Liliya Askarova poses for a portrait at her home in Newcastle, Washington on March 14, 2022. Askarova has many friends and family members currently in Ukraine as war continues. (David Ryder for Crosscut)A damaged road in Kyiv is seen in a Facebook photo taken by Liliya Askarova’s father, Ryf Askarov, as it is displayed on a computer at Askarova’s home in Newcastle, Washington on March 14, 2022. Askarova has many friends and family members currently in Ukraine as war continues. (David Ryder for Crosscut)Liliya Askarova poses for a portrait at her home in Newcastle, Washington on March 14, 2022. Askarova has many friends and family members currently in Ukraine as war continues. (David Ryder for Crosscut)Photos of war damage in Kyiv and a message saying “I’m home!” that were sent by Liliya Askarova’s father, Ryf Askarov, are seen on a computer at Askarova’s home in Newcastle, Washington on March 14, 2022. Askarova has many friends and family members currently in Ukraine as war continues. (David Ryder for Crosscut)
As the world reevaluates its relationship with Russia, Eastern Europeans in Washington state are doing the same with friends and family swayed by Russia’s propaganda on the violent invasion of Ukraine.
“It’s really hard for me to understand that they do believe their own state media and don’t believe the family,” said Liliya Askarova, 37, of Newcastle, calling it “the most heartbreaking experience.”
Askarova had trouble eating and sleeping for 10 days, glued to the news as a war that has left hundreds of civilians dead unfolded. The conflict forced her parents from their home in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. They caught a train to Lviv and spent hours in the cold to board another train to Poland, eventually making it to a relative’s home in Sweden.
(Read more via Crosscut. Liliya shown here at her home here in Newcastle, WA + correspondence with her father.)
