Couple That Survived Soviet Oppression Escapes Ukraine, Now In Worcester
WORCESTER (CBS) - Nila Lyubchik and her 80-year-old mother Mariya hold each other and laugh and cry.
"If I could say anything I'd say, 'die now,'" says Mariya Lyubchyk when asked what she would tell Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mariya and her husband, Dmytro, fled their home in Ukraine a week ago. They drove for eight hours to the Polish border and then flew to live with their daughter in Worcester.
Mariya says she was worried that Dmytro, who is 84 and frail, would not survive the journey.
"While they did all the check in points, he was very weak. We thought he will die there," she said in Ukrainian.
They left behind a beautiful family home, nearby rolling hills, and a life book-ended by Russian aggression.
"It's a cycle," said Nila.
In the wake of a World War II and the mass starvation of millions of Ukrainians under Joseph Stalin, the then-leader of the Soviet Union, Dmytro's brother joined an underground Ukrainian army. When the Soviets found out, Nila says, they targeted her father and his family.
In 1946, at age 8, Dmytro and his family where exiled to Siberia where many of them perished from starvation. Somehow, his mother was able to sneak him back into Ukraine where they lived in hiding.
"Despite all the odds and despite how difficult it was, they are strong," said Nila.
He met his wife, they married and built a home, and ultimately, saw the fall of the Soviet Union. Now, the family says they are shocked by how familiar this war feels.
"Last time it was Hitler who was killing people and now we have someone who was supposed to be our friend and called brother and he's killing his own people," said Mariya.
For generations, Nila says, her family and other Ukrainians have wanted nothing but freedom. And she says that fervent desire is driven primarily by love for their country.
"We want freedom, we want our country to be independent and we want to elect what Ukrainian people want," she said.
