Ukrainian refugee in Newton will give presentation sharing first-hand experience of Russia’s invasion

Alina Poznanska, a Ukrainian refugee, is more than 5,000 miles away from home. No more air strike sirens. No more bumper-to-bumper traffic jams. No more sleepless nights in the hallways away from any windows. No signs of war. She and her two children are safe in their home away from home in Newton.

Still, she worries about her husband, who is still in Ukraine. For the past year the Eastern European country has been bombarded by Russian military forces. Poznanska can still remember the day of the invasion, and the speculation of an attack months before Russian tanks began lining up near the borders.

“We didn’t want to believe in it,” Poznanska said. “I remember two days before the war I listened to Biden and his speech. The night before I talked to my friend and she told me, ‘You know the war will come. We have to accept it.’ I can’t even imagine in 21st century how it can be possible.”

When the war finally started, she got a call from her friend early in the morning. What are you doing right now? “I’m sleeping! What do you think I’m doing?” Poznanska said. Wake up. The war has started. Poznanska immediately called her parents who live near the Russian border.

“I didn’t know what to do. I was shocked. We saw so many people pack luggages and went out from neighborhood where there was huge traffic near Kyiv,” she said. “It was slow. There was a lot of people with kids, cats, dogs. I didn’t know what I needed or what to do or how long I will be gone.”

This was the new reality. Ukrainians put tape on their bedroom windows to prevent shards of glass from cutting them in the event a shockwave from an artillery blast shatters the panes. Others packed what they could and left the country. Many can’t leave. Many stay and fight for their country’s independence.

To give Newton residents a better idea of what is going on in Ukraine, Poznanska is putting together a presentation 7 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Newton Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, 3000 N. Fourth Ave. E., to share her first-hand experience of the invasion, as well as give a glimpse into her country’s history.

“This fighting for our independence, for our language, for our culture has continued during these three last centuries,” Poznanska said. “(Russia’s) one wish is just to kill, destroy Ukrainian nations from this earth because of our love to be free. And of course I want to share my story.”

Newton has a close connection to Ukraine. Thanks in large part to the Organization Promoting Everlasting Neighbors (OPEN), the city has maintained a sister-city relationship with Smila, Ukraine, for the past three decades. Several Ukrainian exchange students have attended Newton High School.

Since October 2022 Poznanska has been living with Newton resident Carol Kramer, who spent many months and many thousands of dollars trying to fly the Poznanska family to the United States. The two had met before in 2009, and they kept in close contact with each other over the years.

“When we decided that Alina and her going to make that move, it took months,” Kramer said, noting she went through a program and hired an international attorney. “(The law office) called me back and told me, ‘Carol, I need to tell you something. She is very expensive.’ I don’t care. We’re talking about three lives.”

Poznanska is originally from the Sumy region of Ukraine, which shares a border with Russia, but for the past five years she and her family have lived in Kyiv.

When Ukrainians first heard rumors of Russia’s intentions, the Poznanska family was already preparing for “the hard winter” by stocking up on dried and canned foods and gasoline. Russia officially invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of both soldiers and civilians since then.

“I want to share our pain,” Poznanska said of her upcoming presentation, which is open to the public. “I will tell about our 31 years of independence and about our way to be really like European country with Democracy values and why Russia doesn’t like it at all.”