Ukrainians in St. Louis gathered under the Gateway Arch for this anniversary. But their ties to their home country remain as strong as ever.
ST. LOUIS — Friday marked one year since Russia first invaded Ukraine. In the last year, the greater St. Louis area has welcomed hundreds of refugees.
“When I woke up today in the morning, I’m just realizing I didn’t see my relatives for one year,“ she said.
Viktoriia Nozdrachova has spent the last seven months as a college student in St. Louis for the first time.
“I miss them,“ she said.
It’s also the longest she’s ever gone without seeing her parents.
“My father is a military man, and my mother is a nurse in the hospital,“ she said.
She and her sister live with a sponsor family in St. Louis, but their ties to home remain as strong as ever.
