One year later: A Ukrainian couple living in North Texas waits to return home
DALLAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) – One year after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, eight million Ukrainians remain scattered across Europe after fleeing from the violence, according to the United Nations.
More than 115,000 refugees of the war have temporarily settled in the United States as well, including Liza Korchemakha and her fiancé Ihor Bashkin.
The couple arrived in Dallas last month.
Their family and friends top the list of what they miss the most about their home country. When they left for a vacation in Thailand in February 2022, they didn't realize they'd be saying goodbye for good.
Korchemakha and Bashkin watched the war begin on the news.
"It was really scary and it was hard to understand what to do next, what will happen next, because there was so much uncertainty and we were in shock for the first couple of days," Bashkin said.
Their immediate concern was the safety of their loved ones in Ukraine. Bashkin's parents' home was destroyed.
"They just burned it," he said. "They lost everything, all the belongings they had."
It slowly dawned on the pair they wouldn't be able to go back to their home in Kyiv.
"Everything connected to our life is in Ukraine," said Korchemakha. "It's our life. It's our country."
They were able to live in Germany for awhile before coming to Texas last month. Their wedding and other dreams have all been put on hold.
"We want to try to settle here because we don't know when the war will end," Bashkin said.
The couple are some of the more than 115,000 Ukrainians now living in the U.S. through a sponsorship program called United for Ukraine. Participants don't have legal refugee status but have been given permission to live and work in American for two years.
"It is a safe place to stay for these hard times," Korchemakha said.
They're grateful for every displace of support and donation to help Ukrainians.
"We want to tell the U.S. citizens that really, every person really matters," she said.
The couple also wants to keep the focus on their beloved country as the war rages on.
"To Ukrainians, they are not only fighting for themselves but for the fate of the world," said Bashkin.
He and Korchemakha are continuing to work for Ukrainian companies remotely and plan to do everything they can to support their country.
They are proud of the bravery their fellow Ukrainians have exhibited this past year.
"It's an example how this united spirit and realizing of Ukrainian identity can really defend our country, defend democracy, and defend our free world," Korchemakha said. "This aggression, this dictatorship, it should not exist in the modern world. We should defeat it."