It has been more than a year and a half since Tetiana last saw her husband, a member of Ukraine’s special forces who is fighting on the front line against Russia.
The former Kyiv resident, who asked that her last name be withheld out of concern for her husband's safety, fled Ukraine’s capital for the US city of Cleveland with her five-year-old son after Russian bombs started landing on residential areas.
“Every day you are worried, waiting for one text with two words: ‘I’m good.’ That’s very hard,” she says.
Tetiana says her husband has fought in Bakhmut, Kherson and Soledar, some of the most intense battles of the two-year war. These days, she says, he speaks of a desperate situation.
“When I speak with him, he says things are very bad – there is not enough petrol and Russia attacks every day,” she says.
“All of his missions are very dangerous. I really want him to come to America, but he says he can’t leave his country.”
Even though Tetiana and her son are thousands of kilometres from the front line, the sense of loss still hangs heavy.
“When we go to a festival, my son sees other kids and their dads,” she says. “He asks me why his dad can’t come here. I explain but he can’t understand.”
Tetiana is one of nearly half a million Ukrainians who have sought safety in the US over the past two years. As they watch the war drag on at home, ever-changing immigration requirements leave their futures in limbo.
Next month, as the first participants in Uniting for Ukraine – a federal programme that allows US citizens sponsor Ukrainians fleeing the war – will see their two-year immigration window begin to close. Many who arrived in the US after September last year do not have access to a host of assistance measures that ended that month.
This means that in places such as Cleveland, Ohio, where tens of thousands of Ukrainians have settled, the role of community facilitators is becoming even more important.
Ivan Prodanyk, originally from the Kyiv suburb of Irpin, works as a paralegal for the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. He says that despite support services for many ending last September, Ukrainians are still arriving in significant numbers.
“They cannot get Medicaid or food stamps, only is special circumstances” he says. “Some people I know are talking about going back.”
Others who have been in the US longer, he says, have been under pressure from employers, as their employment authorisation status period is coming to an end.
“It’s an issue for companies wondering if they should hire Ukrainians when they don’t know if they are permitted to work or not,” Mr Prodanyk explains.
While last week the US government announced Ukrainians in the US could extend their parole period for an additional two years, that does not come without challenges.
With a filing fee of $575 per person for those who are not considered low income, plus additional fees, the cost is placing major financial pressure on many. A family of four, for example, would have to find more than $2,300 to remain in the US legally.
Others have fallen victim to the infamous US healthcare industry. Last autumn, one uninsured Ukrainian woman in the state of Georgia was saddled with a $67,000 medical bill following gallstone surgery.
But although he says his children’s connections to Ukraine may be on the wane, for now, Mr Prodanyk and his family are staying put.
“I don’t want to have to be concerned about where my children are when there are bombs flying, if they are safe or not,” he says.
But others are finding they may be forced to leave.
When Mykola Vashchuk and his family returned to Ukraine following a short stay in the US in the autumn of 2022, they found that, unbeknownst to them, doing so voided their immigration status.
“The programme [for Ukrainian immigrants] was new [at the time], so people didn’t know some of the rules of it,” he says. “[My wife] was told that she could go back to Ukraine. Nobody knew how the rules worked.”
Though they were permitted to return to the US, where they now live in Cleveland, his wife and son have been issued with removal proceedings. That means they will face a court hearing later this year to decide whether they can stay or must go home.
Mr Vashchuk says the apartment block his family lived in Kyiv was hit by Russian bombs in December 2022.
The family has since applied for temporary protected status to help ensure they can stay in the US.
“If it’s approved, then the court case will be postponed,” he says.
Until then, Mr Vashchuk, a lawyer, finds his days are overflowing.
On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays he works as a case manager for a refugee agency assisting Ukrainians in Cleveland. On the other weekdays, he attends law school at a local college, while keeping tabs on a business back in Ukraine.
At the weekends, he and his wife make Ukrainian food that they sell with the help of one of Cleveland's several Ukrainian churches.
Why is the US struggling to pass Israel funding during the war in Gaza? – video
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has been convening with Republican Party leaders and others in a bid to push through a bill that would send $60 billion in funding to Ukraine, as the Russian invasion enters its third year.
Republicans in Congress, however, have so far thwarted the move, seeking to link any aid for Ukraine to improved security along the southern border.
Tetiana, whose husband’s relatives sponsored her and her son to come to Cleveland, knows better than most what is at stake.
“We hope America helps Ukraine. It’s so very hard on the front line because we don’t have enough of what we need,” she says.
“We ask America to support Ukrainians. Russia has so many more soldiers. We can’t do this. Without America, we will lose.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
The specs: 2018 Dodge Durango SRT
Price, base / as tested: Dh259,000
Engine: 6.4-litre V8
Power: 475hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 640Nm @ 4,300rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.7L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
WHEN TO GO:
September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.
WHERE TO STAY:
Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari - Chitwan National Park resort (tajhotels.com) is a one-hour drive from Bharatpur Airport with stays costing from Dh1,396 per night, including taxes and breakfast. Return airport transfers cost from Dh661.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Etihad Airways regularly flies from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu from around Dh1,500 per person return, including taxes. Buddha Air (buddhaair.com) and Yeti Airlines (yetiairlines.com) fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur several times a day from about Dh660 return and the flight takes just 20 minutes. Driving is possible but the roads are hilly which means it will take you five or six hours to travel 148 kilometres.
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
More on animal trafficking
UAE SQUAD
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Ahmed Raza, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Chirag Suri , Zahoor Khan
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
SPECS
Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR
Engine: 5.7-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)
The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20S%20Frederick%20Starr%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Oxford%20University%20Press%3Cbr%3EPages%3A%20290%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20January%2024%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Director: Romany Saad
Starring: Mirfat Amin, Boumi Fouad and Tariq Al Ibyari
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
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SHAITTAN
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