Ukrainian family now in Minnesota reflects on a year of war

A year ago, Olesia Safronova and Serhii Chubenko didn't believe Russia was really going to invade their home country of Ukraine.

Then the bombs started flying and the war never stopped. The couple and their three children escaped and are living in St. Paul now, but they worry about friends and family back home every day.

"We really hope that everything will end soon," Chubenko said through an interpreter. "We just want less people to suffer from this."

Friday marks one year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the start to a war that captured the attention of the world and the hearts of Minnesotans who wanted to help.

More than 105,000 Ukrainians have sought safety in the United States since the war broke out on Feb. 24, 2022.

Safronova, Chubenko and their three children arrived in Minnesota in early December after escaping Dnipro, Ukraine, and living for months in Italy as refugees.

They came to the United States through the federal government's Uniting for Ukraine program, which allows Ukrainians to stay for up to two years with the help of a sponsor.

More than 2,600 sponsor applications have originated from Minnesota as of Jan. 31, said Stephanie Koehne, program lead for Alight, a Minneapolis-based refugee assistance nonprofit. So far, 100 sponsor groups are in the process through Alight and 30 families have arrived.

"It's really put Minnesota on the map as a very welcoming state for people who are newly arriving," Koehne said.

Alight works with groups interested in helping, from churches, neighborhoods, Rotary Clubs and even book clubs, Koehne said.

John Schrager of Shoreview saw an email from the Rotary Club of Minneapolis that highlighted the opportunity to sponsor Ukrainian refugees, and he jumped at the chance. He reached out to Alight, who trained him and helped him sign up at welcome.us, where he made a profile about himself and his family. The first person he connected with was Safronova.

"We talked via WhatsApp a lot ... I took her for [virtual] walks with my dog and I showed her around. I showed her a house with a Ukrainian flag on it and I just wanted her to understand that people in America would welcome them," Schrager said.

With the help of Schrager's Rotary team, they used frequent flier miles to get the family on a plane, and raised $10,000 to help with housing, clothes and supplies to jumpstart their life here.

Now, the family lives in Highland Park, where the older children attend school and take judo and dance classes. Chubenko takes English classes four days a week at the International Institute of Minnesota. Safronova takes care of their 2-year-old and is signed up to start classes in March.

The new Minnesotans talk to family in Ukraine almost daily. The war's anniversary will be emotional, they said.

Chubenko said he hopes people remember that the war persists and there are opportunities to help, just as Schrager helped them.

"We really appreciate and really know that John is helping us a lot. He's communicating with us, with every medical appointment, every class, he is solving a lot of our problems," Safronova said through an interpreter.

Downtown Minneapolis will glow blue and yellow in solidarity with Ukrainians Friday night and through the weekend.