WASHINGTON — After moving to the United States from Ukraine eight years ago as her home country appeared to be on the brink of war with Russia, Oksana Lamborn often calls friends and family back in eastern Europe to check-in and chat about life.
While the calls are often light, she said the talks have turned far more serious in recent weeks as over 100,000 Russian troops have massed along the border.
"Usually, we just have conversations about theatre, music, and movies," Lamborn said in an interview with WUSA9 on Saturday, "Now, we’re talking about war.”
Lamborn is part of the Ukrainian community that now calls the D.C. region home.
The threat of war has grown ever since Russian President Vladimir Putin has suspiciously placed troops and tanks near Ukrainian land and conducted military exercises in nearby Belarus.
Putin has denied any offensive intentions but U.S. officials have said an attack on Ukraine could be imminent.
Recently, the U.S. State Department ordered embassy staff in Kyiv to evacuate and that any Americans in Ukraine should plan to leave the country soon.
On Saturday, tension over a possible conflict continued to build as President Joe Biden held a telephone call with Putin that lasted over an hour.
No significant updates came from the discussion and, with possible fighting looming in eastern Europe, Lamborn told WUSA9 that her friends and family were getting set to defend themselves.
"People were helping me to feel okay about it. They were saying, 'We’re safe. We have a plan,'" she said. "I have a few friends who said if there is a war, I’m ready to go and fight.”
Lamborn noted that she has family in Russia. However, she described having no animosity with residents of the country and instead directed her frustration to Putin.
"I don’t feel angry toward Russian people," Lamborn said. "I know it’s not the Russian people who are invading Ukraine. It’s the ambitions of one person.”
For others in the region, the possibility of war has brought plenty of stress while living here in America.
Anatoliy Bizhko grew up in Ukraine but came to the U.S. to pursue a college degree.
He later married an American woman and now lives in Maryland.
With so many friends and family back home in Ukraine, Bizhko said any conflict with Russia brought fear.
"It’s unbelievably terrifying and Putin is an evil man," he said from his home on Saturday. "It’s easy to draw comparisons to Hitler and World War II with a crazed despot having the army at his disposal and sacrificing other people's lives in pursuit of his delusional dreams and aspirations."
Bizhko said his grandparents fought in World War II and one of them died.
Decades later, he said his calls home to friends and family brought a range of reactions to possible conflict.
"Most of them are prepared to fight," said Bizkho, who added that many are trying to live their lives as normally as possible. "The mood is is cautious but defiant. My own parents, they’re older. They’re scared.”
Bizhko voiced support for the recent American response to Russia, calling the US "the only true friend" of Ukraine.
However, he also wished Biden and other leaders could announce and publicly commit to the sanctions that would be imposed if Russia attacks Ukraine.
With the days and weeks ahead likely bringing more discussions between world leaders and also uncertainty, Bizhko hoped any fighting could be avoided in his home country.
"It’s very scary," he said. "It’s a combination of not knowing what will happen and being helpless to impact.”
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