The Ukrainian Nightmare: Two Insiders’ Perspectives

Written By: Deena Bouknight | Issue: Whats News

Anna Beshleva

Oksana Shchelgachova

On Feb. 24, Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine. For people like Anna Beshleva, the news reports, social media posts, and first-hand family and friend accounts are grave and unsettling.

The classic good versus evil plotline of the unprovoked attack has all the world taking notice, but none are more hyper-focused on the unfolding events than those with loved ones on the front lines and in the path of the aggressors. 

 We try to imagine in 21st century modernity how our mettle might be tested as we view daily the photographs of families running while carrying children, bombs exploding around them; countless people sleeping in underground bunkers with small dogs and cats tucked inside their coats; refugees resting beside overturned and mangled cars; frightened citizens crossing waterways on wooden boards laid beside the remnants of damaged bridges; and, soldiers walking beside the burned and strewn wreckage of entire homes and apartment buildings. 

Anna, who grew up in the city of Mykolaiv in southeastern Ukraine, but has been in the United States for the past 18 years, said her parents were able to leave Ukraine before the war in order to visit their daughter. 

 “At least I don’t have to worry about their evacuation, but they might not have a home to go back to.” 

However, Anna’s friends and in-laws are in danger. Despite the writing on the wall, she and fellow Ukrainians are incredulous regarding the unfolding of events. 

 She explained, “Most of the people that I know were thinking that a new wave of escalation could happen. We all watched the news about Russia pulling its troops to the Ukrainian borders and their joint military exercise with Belarus. Some people prepared an emergency suitcase. 

“However, we never, ever, expected that Russia would resort to such atrocities and start the full-scale invasion. We always considered Russians as a very close nation almost like our brothers and sisters. Without any doubts, the 5:00 A.M. missile attack on February 24 came as a complete shock and many people stayed in denial for at least a day. It felt like an ultimate betrayal from very close relatives. We knew the war could happen, but most of us expected escalation in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, and even very pessimistic people didn’t believe in the possibility of war using aviation and prohibited types of weapons.”  

One of Anna’s relatives is in the Ukrainian military and is fighting “somewhere under Mariupol,” she pointed out, adding, “The city that was literally turned to hell and became a grave place for thousands of civilians. We are not sure whether he is alive or not. They cannot make calls and disclose any information. Last time we heard from him was a couple of weeks ago, but we do hope that he is okay. I am in constant contact with many high school and college friends. One of my classmates was killed on the second day of this war. He sent his wife and two kids to Poland and stayed to protect the city. He was an amazing person, and he was the guy I had my prom dance with.”

Oksana Shchelgachova, a local pastry chef who hails from Ukraine, is also deeply affected by the events taking place close to 6,000 miles away. 

“I want to tell you about what my soul hurts and screams about,” shared Oksana, whose father is Ukrainian and mother is Russian. “But my mother has lived in the Ukraine all her life and consider herself Ukrainian.”

Oksana was born in a small town, comparable to the size of Highlands, called Torez, in the Donetsk region. 

While Oksana may be safe, being in the United States during the Russian invasion of her homeland is stressful, to say the least. “My family are now in Ukraine, Donetsk, along with all my relatives (Russians and Ukrainians). Other family members are now in Kharkov and Kyiv. Many of them prefer not to leave because this is their land, their home. Their whole life is there. They are happy there.”

She continued, “Every morning I open my eyes with such gratitude that I thought I was not capable of. My day starts by checking all my relatives and friends to see if they are still alive. My days end with my family and relatives coming in at midnight to let me know that they survived the day. There is active ground and air combat around them. I’m talking about my experience and what my family and my friends are going through right now. When I talk to my family and friends, I know that this might be the last time.”

Oksana, who is a mother, sympathizes most with mothers of children. 

 “All these shellings and bombings undermine their emotional health…It is so awful to realize that you cannot bring your children to safety. [Some] kids were given some antidepressants because they would cry all the time and the level of stress was overwhelming for young minds. They are in complete despair and every time they hear the siren while chatting to me, they say goodbye just for any case. 

My morning starts with going through all my contacts and making sure my friends and relatives are alive. After weeks of this horror, most of the people have somewhat adjusted to a new reality and found their way to cope with the fear and stress. But they all have one thing in common; they all strongly believe that Ukraine will withstand this barbaric war and Russia would pull off the troops from our country. They have one more thing in common: ‘We will never forget or forgive the Russians for what they have done to our beautiful country.’” 

Oksana, too, is hopeful, explaining, “The Ukrainian people are a great and freedom-loving people who have the right to live as they want on their Ukrainian land.” 

James Brooke, a Russia-Ukraine fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and a lifelong foreign correspondent who has lived in both Moscow and Kyiv, said in a March 2 The World and Everything in It news podcast: “Americans need to understand that Ukrainians are real fighters. And there’s a saying about Ukrainians that they’re meek and mild and you can push them, but you can push them just so far…Putin has stuck his foot into something very unpleasant.”

Oksana echoed Brooke’s sentiments. “The Russians are afraid of the Ukrainians; therefore, even passing through villages, residential areas, they shoot at houses because they know that in every house, they will confront someone with a burning Molotov mixture, someone with their weapons in their hands, and someone with a flag and anthem!”

Oksana encourages her Highlands’ friends and neighbors – and anyone in the U.S. who is concerned about what is happening in Ukraine, to “not be silent.” 

“This is a cold-blooded invasion from a huge nuclear country into a territorially small democratic country…this is a humanitarian disaster,” she noted. “In the strongest terms I condemn the inhuman cruelty of Russian occupants. There is no ‘your truth’ and ‘my truth’ when small children are killed and persecuted by cold-blooded Russian killers. There is one truth. We should all talk about it and not pass it by.”

Anna, employed at a country club in Sapphire, is disappointed that her Russian friends in the Highlands-Cashiers area have not asked about or expressed concern for her Ukrainian family and friends. 

 “Even more, I have seen many posts from them on Facebook trying to find excuses for their government – only excuses without expressing condolences or sympathy to Ukrainians,” she says. “On the other hand, I do have a lot of friends from Belarus as well (their country supports Russia in this war) and almost each of my friends reached out to me within the first days, expressing sympathy and condemning the actions of their government. Russian propaganda convinced its citizens that they are superior to any other nation in the world. They don’t respect their neighbors and clearly state that we don’t have the right to our own history, language, or traditions. I admit that propaganda can brainwash people, but they all have access to the internet and alternative news. However, they choose to listen to what the president says.”

Oksana is proud of her country, for its fortitude and its history.  

“Ukraine does not attack anyone. Ukraine does not do anything that could harm any country or territory. But now the Ukrainians will do everything possible to protect their future, their land, and clear it from the occupiers. People with such willpower will never be brought to their knees. And as long as they’re not afraid, they’re invincible. As long as the truth is behind you, you are invincible. Peace is their goal, and strength is the only way to achieve it.”

Beshleva, too, is patriotic. “I am proud to be a Ukrainian because we love freedom and our country. We had a lot of political and economic issues in our country, but we always fought for the freedom. We had two revolutions when regular people have fearlessly overthrown corrupted governments. When this war began, all of the nation, without regards to political views, came together to fight for our land and freedom. Even our national anthem is all about fighting for the nation’s right to be free and independent. It is in our blood; we will never become slaves. That is why it is so important to stand strong and win this war. We don’t imagine our lives without freedom of speech, assembly, and religion. We cannot let the spirit of freedom to be taken away from us by Russia’s atrocities.”

When not working as a pastry chef, Oksana is helping the humanitarian effort from afar by collecting information from “trusted sources” in Ukraine and sharing that information. 

“In our city, the Rotary Club, Highlander newspaper, and churches have contacted me and we are developing an action plan together,” she informed. “People also write to me and call me, offering help. I am sure that soon [Highlands] will be able to provide a plan to help [Ukrainian] refugee children and refugee families.”

Anna said she has asked the Village Green to light some lights in the colors of Ukrainian flags, “and they promised they would.” She added, “The people in our community can always donate some money to help Ukrainians who need basic goods, food, and medications. And most of my American friends and coworkers have shown an outpouring of emotional support and offered help.”

Oksana concluded, with a plea to, “my dearest friends in Highlands: I want to say this and I want you to hear me. If someone thinks that Ukraine is not their problem, think again; this war is not only about Ukraine but about the Free World. The goal of the dictator now is to occupy Ukraine. But if we don’t unite? Evil must be stopped, otherwise there may be no winners. I really want the world to pull together, to remember history and not let it happen again! I have great faith in my people and I pray to God to give us strength to win this war! Our future depends on each of us; our strength lies in unity!”