Russian, Ukrainian students at Dixie State talk about unrest overseas

ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4/ KDXU) – As unrest continues overseas amid the Russia and Ukraine conflict, locally in southern Utah, international students at Dixie State University with families back in their home countries are uneasy.

These brothers at Dixie State University are thousands of miles away from home, but say they’re just as scared as their family back in Ukraine.

“Alarms, to like, people need to go to shelters, because it’s planning to get bombed,” says Mykhailo Mosiichuk translating while speaking on the phone with his mother in Ukraine.

He says his family can hear planes in the sky and gunfire outside and will likely have to go to a bomb shelter for safety.

“Our country is just going into ruin, you know, it’s just going to be rocks and caves and that’s it, we don’t have any infrastructure anymore, all bridges are bombed, you can see on social media how Russians drop bombs on us and we just can’t do anything,” he says.

All they can do is watch what’s happening on social media.

“Our countrymen, defending our country right now, how brave are they, how courageous, and they know we don’t have as much military as Russia obviously but we’re going to fight as much as we can,” says Ivan Mosiichuk.

Angelina Karpenok says she’s been getting backlash and threats, just for being Russian, deleting her social media accounts in attempts to get away from it.

“I know that a lot of people are like blaming Russians right now for this, but I know my family and my friends, basically most people in Russia, don’t want this,” she says.

She says Russian citizens don’t have freedom of speech and anyone standing up for Ukrainians in her home country, is paying a price.

“We are less affected than the people that are in war right now, but we are just as affected because we also have family and friends in Ukraine right now,” she says.

These students are asking for support on both sides, during this time of unrest.

For Jordan Verdadeiro's full LIVE broadcast, click here.