LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Anna Tallon’s children and parents are now safe in Louisville after fleeing Ukraine.
Her six and four-year-old sons spent six months in Ukraine and left the country one day before the airport closed, just barely escaping the war. Her parents flew from Poland to Chicago on Sunday.
Tallon’s sons still have fond memories of Ukraine, including the schools, parks, and the buses. Not the violence.
“We do not explain it to them,” she said. “They know that the war is happening, and they know that Russians are bad guys right now.”
Her parents have scarier memories. Her disabled father, Valerii, joined the Territorial Defense Forces at the start of the war and survived a bombing at a municipal building that killed about 30 people.
Her mother, Alla, is still triggered by the sounds of planes, even in the U.S.
Anna said her parents are in denial and don’t talk about the destruction they saw at home.
“Even when I saw my mom being afraid of the planes, she kind of brushed it off,” Anna Tallon said. “I saw that she wasn’t ok and she just kind of mentioned it.”
Tallon said her family hasn’t sent many photos because people are too heartbroken to document the damage, destruction, and death.
She also said she doesn’t enjoy speaking her native language of Russian, and she wants to speak Ukrainian instead.
“I think Putin couldn’t do more damage to the Russian-speaking population than what he did because nobody wants to speak Russian anymore,” Tallon said. “We are from the most Russian-speaking city in Europe and we hate it because it associates us with Putin.”
Her parents said they plan to stay for a few weeks or months, but Tallon worries it could be years before they get to go back home.
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