Over the past week, nine Ukrainian refugees have traveled to Marina where a couple from Seaside have found them a home. “I have been trying to find a way to do this since the beginning of the war,” said their godfather Dmitry Kiselev. Kiselev and his wife immigrated from Russia to the United States three decades ago. The couple arranged for the nine refugees to come to Marina through a program called United for Ukraine. This is part of a pledge the Biden administration made in April to allow 100,000 refugees from Ukraine to enter the country. The program requires a US-based sponsor to pledge financial support in order to bring a refugee to the country., Kisselev and his wife Marina did just that, helping to organize trips and setting up an apartment for newcomers. “I felt like an angel dusted to create this little apartment here especially for us,” Marina Kiselev said of finding accommodation. The Kisselevs see the apartment as temporary accommodation. They hope that the refugees will obtain work permits and eventually move into the houses of their choice. “They will build their life as we built our life here 30 years ago,” said Marina Kisselev. As they settled into their new home, each refugee brought with them their own reasons for leaving home and their hopes for a better life. “I study at university. He works in the cafeteria, he is a barista,” 18-year-old Luibov Lahoda said of his life in Ukraine. Lahoda and her boyfriend, Artur Romaniuta, 23, crossed four countries to escape their hometown of Melitopol in southeastern Ukraine. The couple, with the help of translators, described a constantly bombarded city, with barricaded streets and cut off internet communications. stopped. “We hide under the buildings, under the buildings because we are bombing, bombing, because bombing,” Lahoda said. I don’t go to the streets because I’m very scared,” Lahoda said. The pair fled through Crimea, then Latvia and Poland before boarding a plane in the Czech Republic bound for the United States. Other members of this group of refugees found themselves outside their country when the invasion began. Rather than returning to a war zone, they hope to start a new life in the United States. “We want working to send our money to our relatives in Ukraine,” Oksana Aprelkova said. Aprelkova and her partner, Serhii Nikitin, in Turkey at the start of the war. is a meditation practitioner.”We practice meditation and we are looking to further our education in this country and the United States has great opportunities for people who practice meditation,” Aprelkova said. Lolita Lohi nova, 12, who came with her mother. and father after spending months in a Spanish refugee camp. Lohinova will begin college in Los Arboles in the coming weeks. All of the refugees have been enrolled in English classes at Monterey Peninsula College. Their rent is paid through fundraising from the Kisselevs and their supporters. Donations can still be made here and the Kisselevs hope to find a mentor for each Ukrainian refugee to help them on their journey of assimilation. See below for photos and information about each refugeeArtur Moldavskyi is a sailor from Odessa. Moldavskyi was on a ship when the war started and unable to return. He is looking for maritime work. Oksana Aprelkova and Serhii Nikitin from Poltava. Aprelkova is a law-certified yoga and meditation practitioner. Nikitin has a degree in electrical engineering and has experience working as a mechanic in factories. Luibov Lahoda and Artur Romaniuta from Melitopol. Lahoda completes her Ukrainian degree remotely while taking MPC English courses. Romaniuta is a musician and has experience as a barista. Alina Yurchenko from Kyiv. Yurchenko left Kyiv after evacuating his family from Karkhiv to Kyiv. She was a corporate lawyer in the city but unable to work after the invasion. Irada, Viktor and Lolita Lohinov from Odessa. The Lohinov family lived in Poland where Viktor was a truck driver. When the invasion happened, Viktor was able to extend his work visa in Poland. In addition to his commercial driving experience, Viktor is also an international boxing master. Irada is a cosmetologist specializing in permanent makeup. Lolita will begin sixth grade at Los Arboles in the coming weeks.
Over the past week, nine Ukrainian refugees have traveled to Marina where a couple from Seaside have found them a home.
“I have been trying to find a way to do this since the beginning of the war,” said their godfather Dmitry Kiselev.
Kiselev and his wife immigrated from Russia to the United States three decades ago. The couple arranged for the nine refugees to come to Marina through a program called United for Ukraine. It’s part of a pledge the Biden administration made in April to allow 100,000 Ukrainian refugees into the country.
The program requires a US-based sponsor to pledge financial support in order to bring a refugee into the country. Kisselev and his wife Marina did just that, helping to organize the trip and setting up an apartment for newcomers to call home.
“I felt like an angel dusted to create this little apartment here especially for us,” Marina Kiselev said of finding accommodation.
The Kisselevs see the apartment as temporary accommodation. They hope that the refugees will obtain work permits and eventually move into the houses of their choice.
“They will build their life as we built our life here 30 years ago,” said Marina Kisselev.
As they settled into their new homes, each refugee brought with them their own reasons for leaving their homes and their hopes for a better life.
“I study at university. He works in the cafeteria, he is a barista,” 18-year-old Luibov Lahoda said of his life in Ukraine.
Lahoda and her boyfriend, Artur Romaniuta, 23, crossed four countries to flee their hometown of Melitopol in southeastern Ukraine.
The couple, with the help of translators, described a constantly bombarded city, with barricaded streets and cut off internet communications.
“We’re hiding under buildings, under buildings because of shelling, shelling, because shelling,” Lahoda said.
Perhaps more sinister than the bombings are the descriptions the two gave of kidnappings and rapes at the hands of Russian soldiers.
“The girls were robbed and I’m not going to the streets because I’m very scared,” Lahoda said.
The pair fled through Crimea, then Latvia and Poland before boarding a plane in the Czech Republic bound for the United States.
Other members of this group of refugees found themselves outside their country when the invasion began. Rather than return to a war zone, they hope to rebuild their lives in the United States
“We want to work to send our money to our relatives in Ukraine,” Oksana Aprelkova said.
Aprelkova and her partner, Serhii Nikitin, were in Turkey when war broke out. He has worked as a mechanic and has a degree in electrical engineering and she is a mediation practitioner.
“We practice meditation and seek further education in this country, and the United States has great opportunities for people who practice meditation,” Aprelkova said.
The youngest of the group is 12-year-old Lolita Lohinova, who came with her mother and father after spending months in a Spanish refugee camp. Lohinova will begin college in Los Arboles in the coming weeks.
All of the refugees have been enrolled in English classes at Monterey Peninsula College. Their rent is paid through fundraising from the Kisselevs and their supporters. Donations can still be made here and the Kisselevs hope to find a mentor for each Ukrainian refugee to help them on their journey of assimilation.
See below for photos and information on each refugee
Artur Moldavskyi is a sailor from Odessa. Moldavskyi was on a ship when the war started and unable to return. He is looking for a maritime job.
Oksana Aprelkova and Serhii Nikitin from Poltava. Aprelkova is a law-certified yoga and meditation practitioner. Nikitin holds a degree in electrical engineering and has experience working as a mechanic in factories.
Luibov Lahoda and Artur Romaniuta from Melitopol. Lahoda completes her Ukrainian degree remotely while taking MPC English courses. Romaniuta is a musician and has experience as a barista.
Alina Yurchenko from Kyiv. Yurchenko left Kyiv after evacuating his family from Karkhiv to Kyiv. She was a corporate lawyer in the city but unable to work after the invasion.
Irada, Viktor and Lolita Lohinov from Odessa. The Lohinov family lived in Poland where Viktor was a truck driver. When the invasion happened, Viktor was able to extend his work visa in Poland. In addition to his commercial driving experience, Viktor is also an international boxing master. Irada is a cosmetologist specializing in permanent makeup. Lolita will begin sixth grade at Los Arboles in the coming weeks.
