Ukrainians Defiant in the Face of Russian Onslaught

With Russia's invasion of Ukraine well into its second week, millions of people have left their homes and lives to flee to safety.

The United Nations said the number of refugees who have left Ukraine had surged past 2 million on Tuesday, in an exodus that has been described as the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

But even as civilians in some besieged cities flee through safe corridors and others relocate to safe parts of Ukraine or pour across its borders into neighboring countries, there are many Ukrainians who remain defiant in the face of terror and refuse to leave their homes.

"This is my home," Inas Kulinska, 27, told Newsweek. "So many people I love are staying here. My family and most of my friends don't want to leave their homes."

Kulinska is with her parents, Tatiana and Oleg, in Chornomorsk, on the outskirts of Ukraine's biggest port city of Odesa.

"We have light, water and food, so I think we are pretty lucky," she said. "I'm trying to stay as calm as I can right now... panic would only be in the way, so even if my legs are shaking sometimes, for my body doesn't always listen to me, I'm trying to keep my mind as calm and as rational as possible."

Kulinska, a singer, told of her dreams of seeing the world and sharing her music.

"But not like this, not because of war," she said. "If I ever move to another country... it would only be because of my free choice, not because I was forced to flee."

Friends in other countries have offered to house Kulinska and her family, she said.

"I'm grateful but I can't accept their offers," she said. "I don't think I would be able to feel safe and good in a different country knowing that my friends and people I love are in danger. My heart would bleed for them every day."

Ivan Bilyi, 38, told Newsweek that he too has received offers from friends abroad to shelter his wife and four-year-old daughter should they decide to leave Ukraine.

He won't be able to go with them because Ukraine's government has mandated that all men aged between 18 and 60 are prohibited from leaving the country.

"If it's safe enough to stay here, we'd rather stay here," he said from his home in Dnipro, a city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. "It's obviously scary… the biggest fear is because of [the] uncertainty. We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow."

But as Russian troops advance from all directions on his city and air raid sirens blare for hours at a time, he said he has made contingency plans to head to western Ukraine with his family if it becomes too risky to remain in Dnipro.

"The third option, if things really go south, is for me to stay and for them to leave", he said.

But Bilyi is hopeful that it won't come to making the treacherous days-long journey to the border.

"We have an established life over here," he said. "We have relatives here. It's a life. We are ready to do some sacrifices in case of imminent danger, leave that life behind indefinitely. But part of that life is a family. We don't want to get separated... we just don't want to."

But for some Ukrainians, staying put is the only option they have.

Many older people in Ukraine have no plans to evacuate, a spokesperson from HelpAge International, told Newsweek from eastern Ukraine, where shelling continues amid freezing temperatures.

The organization carried out a survey in early March that found 99 percent of older people in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions had no plans to leave.

"Many older people in eastern Ukraine and elsewhere in the country plan to remain at home," the spokesperson, who spoke on condition on anonymity, said. "For many with disabilities or who find mobility difficult, leaving is not an option, especially if their families live further away. Others might want to stay to try and protect their home or because they feel safer, while others are simply staying because they have already lived through so much."

The spokesperson added: "Our network of staff and volunteers are continuing to reach out to older people so they have emotional support, and every effort is being made to get food, water and hygiene items to those who need it most."

For Zhenya Mykailenko, the executive chef and partner of a Kyiv restaurant chain who isn't leaving his hometown even as Russia continues its onslaught, the reason for staying is "simple."

"We lived here for 1,500 years," he told Newsweek. "This is our land."

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