Boston-based Ukrainian woman reveals text from brother amid war: 'We are alive'
Ukrainian American woman sheds vivid light on the struggle for survival
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In an interview with Fox News Digital, Angela Sokolova, a holistic health and wellness coach based in the Boston area, described the perilous journey her Ukraine-based brother and his family were forced to take after Russian forces began invading their country Feb. 24.
She also described a text from her brother and his family that brought her joy, even amid the devastation and destruction suffered by Ukrainians.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's very, very tough, what is happening to them right now," Sokolova said, sighing deeply as she discussed her beloved family members and her worry for them, given the war and the fact that her brother has lost virtually everything.
"All the [Ukrainian people] wanted to do was find a safe place."
"A lot of people who were trapped in Mariupol and couldn't escape — they stayed without water, electricity, heat and food for a long, long time."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}And when they got out, "many of these people — I don't think they were really aware of what was going on," she added.
"When you've been in a basement for a long time [because of the bombing], you lose a connection with the outside world."
This Ukraine family — after hiding from bombing and shelling in basements for weeks — managed to get out of their war-torn country alive. They "were taken by bus to a safe place," Angela Sokolova told Fox News Digital in a phone interview. (Angela Sokolova)
So when her family members finally emerged after weeks from their underground hiding places, "all they wanted to do was find a safe place," she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She said her brother, his wife, their two children and other Ukrainians "were taken by a bus to a safe place" once they emerged from hiding.
"If you're in shock, you act in the moment. So they all got on a bus" — then found out it was headed for Russia.
But they soon recognized "that this was a Russian system that was supporting the evacuation of refugees," she said, "and that this [system] was bringing them across the border [from Ukraine] to Russia."
A lot of refugees from Mariupol, she said, "were not able to go [westward] into Ukraine because it was blocked." She said her family very much wanted to go to safer spots within their own country but could not.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Some people tried to go deeper into Ukraine anyway — from Mariupol, moving westward — "but they were killed, or they were lost," said Sokolova. "They didn't know which way to go. If you're in shock, you act in the moment."
This map of Ukraine shows its capital Kyiv and its boundary with Russia. For "three weeks, we didn't hear from them," said Angela Sokolova of her beloved family members forced to flee from their homeland. (Fox News)
She added, "So they all got on a bus" — then found out it was eventually headed toward Russia.
When they arrived in the Donetsk region, north of Mariupol, Sokolova said, "They texted us. All they said was, ‘We are alive.’"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}That was after three weeks of silence and fear — three weeks of waiting to know how they were doing or what had happened. "It was three weeks that we didn't hear from them," Sokolova said.
Angela Sokolova's young niece, 14 years old, loves to draw and paint — and she's done many pieces of artwork during the siege of her country. (Angela Sokolova)
And while Sokolova and her mother, 81 — who to this day remains in Ukraine in a spot that's currently safe and not far from the capital of Kyiv — were both overjoyed to know their family was safe, "at the same time, this was heartbreaking for us."
So now, Sokolova said, "my mom is alone in Ukraine."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She said her brother and his family "were transported to several refugee camps. They were moved to one Russian town, where they remain now. [The Russians] were asking them if they had any documents or if they had any relatives in Russia. And those who did have relatives in Russia, they could go to their relatives or friends, get picked up by them, and go with them [into Russia]."
This young nephew of a Ukrainian American woman has managed to escape from his home in Ukraine, along with his family, during the war. (Angela Sokolova)
She added, "But if the Ukrainians didn't have documents or relatives in Russia, then those people were moved to some camps." At these "camps," she said, the Ukrainian people have been "given simple jobs to do and given some money, too."
Throughout the ordeal, she "was working so hard to find help for my brother among my Russian friends."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sokolova explained that she grew up in the Soviet Union near the Odesa area of Ukraine. "My friends and I, we had fathers who were military officers who served the Soviet Union in many different areas of the country," she said.
"Let's pray that everything is going to be all right with them. Let's just have that faith."
She moved to the U.S. with her husband when the Soviet Union collapsed.
But as she continued to hear "terrible, terrible news about Ukrainian refugees in Russia" and their plight, she had to keep praying for her family amid the turmoil, uncertainty and worry.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Uncertainty is the worst," Sokolova said. "This is the biggest fear [for people], not knowing what is ahead. I believe in God. I believe in good people — good, open-hearted, kind-hearted people — in any country."
This is one of the paintings made by Angela Sokolova's young relatives — they're keeping their spirits up by painting and drawing during the war. (Angela Sokolova)
She said she kept telling her mother every time they talked by phone, "Let's pray that everything is going to be all right with them. Let's just have that faith. They're going to be alive and be supported by really good people. Let's just keep praying."
Sokolova was happy to hear that Russian volunteers who have been helping the Ukrainian refugees actually "have been very supportive."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They even organized showers for my brother and his family," she added, "because, remember, they were underground in basements, hiding out for many, many weeks and then traveling. They were in the same clothes, hadn't been able to wash."
Another image capturing the war in Ukraine, as created by Angela Sokolova's young relatives recently. (Angela Sokolova)
She said the texts from her brother and his wife have mostly been abrupt — just a few words to let her know they're still alive and OK for now.
"We still don't have a good connection," she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She said some of her friends in Russia were trying to find an apartment for her brother and his family. Her brother is part of a health and wellness meditative group. So he and his family were offered "a place to rest" in Russia to get their bearings.
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"I was blown away" by this kindness, said Sokolova.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Her niece, 14, and her nephew, 10, have been keeping their spirits up with artwork.
This family — uprooted from their home in Ukraine because of the war — has now found a safe spot. Angela Sokolova told Fox News Digital that her meditations have focused on imagining "a gold dome over my family, keeping them safe, protecting them" through the war and the violence. (Angela Sokolova)
"This is my personal, individual story," added Sokolova. "I have no judgment of others."
She said she doesn't want to feel anger over what has been happening in Ukraine, though so many people she knows feel anger toward Putin and Russia.
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"I am not that person. Through years of practicing, I have learned that anger can destroy," said Sokolova.
"It takes time to forgive — to heal — and it's going to be years now of trauma that people will be experiencing because of this war. All of this will take time to heal."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The young niece of Ukrainian American Angela Sokolova painted this image while trying to stay sane, hopeful and healthy during the war. (Angela Sokolova)
She said her brother has meditated since the 1990s, when the Soviet Union collapsed, and she believes this has helped keep him alive and move forward. Her brother has also been teaching others to meditate after years of working in an iron and steel factory in Ukraine.
"He developed a network of other similar-minded people. We could never have imagined years ago that this network could now help support him and sustain him."
"I believe that people are ready to help them and that this trauma, eventually, will be healed."
About her own work on meditation, breathing and other wellness techniques, Sokolova said, "This is my way to bring more peace into the world. I've been doing it for many years."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She said her meditations have focused on imagining "a gold dome over my family, keeping them safe, protecting them" through the war and the violence.
This piece of artwork by a young Ukrainian boy — one of Angela Sokolova's relatives — shows a "golden dome" drawn around the family to keep them safe during the war. It also shows bombs and missiles crossed out in red. (Angela Sokolova)
"With my mom, this is what we would imagine and pray for — to keep my brother and his family safe and alive," she said.
She said she has been collecting money and donations for Ukrainian refugees and will continue to do that and send money to her brother whenever or however she can.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}For now, she believes her brother and his family are in a stable place.
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"It's a relief," she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But she also said it was "heartbreaking" to see how they look in photos. "They look so much older now. They look so thin, so sad, with such dark eyes — heartbreaking," she said.
"But I believe that people are ready to help them and that this trauma, eventually, will be healed."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She also told Fox News Digital about her efforts at self-care, "I am trying to keep myself in a resourceful state while supporting them and other people."
Deirdre Reilly contributed reporting to this article.