Olena Prokhorenko Ogiozee has been in constant communication with her mom since Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine.
The Arlington resident peppers her mom with questions on the messaging app Viber. Does she have food and water? Is she in touch with neighbors? Has she heard or seen any military action nearby?
鈥淪he鈥檚 relatively okay right now,鈥� Ogiozee said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 like the best answer I can give because, unfortunately, they did attack everywhere.鈥�
Ogiozee and other North Texans with ties to Ukraine have been closely monitoring developments there, many watching in horror as Russia鈥檚 military strikes targets and presses forward.
Ogiozee鈥檚 mom lives in Zhytomyr, a nearly two-hour drive west of the capital of Kyiv. She lives alone, but a friend whose house has a basement invited Ogiozee鈥檚 mom to stay with her.
鈥淗onestly, right now, the main subject of conversation is if she is alive and how strong the bombardment is,鈥� Ogiozee said.
Nearly eight hours to the east by car is the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine鈥檚 second-largest city. One of Ogiozee鈥檚 dearest cousins, who she calls her brother, lives there with his family. She鈥檚 been messaging him regularly too. Things there have been worse. News images show hundreds of people sheltering inside subway stations.
For now, Ogiozee鈥檚 cousin is at home. He tells her there鈥檚 shooting every one to two hours and that most of his neighbors are hiding in the basement of their apartment complex.
鈥淩ight now, I think everyone is shocked, you know鈥iterally frozen where they are,鈥� Ogiozee said.
For her, the waiting and uncertainty has been difficult.
"You don't know what to think. You don't know what to believe," she said. "It's very hard. It is surreal."
At one point, Ogiozee felt optimistic when she heard other countries were taking in Ukrainian refugees. She immediately messaged her mom and cousin to let them know, but they weren鈥檛 very hopeful about leaving.
鈥淢y mom is in the middle of the country, so she鈥檚 like 鈥楬ow am I going to get to the west?鈥�, because Romania and Poland is the west border.鈥�
Doing so would take hours and there鈥檚 no guarantee she would arrive safely.
As of Friday, an estimated 100,000 people in Ukraine had been displaced, according to a spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency. Local refugee resettlement agencies say they haven鈥檛 yet received any guidance on the possible resettlement of refugees from Ukraine.
Chris Kelley, a spokesperson for Refugee Services of Texas, said his agency has resettled 26 Ukrainians since 2014. Of that total, 24 were resettled in Fort Worth.
On Thursday, more than 100 advocacy organizations urged the Biden administration to grant Ukrainian citizens what鈥檚 known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). That would give them work permits and protect them from deportation.
Chrystya Geremesz, a founding member of the Ukrainian American Society of Texas, said she wants Americans to understand why Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine has ramifications beyond the two countries.
Geremesz鈥檚 parents came to the U.S. from Ukraine after World War II and she has family still there. She said if Russian President Vladimir Putin isn鈥檛 stopped, he won鈥檛 stop with Ukraine.
She also said people should not underestimate Ukrainian citizens who will fight to retain their independence.
鈥淚 hope that the world stops and understands the sacrifice that Ukraine is making on behalf of democracy,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ecause realistically, this comes down to democracy versus a dictatorship. Which is going to win?鈥�
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