Family of University of Missouri exchange student from Ukraine evacuates home in Kharkiv
A bomb near his family home in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Thursday caused Vlad Sazhen's family to evacuate to a safer area, at his grandmother's home in another district of the besieged city.
Kharkiv is in eastern Ukraine, 25 miles from the Russian border.
Sazhen, an exchange student at the University of Missouri, talked with the Tribune on Friday from Galena Residence Hall.
His girlfriend moved with her family to Poltava, southwest of Kharkiv, to stay with other relatives.
"Russia is using cluster bombs, which are prohibited," Sazhen said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the Russian attack on Kharkiv a "war crime."
Sazhen's family is still in Kharkiv, but his grandmother is in a safer part of the city.
More:The Ukraine crisis through the eyes of University of Missouri international students
Although hundreds are packing the Kharkiv train station, trying to get out, Sazhen said it wouldn't be possible for his entire family, including his grandmother and 8-year-old sister, to squeeze onto a train. Plus, the train station is in central Kharkiv and vulnerable to attack.
"The train station is quite tense right now," Sazhen said. "Russian pilots are bombing everything."
Sazhen said his girlfriend saw corpses on the ground on the way to Poltava.
"It's terrible," he said.
His family didn't want to leave their home, he said.
"If something made them move, it's something really serious," he said.
He wants the Western governments to implement a no-fly zone, he said. If not that, immediate shipments of planes and air defense systems are needed.
"It makes me angry," Sazhen said. "I know the world can help."
He said he didn't think Russian President Vladimir Putin would use nuclear weapons, because someone would stop him.
Russian sanctions are having an effect, Sazhen said.
"We need more," Sazhen said of sanctions. "We need to completely destroy (the) Russian economy."
Targeting oligarchs also will be useful, said Sazhen, 19.
"I believe it will be extremely effective to implement sanctions of the oligarchs, their wives and children," Sazhen said.
More: Family of Ukrainian exchange student at University of Missouri is 'safe for now'
Humanitarian corridors also are important to maintain, he said.
He and other Ukrainians feel the support of the world, he said.
"It means a lot to Ukrainians — seeing the whole world is behind us is very reassuring to us," he said.
The local protests also are meaningful, he said.
"I'm extremely grateful to Columbia citizens for doing such protests," he said.
More: Columbia supporters of Ukraine gather for vigil in frigid weather
His little sister is being strong and not freaking out, he said.
"She's a hero," he said. "She's smiling all the time. She believes in the army. She loves Ukraine."
His grandmother's home has a basement where his grandmother stores canned fruits and where his family can take shelter if they need to, he said. It wouldn't stand up to a direct hit, though.
"It's scary," he said.
rmckinney@columbiatribune.com
573-815-1719
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Bomb causes family of Ukrainian Missouri student to evacuate
