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Ohio University students in Ukraine weary and worried, in need of supplies

Students Les Yakymchuk and Olena Zenchenko recently started a website to gather donations for supplies to help Ukraine.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The stress of the mission was evident on the face of Ohio University's Les Yakymchuk via Zoom on Thursday. 

He spoke to 10TV from Kyiv, where he and fellow OU student Olena Zenchenko are working to gather supplies and help in the effort to fight back against the Russian invasion.

“[There are] sometimes bombings, sometimes sirens, we have to hide in shelters, so it’s definitely not safe here,” Yakymchuk said. “This is really overwhelming now for us because we were never prepared to do this. What’s more, it’s even harder to do when you are in stress.”

As Yakymchuk pointed out, he’s a film student, comfortable on the OU Athens campus. Now, he’s suddenly trying to be an expert in first aid and training others in Ukraine.

He and Zenchenko also are trying to learn how to coordinate donations and supply shipments, not an easy task. And they’ve blown through their own savings. 

To help, they have created a charity website called UA First Aid. They are hoping to gather funds to buy supplies to be shipped to Warsaw, Poland. They will pick them up there to deliver back to Ukraine. But that process takes time, which Yakymchuk says they don’t have.

“Every day, people are dying, and I’m really grateful for things, for help, for support that you guys gave us yesterday and all the time actually, every day I hear the sanctions and financial help to Ukraine, but it’s kind of slow,” he said.

Yakymchuk is referring to the U.S. pledge of more help for Ukraine. He also praised President Joe Biden’s speech, saying he feels that support.

But timing is everything. He admits he’s already a changed man, unsure of whether he can return to OU and be a student again, conflicted about whether he can live the same life he did before.

That’s why he’s not only hoping for funding and supplies but also for moral support.

“It’s really helpful, it’s really helpful because it gives us the strength to hold on,” he said.

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