KUALA LUMPUR – With the current bombing and invasion of Ukraine, its citizens residing here can only watch the news helplessly and pray that their families and friends there remain safe.
Lidiya Murugan, who is the president of Ukrainian Cultural Association in Malaysia, said the community here has been trying to be supportive of each other but it has been a challenge given the distance from Malaysia.
“We are trying to stay very supportive. Unfortunately, with the distance, it is not easy. A lot of our people in Malaysia have families in Ukraine, their parents and relatives,” she told The Vibes.
“We just received the latest news from our ministry that 23 civilians including children were killed in the Kharkiv region, an eastern part of Ukraine, yesterday.”
She said some of the older folk in Ukraine are unable to leave or relocate to safety as they are paralysed.
“We appreciate the massive support from the Malaysian and international communities, but we feel helpless as we can only wait for news and updates from the Ukrainian embassy here.
“It is really devastating. Now that fights are grounded, many in our community cannot fly home to visit their relatives.
“We are trying to stay calm. We are receiving tremendous support from the Malaysian community and it helps because you know that people around you are standing by you.”
She said the situation is heartbreaking as Ukrainians less than 48 hours ago were going about their daily lives but now had their lives turned upside down.
She added that they could only watch their beloved homeland being devastated by the invasion launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Yesterday, Putin officially announced a military operation in Ukraine with the goals to “demilitarise and de-Nazify” the country and to defend separatists in the east.
This has resulted in at least 68 fatalities, according to an AFP tally from Ukrainian official sources, and countless civilians displaced.
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