Nastia's Story: Fleeing Ukraine with a newborn

Nastia and Yura’s last photo together before crossing the border.

GETTING TO KNOW NASTIA AND YURA

I (Kayley) first met Nastia on the 2018 Regenerate Internship to Ukraine. From being great with kids to being a natural leader, what sticks out the most about Nastia (& also her husband Yura) is her ability to take on challenges.

I first noticed this ability when Nastia, less than a year married, was apart from her husband for nearly a month (he was working at a camp for at-risk kids) to help Vadym lead the Regenerate Internship. At the end of the internship, she spent the 10-day “week” at camp Karabin. For those who haven’t been to Karabin, just imagine spending all day leading kids through extreme activities, including an event which is a triathlon mixed with an obstacle course, while you are extremely sleep-deprived. If you are an American, add onto this a constant level of confusion brought on by the language barrier. Fun of course, but still a challenge.

Photo: Nastia works with Becky Barnes to start a new library for the kids a Hanna School.

Immediately following these busy summer experiences, Nastia went on as a 19-year-old college student to teach her first year at Hanna School. Fastforward three years to 2021, and Nastia was still teaching at Hanna school. But this time, she was also the head teacher of several new staff, starting an additional degree online, and expecting her first baby. Nastia has told me before that she relies on God’s strength, and looking at her life, I believe her.

Even though we (those of us from the US who know Nastia and Yura) have already seen this couple lead and take on so much, as we witness their situation now, we seem to being witnessing Nastia and Yura go through their biggest challenge yet.

A New Member of the Family

On February 8th, just weeks before the war, God blessed Nastia and Yura with their first child, a baby girl they named Camila. Immersed in the joy and new responsibilities of caring for this new baby, Nastia had not heard much of the escalating political tensions.

In fact, most of the news was kept from Nastia until it hit closer to home. Early one morning, Nastia got a text from her older sister Luda. Luda told Nastia that her, her husband and their 6 month old baby had awoken in their Kyiv flat to the sound of explosions. After that eerie update, Nastia checked the news, which confirmed that yes, her country was under attack.

With the reality of war came the threat of bombings and air-raids. Nastia, who thought that maybe Russia was just trying to “flex” as a negotiation tactic, wanted to stay in the comfort and privacy of her home to care for the newborn. But Yura, concerned about his young family’s safety, persuaded Nastia to stay with his sister’s family, who had a basement which could serve as a bomb shelter. Within a couple days of the start of war, Nastia, Yura and their baby had moved in with their extended family. Some of Yura’s family from a nearby city moved in too. For about two weeks, there were three husbands, three wives, two children, one toddler and two newborns - a total of eleven people all living in the same household.

Day after day passed by bunched together in a house meant for a much smaller group. Over time, Nastia began to adjust. But not Yura.

Crossing the Border

Only a few weeks before the war, Yura had been sensing that God was leading them to move out of Ukraine for a while. When the war came, this thought only grew stronger in Yura’s heart. A little past a week into the war, Yura told Nastia that he wanted them to leave. Though Nastia was not excited about this idea, Yura’s concern eventually won out. On March 3rd, the extended family of eleven was on their way to stay with another sibling in Poland.

What would have normally been an 8-10 hour drive turned into a 48 hour trek. Thankfully, the group was able to rest near the border for a night, so at least they weren’t stuck in the van the entire time. But that still didn’t mean the trip was easy.

But any travel difficulties were soon forgotten when they reached the border. Because of the recent 18-60 rule, none of the husbands were permitted to cross the border with their families. Forced to say goodbye, the families quickly accepted the new reality that would be apart with no indication of when they might see each other again.

REFUGE IN POLAND

The two children and toddler play together in Poland.

After some more hours on the road, the wives and children made it to their final destination, a one-bedroom flat in rural Poland. Thankfully, their brother, who lived in the flat, was able to move to his mother-in-law’s home so they could have the space to themselves. But room was still tight. The sleeping situation was three on the bed, three on the couch and two on an airmattres.

Thankfully, the family has been given support from different friends around the world, so for now at least, they have money for food and groceries. Now that their most basic needs are met, they have had some time to consider what might be next.

The oldest sibling, the mother of the two children, is hoping to return to Ukraine. She is not sure if/when this would be possible, but her heart is longing to be back with her husband and community.

Nastia, if she had the freedom to choose, would really like to move on from Poland. She would love to find something where in addition to caring for her newborn, she could use her skills to either work or volunteer for a while. She would like to come to friends in the US, but unfortunately, that option is not very open right now.

The youngest sibling wants to stay in Poland for the time being. With a toddler on her hands, she is afraid that yet another move would be too much change and uncertainty for this little one to handle, hurting his young development.

NEXT STEPS

We are thankful that Nastia and her extended family (at least the wives and children) are in a safer situation. But this challenging and uncertain season that the Russian invasion has brought on is far from over. As you think of Nastia and her family, please keep in your hearts the following points for prayer:

PRAYER POINTS

• Pray that the husbands and families could be reunited. Pray that in the meantime, despite the physical distance, the spiritual and emotional connections between the husbands and their families would stay strong.

• Pray for Luda’s (Nastia’s sister) mother-in-law to have a change in heart. She lives in Kyiv and will not leave. And her son will not leave her. And Luda will not leave her husband. That means that an older woman, a young couple and a small baby are still in Kyiv where it is a very high-risk area.

• Pray for wisdom for Nastia and her sisters-in-law regarding their next steps.

Update: March 28th

Nastia and her baby have relocated to Italy to live with Yura’s mother.