Ukrainian expats in Qld hold grave concerns for family, friends at home

Ukrainian expats in Queensland hold grave concerns for family and friends in their home nation, with fears a full-scale Russian invasion is imminent.

Ukrainian expats in Queensland hold grave concerns for family and friends in their home nation amid Russia’s invasion of the Donbas region and fears a full-scale invasion is imminent.

There are an estimated 38,000 people of Ukrainian heritage in Australia, including thousands in Queensland.

Those in the Sunshine State, including Tetiana Tatarynova and Nataliya Murad, say their families are preparing for the worst as Russia sends troops into the separatist controlled Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Ms Murad, a retired Queensland public servant, returned to Brisbane last week after spending six months in Ukraine to care for her 87-year-old mother.

She said people had been going about their daily lives, but the potential of a Russian invasion was front of mind for many since the Kremlin moved large numbers of troops to the border months ago.

Nataliya Murad and Tetiana Tatarynova fear for the safety of families in Ukraine. Picture: Adam Head

“They are just so scared, they just want to go on with their ordinary lives … and they don’t know what to do because Russia is such a hostile country with military might,” Ms Murad said.

While Ms Murad’s mother and her family live near the city of Lviv, about 80km from the Polish border, her daughter remains in the capital Kyiv.

Ms Murad said her mother was housebound and wouldn’t survive the journey to Australia, and with the extended family comprising of young children, this rendered them sitting targets.

“They don’t actually know what to do, there is no plan, it’s like where can you go, what will you do with your life,” she said.

Ms Tatarynova, who was in Ukraine during the Euromaidan revolution of 2014, moved to Australia about six years ago in a bid for a safer life.

She is now struggling with flashbacks of the civil unrest of 2014, which led to the toppling of the country’s pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych and triggered the current instability in the Donbas region, has caused her significant anxiety.

“I will never forget the terrible things I saw,” Ms Tatarynova said

“A lot of families were torn apart, kids lost their parents and very young soldiers lost their legs and eyes. I don’t want that to happen again.”

The stress of worrying about her family in Kyiv as they prepare for an attack has also led to sleepless nights.

“My sister tells me she can’t get any money from the bank because there’s no cash in the bank,” Ms Tatarynova said.

“She has an emergency bag packed and she doesn’t want to take her son to school in case something happens.”

Originally published as Ukrainian expats in Qld hold grave concerns for family, friends at home