Oleksandr Mykolenko ’07. From the 2007 Epitome.
The war in Ukraine rages on. I’ve been given the Ukrainian perspective from Northwood graduate Oleksandr Mykolenko ’07, who lives in Kharkiv, in the Eastern part of Ukraine, about 30 miles from the Russian border. I had a chance to interview Mykolenko about the conflict. The media doesn’t seem to cover the severity of the issues, and the conflict is eye-opening from Oleksandr’s point of view.
Oleksandr’s daily life is full of fear and devastation. Not a day goes by without an explosion in the city.
“The current situation in Ukraine is terrifying for any normal person. I never thought this could happen in my country in the 21st century. My hometown Kharkiv (which is located about 30 miles away from the Russian border) is under missile attacks every single day, very often at night as well. We have air raid alarms every couple of hours, and no one knows where the next missile will hit. It could be a supermarket, building, hospital, hotel or bus stop, etc,” Mykolenko said.
Photos of Oleksandr Mykolenko’s ’07 apartment building in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Damage from missile strikes is clearly visible. Photos by Oleksandr Mykolenko.
“Also, the borders are closed for all men ages 25-61 because we count as a military reserve, so I can’t get out of the country even if I want to,” Oleksandr said when asked about the current situation in Ukraine.
The invasion started on February 24, 2022, and the situation hasn’t improved since. “For the past two years, every day is almost the same as the previous one: we wake up very early. Often, we don’t sleep at night because of the sounds of the missiles landing somewhere in the city; the sound is terrifying. We keep our cell phones very close to monitor the air raid alarms, often going down to a bomb shelter located in the nearest subway station; most of the time, we spend in the apartment trying not to move around the town too much. It sounds like a movie, but that’s how it is for real, almost in the heart of Europe,” he concluded.
Mykolenko’s senior page in the 2007 Epitome.
Being in the middle of a war zone is very stressful, terrifying, and saddening. There’s no way to know what it’s like unless you’re in it. It’s an unbelievably scary thought for even me writing this article, and I had to wonder what kind of mental toll this takes on a person.
“My parents, for a long time, could not believe that it was happening because my mom has relatives across the border [in Russia], and now, she doesn’t know if she will ever see them again. In the beginning, we got them out of the city for some time (because of the very intense bombing), so they lost their jobs. The overall mood of everyone is devastation and obscurity about tomorrow’s day,” he said when asked how his family and community are affected.
“In between the attacks, food stores and public transportation are working, and many people are trying to use the subway because it’s safer. About 1/3 of the city’s buildings are damaged by missiles. Often, after the attacks, we don’t have electricity, water, heat, and mobile connection for a couple of days,” he added.
On top of the damage to their well-being, Oleksandr’s apartment and his parents’ apartment have been leveled.
“In the first two months of the invasion, my parent’s apartment (at the time when we got them out of the city) was destroyed to the ground by a fire from a missile hitting their building. My apartment was partially damaged in the same way, so we are temporarily staying at my friend’s place. He left the country with his family at the very beginning,” he said when asked about the condition of his home.
I had no idea the situation was this bad from the media I’ve been consuming. They’re stuck in an actively bombed city. They have no way to escape, and they’re constantly fearing for their lives. With all the bad, I had to ask if there was any good – any hope that they felt. This is what he had to say:
“You know, these two years were very tough, to say the least, mentally, physically, and financially. All the family savings were gone a long time ago, and there are no job opportunities in the city, which is 30 miles away from the border and is under attack almost every single day. We are trying to cheer up each other, of course, but it’s hard to stay positive when you don’t know what’s going to happen today, tonight, tomorrow, just waiting not to hear an air raid alarm again… As for hope, we hope and pray every day. I have a hope for people outside of Ukraine and overseas, anyone who values human life and its democracies; I hope to reach out to the people who knew me, who remember me, people who don’t know me but who care and might help. And I hope that one day I can come back to the U.S. and shake everyone’s hand to say, ‘thank you’ personally,” he concluded.
I hope this raised more awareness about the situation in Ukraine and the situation of Oleksandr and his family. As a Northwood alum, he is connected to all of us, and our thoughts and prayers are with him.
