On her father’s side, she has an aunt in Russia and an uncle still living in Ukraine. Kovalchuk lived in Ukraine until she was 17 although her father is Ukrainian, her mother is Dutch, which puts various members of her family all over the globe. Now they’ve built all kinds of protective shields over the historic buildings.” “In my memory, especially my hometown, it’s a very beautiful city. “The reality a lot of my friends is that they are spending a lot of their time in bomb shelters– like almost like every day,” Kovalchuk said. As her friends traversed down streets where Kovalchuk had lived and studied, the harsh wailing warned them to seek shelter. It was a sound that Kovalchuk said she’d only heard in war movies. The sounds of air raid sirens blared from her phone as the hours passed and more of her friends began checking in on Instagram. woke up from flying planes and sounds of explosions. “The entire country was asleep when they started attacking. “I remember I was sitting in my class,” Kovalchuk said. for four years, said her first glimpse of the news came to her through a post on Instagram from a friend in Ukraine who was awakened by the attacks. 24, 2022.īusiness Administration major Esti Kovalchuk, who has only been in the U.S. in Ukraine when the Russian army launched its first attacks on the country on Feb.
