'This is an amazing country': how refugees from Ukraine found a new home and settle down in Montana

Yury and Vitalina Zinchenko are both successful lawyers, born and raised in the Ukrainian city of Kharkov, less than 50 kilometers from the Russian border. They are starting a new life in Whitefish, Montana, after seeing their beloved home systematically destroyed by rocket attacks and bombing since the start of the Russian invasion in February. DailyInterLake.

Photo: IStock

Yuri and Vitalina Zinchenko never dreamed of living in America. Now they hope they never have to leave.
The couple, along with their 3-year-old daughter Anastasia, fled their apartment on February 24, the first day of fighting, but no matter how much they moved, the war was always there.

“We never wanted to leave our home. “He was amazing and beautiful,” Yuri said. - We were born there. We spent our whole lives there and our child was born there. This is an amazing city, very clean and beautiful. It was recently named the most comfortable place to live in Ukraine. Now look what's happening there. This is not a safe place for us. This is not a safe place for anyone."

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At first, the family took refuge with Vitalina's parents, 25 km from Kharkov, but they could not escape from the advancing Russian attack.

“The first few weeks were terrible. We were bombed by rockets, artillery and planes. Every time we told Anastasia that these were some kind of fireworks. We told her that the sirens she heard were music. We would have told her that it was anything but war,” Yuri said. — You're trying to sleep, but you can only sleep for one hour. You're always listening because the rockets keep hitting and your windows keep shaking. I was always worried about the glass breaking, so I slept in a way that protected my family with my body. We had to keep moving because we couldn’t live like that.”

Zinchenko's next stop was a house in the neighboring Poltava region, where they found shelter along with three other families, but this was not for long.

The family continued to search for a safe place, never knowing what each day would bring and when the rockets would send them running again. For five months they wandered around the Ukrainian village.

“Every time we thought we had found a safe place. The war followed us. Rockets started falling around us, and we had to move further to the west,” Yury said.

Thus continued the plight of Zinchenko.

Despite the desire to stay at home, Yuri began to call friends outside of Ukraine in search of help. He called Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Germany and other countries, but the answer was always the same. Everyone would be happy to help, but their countries were already overflowing with Ukrainian refugees.

Approximately a quarter of Ukraine's population has been forced to leave their homes as a result of the conflict. With over eight million people seeking asylum outside the country, asylum in Europe is difficult to find. Deciding to protect his family, Yuri directed his efforts in a different direction.

After hearing about the United for Ukraine program in the US, Yuriy sent out emails to every US senator, as well as several immigration lawyers, asking for help.

As with his calls in Europe, all the answers were the same: everyone would like to help, but first the family must get to the United States.

When Yuri's cell phone rang and the caller ID showed an unknown American number, his hope was revived. A former Ukrainian woman living in the United States offered to help find a sponsor for the family.

Soon a sponsor was found in Alaska, but Yuri had his own doubts.

After the Bolshevik Revolution a century ago, the Russians sent his great-grandfather and great-grandfather to labor camps in Siberia and killed his grandfather when he refused to go.

“I told him that we have a history in Siberia, so Alaska does not scare me, but maybe we will find a warmer place,” Yuri laughed.

The "warmer" place they found was Whitefish.

“I picked up the phone and told Vitalina that they had found housing for us. She asked where and I said Montana. She asked: “Where is it?” I said, “I have no idea, let’s Google it,” Yuri said. — I studied America in high school, so I knew a lot of states and a lot about them. I didn't know much about Montana. I thought Montana was somewhere in the middle. I knew Montana had a lot in common with cowboys and Indians, so I figured it had to be somewhere near Texas. I was very wrong."

After a month-long stop in Normandy, France, waiting for airfare to drop, the family finally made it to America and found their first experience in the country amazing.

“Our flight from Paris to Dallas was delayed and we missed our flight to Missoula. The airline not only bought us new tickets for another flight, but also provided us with a hotel room and paid for meals,” Yuri said. “This would never happen in Ukraine.” My first impression was that this country is doing a lot to help people.”

After living in Whitefish for more than a month, Zinchenko is adjusting to his new life and planning his future.

The family is backed by a core pool of five members who serve as a joint board of directors, overseeing funding for rent, meals, education, job training, medical care and more.

An account is also open for those who want to help the family. record GoFundMe.

While Yuri says he's willing to work as a truck driver or do whatever it takes to support his family, he hopes he can eventually put his knowledge of the law into practice. If possible, he would like to help other Ukrainians follow the same path as his family.

Vitalina hopes to fulfill her dream of helping others by becoming a paramedic.

“If you have an opportunity, and America is a country of opportunities, then everyone can be anyone,” Yuri said.

As Yuri, Vitalina, and Anastasia find a way out, they worry about friends and family back home, including Vitalina's brother, who has already narrowly escaped death three times during the fighting.

The first incident occurred when a rocket hit his apartment just 15 minutes after he left. The second happened 10 minutes after he left his shift at the Territorial Defense and a missile hit the building he was in, killing everyone inside.

The last and very last call came when a rocket landed only 15 meters from him, leaving him covered in mud, dust and debris.

“Every morning we wake up, take out our phones and read what happened at home and check on our friends and family to see if they are okay,” Vitalina said. “Our hearts and souls are still there with them.”

“You can't imagine what war is like until you go through it. When it comes into your home, it destroys all your preconceptions. After all of Europe went through the First and Second World Wars, it’s hard to imagine this happening again,” Yuri added. “But our people are stronger than everyone thought.” NATO was afraid of Russia, but in the way we fight back we encourage Europe. Those who fight are heroes."

The family hopes that Vitalina's brother will leave the country when his first child is born later this year.

“You think differently when you’re a father,” Yuri said. - When you have a child, you are obliged to think about what will happen next. I learned this the hard way.”

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Although the family was finally able to find safety in America, their future is once again uncertain.

Zinchenko received a humanitarian parole for two years, but they do not know what will happen next.

“We thought about the possibility of returning when we first got here, but the more time we live here we discover how beautiful this country is, how great a place it would be for us and for Anastasia’s future,” Yuri said. “When you pay taxes here, you see all these things they built—hospitals and schools.” Taxes here pay for things, not just steal them and put them in the pockets of politicians. America is very different from what we knew before. We are not sure what our future will be, but we will continue to look for a way to stay. This is an amazing country."

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