Lesia Yamelynets speaks with freshman Grace Young during the TEA Fellows international fair in the WHS Media Center. Photo Credit: Watauga Yearbook
The Russo-Ukrainian war, which started in February of 2022, escalated dramatically with the invasion of Ukrainian territory by Russian forces, who forcefully occupied cities such as the capital, Kyiv. Ukrainian troops reacted to the invasion by attempting to cut off Russia’s advance and force them out of the areas where they had ransacked and killed innocent civilians.
The Powderhorn staff had the privilege to interview Lesia Yamelynets, a teacher from Ukraine, who came as part of the Watauga Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) Fellows group. Yamelynets was staying in the United States for the first time and was able to provide perspective about the current conflict.
While the invasion of Ukraine was a public and documented world event, this conflict has roots from the Cold War, where Russia openly advocated for the demilitarization of the Ukrainian armed forces, seizing needed munitions and, most importantly, Ukraine’s nuclear arsenal. Weakening the military allowed Russia to invade without the threat of Russia facing a strong military or nuclear threat.
“Russia took weapons away [by] saying things like, ‘It’s not necessary in the 21st Century to arm yourselves with these weapons,’” said Yamelynets.
War playing out in an era of widespread social media use made plain to the world the impact that large guns and a bombing campaign has on cities and civilians, but prior to the invasion, many Ukrainians did not think that Russia would invade, despite their threats.
“As an ordinary person in my country, we couldn't believe that it would happen because Ukraine is a country of kind people, hospitable people,” said Yamelynets. “There are people of many nationalities living in my country. We accept every nationality, every religion. Every minority is accepted very well. We never separate people into different backgrounds. So we couldn’t believe in the 21st Century when we speak about equality that our right to live in our country could be taken away.¨
As an educator herself, Yamelynets had a special insight and important role in keeping the Ukrainian education system active despite the chaotic danger Russia posed during the early days. She said as soon as the invasion started, most schools canceled and closed permanently and they immediately went to using online and Zoom calls to try and organize any form of education. Yamelynets described scenes of resilience and also the yearning the young Ukrainian students possessed to still learn and attend school despite their entire lives being upturned. She often spoke of how grateful her students were to learn English. However, it was hard to maintain normalcy with so many families in disarray.
“After the initial Russian missile attacks and just a few days in, so many people had already gotten separated,” said Yamelynets. “We saw people begging to find the relatives who disappeared the very next day.”
Yamelynets herself hid in her basement with her family, trying to avoid the destruction until it was safe to come out.
In her time traveling in the U.S., Yamelynets has felt supported by people. She said that people ask to hug or embrace her when she says she is Ukrainian. When she came to Watauga High School, she saw the sign saying, “We are free because of the brave.”
“I really feel like it's in America's blood,” said Yamelynets. “If they see injustice they cannot just stand there, and Ukraine and America both have the sense of freedom that's very important.”
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