Seeking Sanctuary
Welcoming a newborn is stressful in the best of circumstances, but for a young couple living in the Ukrainian city of Kyiv, the meaning of stress was elevated to a whole new level when Russia attacked Ukraine just a month after the birth of their first child.
Ihar (Igor) Yaskevich, who is from Belarus, and Valeriia Husarieva, a native of Ukraine, met in Kyiv. “It was love at first sight,” remembers 24-year-old Valeriia. “He is the one person I can trust. I can’t imagine life without him.” They settled in Kyiv, married, and had their son Mark in January 2022. Ihar, 27, works in the IT sector and is fluent in English, Ukrainian, French, Russian, and Belarusian. Valeriia is a musician and artist, and they collaborate on songwriting and singing rap and R n B. They pride themselves on creating “completely fresh and raw music that has never been done before,” says Ihar.
After Mark was born, he and Valeriia stayed with her parents in her hometown of Zhytomyr, about two hours from Kyiv, because she and Mark needed additional medical care after the baby’s birth. Ihar remained in Kyiv to continue working at his job at an IT company. On February 23, 2022, Ihar received a call from a friend in Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, located near the Russian border, to tell him he had heard Russia would invade Ukraine in the early morning hours of the next day.
Ihar called Valeriia to tell her the news of Russia’s impending attack and went to bed, unsure what the next day would bring. He awoke to the sounds of unrelenting shelling and people screaming. “I knew something was going to happen, but not this. Not people dying and the constant shelling and bombing.”
Ihar and Valeriia quickly made plans for Valeriia and Mark to make the eight-and-a-half-hour journey from Zhytomyr to Warsaw, Poland, where Ihar’s younger brother lives. Once she had safely escaped from Ukraine to Poland, she and Mark flew to Spain to stay with her older sister. She remained in Spain for about a month until Ihar reached Warsaw. “The journey was very difficult. I tried to take a train out of Kyiv, but the Russians bombed the station. I got to Poland by car, driving from Kyiv to Dnipro to Lviv, dodging bullets, shelling, bombs, and Russian soldiers. There were dead bodies everywhere, buildings destroyed and burning. We were just trying to survive,” he says. Once he reached the Polish border, Ihar boarded a bus to Warsaw, where he was reunited with Valeriia and Mark.
Ihar’s desperation to flee Ukraine can be traced to his Belarusian roots. Belarus was part of the Soviet Union until 1991. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Belarus became an independent nation but maintained close economic and political ties with Russia. The two countries share 700 miles of border, and Belarus allowed Putin's army to stage and launch forces from the north into Ukraine. Ihar grew up during the leadership of Belarusian authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin. “Belarus is like Russia. The people do not have any freedom. You are not allowed to say or do certain things, especially regarding Lukashenko. They put people in prison for no reason and threatened their families. I left Belarus for political reasons. I don’t like anything about the country.”
The young family stayed with Ihar’s brother for three months while searching for a way to enter the United States. They discussed remaining in Poland, but it was teeming with Ukrainian refugees and very crowded.
They first bought tickets to Mexico, where they were hoping to cross the border into the United States. Before they could leave Warsaw, the Mexican border was closed to Ukrainian refugees. They had spent $5,000 on the tickets, but fortunately, Ihar had insured them and received reimbursement.
Their next step was to enlist the help of Uniting for Ukraine, a program established in April 2022 by the U.S. federal government that provides a pathway for Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members to come to the United States and stay temporarily for two years of parole. Ukrainians participating in Uniting for Ukraine must have a sponsor in the United States who agrees to provide them with financial support for the duration of their stay. A friend of Ihar’s mother who lived in Long Island, New York agreed to sponsor them and offered them a place to live.
Unfortunately, the situation became a nightmare for Ihar, Valeriia, and Mark. The living conditions were extremely tight, and the sponsoring couple did not treat the family well. Finding the circumstances intolerable, Ihar and Valeriia searched desperately for another sponsor. Their quest led them to NOVA Ukraine, a non-profit organization that helps Ukrainian refugees relocate to the United States. This is how they met their true benefactors, the men, and women of Grace United Methodist Church in Vermilion, Ohio.
In October, the church’s pastor, Allison LeBrun, and congregation member John Hill were approached by William McFadden, a retired Methodist pastor representing My Neighborhood Alliance of Lorain County, about sponsoring a Ukrainian family. The church, which already supports several local, national, and international non-profits, agreed to the request. “It was the right thing to do,” says John. “We committed to support the family by paying for their rent in a duplex in the area for one year and month to month after that until they could support themselves.”
Church members acted quickly to ready the duplex for the new occupants, cleaning and furnishing the home entirely with donations from church members and others in the community. Ihar, Valeriia, and Mark made the journey from Long Island to Ohio by Amtrak just two months later. “The house is the biggest blessing for us. It has amazing energy. We feel as though God is flying over us, and the angels are whispering,” says Ihar. “The people of the church are incredible. They furnished the house from top to bottom with everything we needed. What they did for us came from the heart, and we are grateful.”
Church members have continued to support the young family as they adjust to life in the United States. A group of about 20, under the unofficial leadership of John Hill, Dianne Urdzik, and Craig and Cathy Bennett, assist them with grocery shopping, take them out to dinner and local events, such as the Vermilion Ice A Fair, and have helped them begin the immigration process. They have addressed their medical needs, arranging for dental care, chiropractic services, and routine blood work. Aware that Firelands Regional Medical Center Pediatrician Dr. Nataliya Bumagina is from Ukraine, John contacted Alice Springer, Director of the Foundation for Firelands, about accepting Mark as a patient and giving him a well-baby checkup. Dr. Bumagina had immigrated to the United States from Ukraine with her family in 1998 for economic reasons and was sympathetic to Ihar and Valariia’s plight. “Dr. Bumagina was more than willing to see Mark, and the Foundation for Firelands covered all costs associated with the visit. It is our privilege to help this very deserving family in any way we can,” says Alice.
Despite the unimaginable ordeal the young family endured, Ihar and Valeriia are optimistic about their future and adapting to their new life. Now that Ihar has his driver’s license and social security card, he is looking for a car and employment in the IT sector. Valeriia is focused on Mark’s well-being and exploring her new environment. “Our psychological scars and wounds will heal, but we have changed,” says Ihar. “We both have huge spirits. Because of what we’ve been through, we are not afraid of anything. We want to live normal lives and raise our son in peace.”
