Oleksii and Kseniia Levchenko tell us their story of escaping Ukraine to come to Devils Lake. Photo by Andrew Benjamin.
The Russia-Ukraine war has been going on since February 2022. The conflict has left thousands dead, destruction of property, and lives torn apart. In all global conflicts, it’s the everyday people who suffer the most. But it’s also an opportunity for good people to shine.
In April 2022, the U.S. government put into place the Uniting for Ukraine program which allows Ukrainian citizens asylum here for two years. Numerous states have already welcomed asylum seekers. North Dakota is no different. Here is the story of Oleksii, 27, and Kseniia Levchenko, 26, who now temporarily call Devils Lake, ND. their home.
The two had a normal life just like anyone else. Both come from the city of Donetsk and that is where the two met. The city has been at the forefront of Russia’s invasion in 2014 and the current conflict.
“We went to school, we met in college. My family was working in the coal mines,” Kseniia said. “Oleksii’s father was a farmer and mother a dentist.”
The two met while they were living on the same floor. Kseniia remembers that Oleskii would always ask for a broom to sweep the floor as he did not have one.
Their first experience with the first Russian invasion of Ukraine came in 2014. Kseniia was still attending college at the time in the occupied region. This made her degree in culture practically useless as it is not recognized by any government. “It is frustrating,” she said.
Oleksii studied chemistry in a university that eventually was enveloped as part of the occupied region. It was a difficult and uneasy atmosphere for him to learn in. Students who were in the military would bring their firearms and wear bulletproof vests to class. The uneasiness eventually led him to leave the university.
In 2019, Oleskii proposed to Kseniia, and the two married.
Life was going well for the two of them. Kseniia started teaching English online during the pandemic and Oleskii was working in construction and repairing electronics.
In part two of the story, we will detail their story of how they faced adversity together as Russia mobilized troops and invaded Ukraine in 2022.
