MINNEAPOLIS — As the Ukrainian military continues to reclaim areas once occupied by Russian forces in the east, hope has begun to spread west.
"A lot of people that left initially, in the first weeks of war, are beginning to come back," said Lev Frayman, who now lives in Minnesota but has deep ties to Ukraine, including his wife, who immigrated to Minnesota from Kyiv. "I know of at least two families, one that was actually living here in Wisconsin for the last six months, that finally decided it was time to come back."
While encouraged by the progress in Ukraine, Frayman admits he's also become more and more concerned about the military mobilization efforts now underway in Russia. As a Russian American who immigrated from Moscow to Maple Grove as a teen in 1998, he also has ties to that country and says views of the war have been warped since the beginning.
"For the most part, while we saw the destruction and suffering in Ukrainian cities that were being shelled, Russian daily life continued as is," he said. "So when the mobilization was announced last week, it seemed to send kind of these waves of horror, or shock, because for people, all of a sudden it became real."
That is a realization that Frayman and many others who support Ukraine are still struggling to sympathize with.
"It's anger; it's anger that's what it took for them to start paying attention and for them to start kind of noticing," Frayman said. "'Oh, our country is wielding this war, and now it's becoming, all of a sudden, my problem, and why is it my problem?'"
But despite the anger, Lev says he also understands that options for Russians are severely limited, as evidenced by thousands of arrests in response to recent anti-mobilization protests across Russia.
"Right now, I think the only logical choice, if you don't want to be part of this, is to leave," he said. "I know at least five people, personally, that were able to leave. I feel bad for the people who have to deal with this right now. It does not compare to the horrors that Ukrainians have had to endure and are still enduring, but it is still a human tragedy."
That's why, for now, he will continue to do what he can to bring healing however he can. That includes working to support the Protez Foundation, a local nonprofit that brings Ukrainian war heroes to Minnesota to fit them for prosthetics.
"We're trying to figure out how to help them grow because there's more than 500 people that filled out the application that they made available," Frayman said. "The list is unfortunately growing, but these have been the highlights of the last seven months. I love seeing the humanity and seeing community really rally around and provide any help that is needed."
For more information on the Protez Foundation, click here.
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