{"id":136316,"date":"2022-02-18T10:54:07","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T09:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=136316"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:07","slug":"alisa-is-concerned-it-doesnt-help-if-you-ask-when-i-think-putin-will-invade-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2022\/02\/18\/alisa-is-concerned-it-doesnt-help-if-you-ask-when-i-think-putin-will-invade-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Alisa is concerned: \u2018It doesn\u2019t help if you ask when I think Putin will invade Ukraine\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although there has been a Russian-supported war in eastern Ukraine since 2013, Russian tanks and troops now surround much of the country. A new invasion seems likely. Ukrainian Alisa Mahaletska (20) is studying Communication and Media at Erasmus University. She is suffering anxiety attacks due to the situation and is hoping for some understanding.<\/p>\n

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Alisa Mahaletska on the Erasmus campus.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPeer van Tetterode<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u201cThis week, I had an anxiety attack, resulting from a series of experiences. And the fact that KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was the first airline to cancel all flights to Ukraine. That couldn\u2019t be a coincidence, I thought, because I\u2019d wanted to fly to Ukraine on Monday. My father and mother are also advising me not to come back. They\u2019re afraid that an air attack is imminent. Even in the capital Kyiv, where I grew up in a very safe environment, they aren\u2019t sure how it will all end.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got into a panic. And then, the only thing I can do is write or draw, so I wrote an post on Instagram<\/a> to which lots of Ukrainians abroad responded.<\/p>\n

Family and friends<\/h2>

\u201cMy father works for a big international bank which was still based in \u2018Kyiv\u2019. Last week, that bank moved to the far west of Ukraine. Such evacuations are happening in other big companies too. That\u2019s quite worrying. My father is therefore feeling uneasy about the outcome of this situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friends in Kyiv take each day as it comes. Many of them aren\u2019t sure what they\u2019ll do if things go wrong. I feel powerless. During the recent protests in Kazakhstan, the Internet was down for days. We couldn\u2019t reach our Kazakh friends at all. I don\u2019t know what I\u2019ll do if that happens in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family originally comes from Luhansk, in the Donbas, the war-ravaged east of Ukraine that borders on Russia. As a child, I used to go there every summer. Until everything changed in 2013 when war broke out. My old uncle still lives there with his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe invasion is now eight years ago. Many people were forced to leave the area. My aunt moved away on her own with her two small children. My grandparents\u2019 friends left everything behind and moved to the West with their pension. I\u2019m afraid that Luhansk will never be how I remember it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A bit of understanding<\/h2>

\u201cI find it hard when friends here at the university ask me whether and when there will be a Russian invasion and war. That invasion happened back in 2013 and the war has been going on ever since. They also tend to see me as a walking Wikipedia or geopolitical analyst instead of someone who is mainly suffering from Putin\u2019s decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like people here to show a bit of understanding for the situation. because it\u2019s all quite confusing. The Russian and Ukrainian media are diametrically opposed to each other, but the Western media are also escalating the situation. So, you don\u2019t know what to believe and you feel scared all the time.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018I find it hard when friends here at the university ask me whether and when there will be a Russian invasion and war.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

\u201cMy boyfriend is Russian, which always surprises people. Even though there\u2019s no problem. You have progressive Russians and Russians who don\u2019t believe anything in the Russian media. Russians and Ukrainians are often played against each other through the propaganda war between Russia and Ukraine. Troops in the war are supported and supplied by Russia. I grew up speaking Russian as my first language, like everyone with family in Luhansk. But like many people from that region, I\u2019m not Russian.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be lovely if people would talk about it, read about it and not make assumptions. And not all Ukrainians are the same either. Someone with family in the east of the country has experienced very different things from someone in the west. I often hear that Ukraine is just an arena in which the West and Russia can fight out their problems. That makes me feel very sombre. Please stop saying things like that. Show a bit of empathy. Just ask what\u2019s going on without making judgements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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