Submitted photo Olena Andriushchenko poses with her husband, former Brookfield resident Nicholas Kupensky, in Ukraine. Andriushchenko, a native of Ukraine, now lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., and said she worries about her family as Russia attacks her homeland.

Watching the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a very painful and personal experience for Olena Andriushchenko because her parents, sister and other family members are in Dnipro, a city in the eastern part of the country.

Andriushchenko, 35, has been in contact with various family members every day since Russia first began sending troops inside the country’s borders.

“I’m very afraid for my family,” she said. “My mother and father, Anatoly and Tamara (Andriushchenko), and my sister and her daughter all live together in a single house. When there is a bombing warning, they all go to the basement and wait until it is done.”

Andriushchenko lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., with her husband, Nicholas Kupensky, formerly of Brookfield.

Kupensky is an assistant professor of Russian at the United States Air Force Academy. Because of his association with the Air Force, Kupensky cannot discuss what is happening in Ukraine.

Kupensky worked as a freelance writer, designer and paginator at the Tribune Chronicle from October 1999 to August 2003. He went to Bucknell University in Pennsylvania to obtain his undergraduate degree and earned his Ph.D. from Yale. He also studied abroad in Paris; at the Russian State University for the Humanities and International University in Moscow; and in England.

The couple met in 2017 while he was in Kyiv doing research and she was working as a journalist. They married in 2018. She moved to the U.S. three years ago with her husband.

The couple visited her family last summer. They are praying to be able to return to her home this summer.

“We’ve been in Ohio numerous times, visiting my husband’s family,” she said. “They’ve been very supportive of me and concerned about my family in Ukraine.”

DAILY CONTACT

Andriushchenko has been able to maintain daily contact because the family in Ukraine still has internet and good reception.

“I’ve had connection with them, but every region has different situations,” she said.

Andriushchenko is angry, but not surprised, that Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded her country. It is not the first time: Russia crossed the Ukrainian border in 2014, when its soldiers entered to annex the Crimea Peninsula.

“There have been skirmishes since that time,” she said.

Since the beginning of the Russian buildup at the Ukrainian borders, Andriushchenko said her community in Colorado has been being very active.

“We’ve organized five rallies to support Ukrainians and against Russian aggression,” she said. “For now we sent some donations to Ukraine. And we continue to be active. We are organizing a new rally for this weekend.

“My family’s home is close to the occupied area,” she said. “I’m really worried about them.”

Andriushchenko said Dnipro has not been bombed yet, but people are concerned that nearby cities are being shelled by Russian missiles.

AFRAID TO LEAVE

The family lives about 800 miles from Poland’s border, but is afraid to leave the house — even to get food and supplies.

“They still have food,” she noted. “The malls and shopping areas are running short of supplies due to the invasion. They are empty. It is a dangerous place.”

Her mother, Tamara Andriushchenko, really does not want to leave their home or her country.

Her family lives about 18 hours by train from the Polish border. “They do not own a car. It is very dangerous for them to travel. They need transportation.”

Neither Andriushchenko’s mother nor her sister’s family owns weapons to protect themselves.

“They’re just a normal Ukrainian family,” she said.

Andriushchenko said she believes it is very important for Americans and the rest of the world to share information about the atrocities happening in her country.

“There has to be a way to stop this crime,” she said. “If it is possible, please send money to financially support the Ukrainian people.”

She said she would like the U.S. and other countries to establish no-fly zones over the country to stop the Russian Air Force from bombing. The Russian missiles and bombs are destroying government buildings, businesses and civilian households, she noted.