“All I can think of is how to help my family and friends”
As the world watches in horror at Vladimir Putin’s illegal bombardment and invasion of Ukraine the sense of disbelief and helplessness is overwhelming.
It’s bad enough for peace loving people with no connection to Ukraine but for Ukranian people living away from their homeland it is utterly heart breaking.
One such person is Olga Duka who is an artist from Kyiv who has been living in Drogheda for the last ten years or more. She was in the news recently for her very successful solo exhibition at the Droichead Arts Centre.
Olga told Drogheda Life last night that she has been speaking several times with her sister and friends in Ukraine and on occasions she has heard explosions, air raid sirens and children crying in the background.
“It’s absolutely heartbreaking” Olga said. “I don’t do facetime calls because my friends don’t want me to see how distressed they are.
“My home city Kyiv has been under a serious and continuous attack for three days.
“People still cannot believe they have been bombed by Russians. Many of them are trying to flee the capital and are making their way to the Ukrainian border to leave the country.
“All I can think of at the moment is how to help my family and friends in Ukraine. The Ukrainian army is fighting back day and night. There are casualties on both sides.
“There is lots of misinformation also. I am reading both Ukrainian and Russian news and it looks like they are talking about two different events. The news reports do not match each other.
“It’s all very scary and unreal. I am worried sick for my loved ones and really hoping it can be ended as soon as possible before many more people are hurt.
Olga’s sister Anya left Kyiv yesterday to get as far as possible from the war zone and is now with her family and friends in Western Ukraine, close to the Polish border.
They were planning to leave Ukraine but they cannot do it now because a general mobilization has been announced and all men age 18-60 have to stay in the country to help protect it.
Olga says she is at her wit’s end and feeling frustrated at being unable to help. “I can’t even send them money” she said.
