Russia also is receiving drones from North Korea and Iran, he said.

"In Ukraine, there's a deficit of everything needed for a successful defense," Sazhen said.

Avdivka had been under attack for two years, but the Ukraine military had to withdraw when it ran out of ammunition, he said.

"So, yeah, not a lot of good news coming from Ukraine," Sazhen said.

Rohulia's parents are in Kharkiv. Her father is in the army, but no longer on the front line, she said. Her mother is doing clerical work the military. Her brother is at a military university in Poltava.

Sazhen's parents travel a lot between Kyiv and Kharkiv, he said. His sister is 10 now.

"She grew up very, very quickly," Sazhen said.

Republicans harming U.S. national security

Ukraine is in an interesting crossroads two years after the Russian invasion, said Stephen Quackenbush, director of defense and strategic studies in the Truman School of Government and Public Affairs at MU.

It's a stalemate of sorts, he said.

"It's hard to imagine some kind of major Ukrainian counterattack," Quackenbush said. "I don't imagine any major collapse of the Ukrainian defenses either."

Ukraine has been strong despite relentless Russian attacks, Quackenbush said.

"Two years ago, few people were expecting Ukraine to put up the strength of resistance they've been able to," he said.

Support from the U.S. and European Union countries will continue to be essential to Ukraine's defense, he said.

"They way Republicans in the House are holding up funding for Ukraine is really harming the Ukraine war effort and U.S. national security," Quackenbush said.

Donald Trump's recent comment that the U.S. wouldn't come to the defense of a NATO country that hasn't met its military spending threshold if Russia attacks was outlandish and dangerous, Quackenbush said.

"It's absolutely shocking," he said.

It's U.S. companies that will benefit from Ukraine aid, he said.

"Much of the money is actually spent in the United States and not elsewhere," Quackenbush said. "U.S. companies are making the missiles."

Fighting for Ukrainian freedom and ours

Ukraine is fighting Russia so the U.S. doesn't have to, Sazhen said.

"Ukraine is managing to do this without involving any U.S. citizen, or like state soldiers without any direct confrontation," Sazhen said. "Ukraine has weakened one of the most feared enemies of the United States. Ukraine is the biggest security investment the United States has right now."

They said they have the highest regard for the U.S. citizens who have independently fought alongside Ukraine.

Ukraine is fighting for democracy, Rohulia said.

"If Ukraine loses, the world loses," she said.

It's important that Ukraine remain a free country, Skorik said.

"We are fighting for our own freedom," Skorik said. "It's just the world also benefits from us being free, just like the world benefits from every country being free."

Asked if they consider Republicans or anyone who votes against Ukraine aid as enemies of Ukraine and freedom, Sazhen and Rohulia said "yes" without hesitating.

Skorik's answer was nuanced, saying she hesitates to judge anyone based on one action and she's also not a U.S. citizen. But she has an opinion.

"I think that action is morally decrepit," Skorik said. "I think it is disgusting that people feel like out of partisan reasons, just to stick it to the liberals, they're going to vote this way. No, I think it's disgusting and wrong."

They're also hurting their own country, which is extremely unpatriotic, she said.

ShowMe Ukraine Society

Ukrainian students and friends last semester organized the ShowMe Ukraine Society at MU.

"We realized we could pull off more if we got organized," Skorik said.

The group is in the MU Student Center every Friday and has hosted mulitiple events, Skorik said.

"We are now teaching Ukrainian at our group meetings," she said.

Students and community members take part, she said.

"We've hosted film showings," Skorik said. "We've hosted a potluck. And of course, we fundraise, which is the main point, to send money to help our country defend itself."

On Friday the organization premiered its 10-minute, student-made film "Ukraine Unbroken." Skorik, using the name Fidelman and C.J. Levy are the executive producers, with Levy the director and editor. The film can be streamed on YouTube.

The organization's money goes to the Come Back Alive Foundation and the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation, both established charities, the students said.

"We're not raising millions," but every dollar helps, Skorik said.

Russians unwilling to oppose Putin

The Russian people are unwilling to rise up against Putin, though Russian soldiers are dying needlessly and he kills political opponents, the students said.

Russians believe Putin without questioning him, they said.

"Russia is built on propaganda and lies," Rohulia said.

"And fear," added Skorik.

Feeling supported

The Russian language department at MU has been supportive and invited Ukrainian students to speak about Ukrainian culture in class, Skorik said.

The community support also has been great, they said.

"We have a lot of support among Columbia citizens," Skorik said.

Roger McKinney is the Tribune's education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com. He's on X at @rmckinney9.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: MU's Ukrainian students speak out on Ukraine war's 2nd anniversary