Disrupted families
Southland Ukrainians say Russian strikes on power grids have cut communication with loved ones
His 70-year-old father in Western Ukraine is experiencing power outages and staying warm by burning wood in a stove inside his home as winter moves in, said the Rev. Vasyl Sendeha.
Sendeha, priest at Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Palos Park, said about three weeks ago, his father, who lives in Olesko, Ukraine, started experiencing electrical black outs as Russia began to attack power grids in Ukraine.
“Where my dad is they do have power, but not constantly. There are black outs for hours,” Sendeha said. “He’s not bad because he lives in a town, but people who live in the cities in apartments ... they’re really struggling.”
Nearly 10 months into the war, Russian President Vladimir Putin has started attacking power grids and infrastructure in Ukraine.
“It’s very devastating to hear that Putin has been targeting electric power substations to keep people in cold and dark through the winter,” Sendeha said.
Sendeha said his father has power sporadically, so he makes sure to use that time to charge his phone and other electronics he may need. He never knows when he’ll have power, Sendeha said, but it’s on for a few hours at a time.
“Usually, in the peak hours, there is no power when you really need it, especially in the evenings,” Sendeha said.
The winter, so far, hasn’t been too cold with temperatures around 32 degrees Fahrenheit, Sendeha said. Burning wood helps his father stay warm, he said, and as winter continues he will keep burning wood for warmth.
Olena Levko-Sendeha, Sendeha’s wife, was born and raised in Ternopil, which is in Western Ukraine. Her aunts and uncles, and their families, are also in Ukraine, and one of her cousins moved to Poland before the war started, she said.
For her family still in Ukraine, they are preparing for winter by canning fruits and vegetables and
harvesting whatever crops they can, Levko-Sendeha said. Right now, if they have one, Ukrainians are using wood burning stoves to stay warm and cook food, she said.
Her family members told her that power shutdowns were supposed to be scheduled, but there was a period recently where they didn’t have power for three days, Levko-Sendeha said.
“It’s scary,” Levko-Sendeha said. “We live in the 21st Century and this is what we have to go through. They do message from time to time, but with no power they cannot charge their phones.”
Diane Burdiak Nykaza, of Lansing, said her parents were born in Ukraine: her father near Lviv and her mother near IvanoFrankivsk, both in Western Ukraine. If her father was still alive, Nykaza said he’d be sick to watch the war unfold.
It’s been difficult to talk to her cousins, she said, because the power has been spotty.
But a friend of hers told Nykaza that he was talking
with his aunt and asked her if she had power. She told
him that she did, but not to jinx her because it’s been spotty. As she said that, the lights went out.
“They’re OK, but they have to do with very little electricity and it’s cold there now,” Nykaza said. “Ukrainians are resilient. They know how to survive during hard times.”
Still, Nykaza said she has some guilt about being away from Ukraine.
“It hurts my soul because I’m living in a nice, warm house with supplies and heat, things that we take for granted. There’s people there that are barely surviving, just trying to make it day to day,” Nykaza said.
Since the war started, Sendeha said he’s tried to convince his father to come to the U.S. but his father refuses. His father tells him he will be safe because he lives in a remote town and not a major city.
“I’m still concerned, of course, because you never know,” Sendeha said.
When the war began, Sendeha said he felt terrible for not being in Ukraine. But, he found comfort in prayer and working with others to collect donations and supplies to send to Ukraine.
The couple has three children, two boys and one girl, Levko-Sendeha said. Their boys have visited Ukraine before, and the family was planning a trip to Ukraine over the summer but the war halted their plans.
Levko-Sendeha said she hopes her daughter will be
able to see Ukraine one day. She prays that the Ukrainian people will win the war.
“It’s tough, but their spirit is unbreakable because they are fighting for their future,”
Levko-Sendeha said.