Atlanta lawyer says her family's village was among those liberated near Kyiv

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April 4th, 2022

tetiana lendiel
Tetiana Lendiel is a lawyer and member of the Ukrainian community in Atlanta. She spoke about what people she knows are going through amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo courtesy of Tetiana Lendiel)

Russian forces have begun to pull back from some areas around Ukraine, including in the region surrounding Kyiv.

Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating possible Russian war crimes revealed as troops retreat from the towns surrounding Kyiv. Moscow continues to deny the military is killing civilians.

Atlanta lawyer Tetiana Lendiel moved from Ukraine in 2012, and she joined “Morning Edition” to share what she was hearing from friends and family on the ground in Ukraine.

Lendiel says her family’s village of Myla, west of Kyiv, was one of those recently liberated. She says family members have sent her photos of their home with the windows smashed and fences knocked down, but that many other homes fared much worse.

Lendiel says communication services and utilities are still down, and she was only able to reach family members through SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service provided by Elon Musk.

“People were very much worried about their future and will they have a place to come back to,” says Lendiel. “Of course it’s a huge relief that at least, for now, Russian forces have withdrawn and maybe life can start going back to normal.”

Lendiel says this will take some time given that the main road to Kyiv is still lined with landmines and the local emergency medical clinic has been destroyed. But she says residents are still anxious to return to their homes.

Below are some links to learn more and contribute to humanitarian relief efforts:

ukrainianatlanta.org/aboutus

atlantaforukraine.com

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