Photo courtesy of Tanya Backstrom After Russia invaded Ukraine, Marshall High School alumna Tanya Backstrom says she’s been trying to keep in touch with friends in both nations — including Kyiv resident Yaroslav Ageyenko, above. Ageyenko added a caption to a photo of him taken in the city of Lviv. In English the caption reads, “It’s my Ukraine. I’m staying,” Backstrom said.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is something that will have effects around the world, Tanya Backstrom said. Backstrom, a Marshall High School alumna, has been trying to stay in touch with friends in both nations, including one friend in the Ukranian capital of Kyiv.

“I’ve been in touch with him pretty much every day,” Backstrom said.

Backstrom spoke with the Independent about some of the things her friend Yaroslav “Yarek” Ageyenko has been experiencing.

“For him, it is important that his realities are being shared with the world,” Backstrom said.

She said Yarek has been sheltering in the basement of a building in Kyiv, and helping to support a group of staff and volunteers from his work with the Christian organization Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ). But at the same time, Backstrom said Yarek is trying to remain hopeful.

“It’s surprising to me, when I talk to him, how positive he is,” Backstrom said. “I hear a lot of hope and determination in his voice.”

Backstrom is a 1999 graduate of MHS, who now lives in St. James. Backstrom made several trips to Russia in high school and college, and studied abroad there for a year. Six years ago she and her husband also traveled to Russia and Estonia on a mission trip. Backstrom said she met Yarek through a mutual friend who was involved with Cru.

Backstrom said the Internet has helped make it possible to keep in touch with friends overseas, including Yarek. She said so far, Yarek hasn’t had to leave Kyiv, and he is staying with a group of about a dozen Cru staff and volunteers.

“I think, for my friend, he just made the decision, ‘No, I want to stay. This is my life, this is my land,'” Backstrom said.

She said Yarek has been sheltering in the basement of an apartment building in Kyiv. ”

They haven’t had to relocate into a subway, like you may have seen in the media,” Backstrom said. Tenants take shifts during the day to watch over the building, she said.

Ukraine is under martial law, but last week people in Kyiv were allowed to go out and get groceries and other supplies, Backstrom said. Yarek told her about what he saw.

“He said people aren’t hoarding things, they just get what they need for a couple of days,” she said.

Backstrom said she has also tried to stay in touch with friends in Russia, but it’s gotten harder to do that as the country has started blocking social media. The last time she talked to friends in Russia was around a week ago.

“I feel like I don’t really know how long I’ll be able to be in touch with them,” she said.

Backstrom said when the invasion started, “I think there was a really deep sense of shock” for her friends in Russia. But at the same time, people had also felt that war in Ukraine would eventually happen, she said.

“They don’t like the war,” Backstrom said. “All of my friends have friends or family in Ukraine.”

However, Backstrom said her Russian friends have told her protesting the invasion is risky. One friend took part in an anti-war protest in St. Petersburg and was arrested, she said.

Backstrom said she had asked Yarek if the war changed how he felt toward Russian people.

“He really clearly said no,” Backstrom said. “He said there’s propaganda involved. He understands a president doesn’t necessarily represent a whole people.”

While there are ways for people in the U.S. to help efforts to support Ukraine, Backstrom said Yarek told her it’s also important to emphasize hope.

“What’s helpful is to be a voice of encouragement,” she said.