KYIV, Ukraine — Nearly two months have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine.
For most of it, Oleh Ladan has been in and around Kyiv — defending the city he grew up in.
Ladan, 46, was born in Ukraine and grew up in Kyiv until he was 14 years old.
His late brother, Igor Vovkovinskiy, moved to Rochester, Minn. to receive treatment at Mayo Clinic. Vovkovinskiy, who died in 2021, was known as the tallest man in the United States.
Ladan joined his brother in Rochester in 1990. He graduated from John Marshall High School and then went to college at the University of Minnesota.
Ladan now lives in Brooklyn Park with his wife and two kids, ages 15 and 9.
In February, Ladan was traveling to London for work when Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine.
Ladan spent two days in London before flying to Poland and walking across the border into Ukraine.
"I called and said, 'I have to go.' My wife, she understands and so does my mother. It's important. It was important for me to come here. I have family here; I have friends here; I have business here... Even though Minnesota is my home, this is still my homeland," Ladan said.
Ladan joined a territorial defense battalion on the outskirts of the capital. The battalion does not require volunteers to be Ukrainian citizens.
"I didn't see any action. I've driven since then around the places where the troops are standing. See a lot of burned down tanks, machinery, all Russian stuff that's burned down," Ladan recalled. "Around Kyiv, I've seen where the big missiles landed. It is pretty scary, like a piece of a missile will be bigger than a Jeep. That's how big they are."
Ladan is also paying attention to what's been happening outside of Kyiv, including the mass killing in Bucha.
"It is scary to see what happened. I can't explain... it's not human. It's inhumane," he said.
Ladan said it has been calmer in the city ever since Russian troops failed to capture the capital. However, Ladan is still busy getting supplies to the medical battalion.
"We bought two ambulance cars for them. Since I'm a U.S. citizen, I can cross into Poland. So I bought two vehicles and brought them into Kyiv," Ladan said. "We also buy a lot of medical equipment as far as guns, tourniquets for the frontlines. That's kind of what I'm busy with and it's a daily routine and there's a lot of it."
Ladan is also busy getting his business, Ukrainian Treasures, up and running again. Their main warehouse is in Blaine. The business also has six warehouses in Ukraine but only one in Lviv is operating at the moment.
"People need money to live. We work with the sellers who work with Etsy, and eBay, and Amazon," Ladan said.
He went on to say, "The Ukrainian postal service started shipping some stuff but it's not as fast; so our logistics are just much faster. We got this back up and running and we see a lot of people start working again because not only they support their families, they support employees, they support the army, the taxes go toward the government."
Ladan said he does not know when he will return to Minnesota.
"To me, it's not why I should do it or whatever. This is something I have to do," he said.
Ladan said he has no doubt they will defeat the Russian forces, saying, "We will win this war."
Ladan is also collecting medical supply donations in Minnesota. This page includes the most important medical supplies needed for the frontlines. People can either ship to the warehouse or drop it off Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
1630 91st Ave NE
Suite 108
Blaine, MN 55449
Ladan also has a page for donations to buy medical equipment, ambulances and medicine for the areas where the pharmacies are out of meds.