While Ukrainian refugees rebuild their lives in Metro Detroit, they’re still hoping that one day soon, they’ll be able to return home.
Yelyzaveta Sukhanova is here with her grandmother.
“A lot of people they started to forget this information, but for Ukraine, it’s getting worse and worse every day,” said Sukhanova.
Sukhanova tries to keep in touch as much as possible with her loved ones in Ukraine, including her mother, who was born in Russia but has lived in Ukraine for decades.
Her mother is serving in the Ukrainian military.
“She said yesterday, I spoke with her on Facetime, she deleted Russian language from her phone,” Sukhanova said.
Over the weekend, to mark the two-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, supporters of Ukraine gathered at Hart Plaza.
“Every day, heroes are dying on the front line,” Ukrainian-American Crisis Response Committee Andrew Powers said.
As Ukrainians continue to flee to the U.S., Sukhanova is helping the new arrivals settle in Metro Detroit.
She’s a case manager at the refugee resettlement agency, Samaritas.
“It is crazy too because you just live your normal life, you have a house, maybe a car, family, and you have to leave all you have,” Sukhanova said.