Olga Kornisevych Mosand is president of the Ukrainian Association in Trondheim. He reacts strongly to what is happening in Ukraine.
– He says it is shocking and very sad.
Yesterday, Mossand heard the news from his home country. There they talked about shelters and he said someone in western Ukraine should be prepared to accept refugees.
– This is totally surreal, I can not believe it will happen.
Announces reference in Trondheim
Mossand says the Ukrainians he spoke to in Norway today have been hard hit by the invasion. A Ukrainian woman living in Norway called and cried while talking on the phone.
– Her mother called her before me and told her to come to Ukraine, Mossand said.
– They are shocked and annoyed. We need to support each other.
She warns that there will be a celebration in the city against the Russian invasion.
– I like to go to Trondheim and gather people who live in the area. We need to be together and support each other.
The family wants to move to Norway
Mossand has been bidding in Norway since the early 2000s. He lives in Børsa outside Trondheim, but still has family and friends in Ukraine. His parents are retired and his mother is said to be in poor health. Mozant describes his mother as very emotional.
– They will come to Norway for us. But he says it is difficult for them to leave their homes and cities.
Awake to the news that the homeland is occupied
– I was shocked, says Taras Bochayevsky today how he felt when he woke up and saw the news.
Pochayevsky is from the city of Lviv in western Ukraine. He has been auctioning off the store since 2009. Large parts of his family live in Ukraine.
Now he is trying to live as normally as possible.
– Although my body feels like it splits in two, he says.
– I take small breaks at work from time to time to check the news, write to my family that I’m fine, and ask them how things are going in Ukraine.
Taras Pochayivskyy urges the people to remain calm and criticize what they read about Ukraine in the future.
Photo: Olav Rowley
Warning against misinformation about war
– It is difficult to comment on the situation. I am an ordinary man, not a politician. “The information I got about the war came from friends and the media,” says Bochazyvsky.
He encourages people to try to be calm even when it is difficult not to be affected by what is happening. Pochayivskyy warns against spreading false news about what will happen in Ukraine in the future.
– There is a lot of misinformation. People need to breathe easily. It is important not to spread panic, he said.
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