Fear of a war with Russia?: the testimony of Peruvians living in Ukraine

The last few weeks have been particularly tense for those living in Ukraine. Since Russia mobilized more troops to the border and the words ‘invasion’ and ‘war’ began to resonate, residents of the former Soviet republic look to their televisions, cell phones and newspapers only to find news that fuels uncertainty and expectation every day.

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“But this situation is not new. Here we are living the eighth year of a war that began in 2014, when Russia the Crimean peninsula was annexed. In this time there have always been clashes on the border, the presence of Russian soldiers in the area is not new“, he says Trade Eduardo Díaz, a Peruvian who arrived in Ukraine in 1983, where he studied International Law thanks to a scholarship.

From Kiev, the capital, this 58-year-old from Arequipa who works in real estate says that the Ukrainians and the rest of the residents do not believe that this new episode of tensions will escalate into a war and that the majority do not feel fear.

Eduardo Díaz arrived in Ukraine in 1983. He studied International Law. (Photo: Eduardo Díaz / Courtesy for El Comercio)

“If in another place they said that a country is about to invade it, the supermarkets would already be empty, but here that does not happen. It did not happen even in the worst moments of the pandemic. It will be because of the idiosyncrasy of these people who have lived through so many wars and they will have a kind of defense against hysteria”, he points out.

Add that Ukraine is prepared to counter a Russian offensive, according to what the government reports. This Friday the 28th, the Ukrainian president himself, Voldomir Zelensky, asked the West not to sow “panic” around the tension with Russia and minimized the risks of an attack.

“The image created by the media is that we have troops on the roads, we have mobilization or that people are leaving. It’s not like that”, said the president.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Photo: AFP) (HANDOUT/)

That is why Díaz says he feels calm, he does not see the possibility that an invasion with 120,000 soldiers will ever happen. “I do not think that Vladimir Putin would dare. A kind of international panic has been created by the accusations between the United States and Russia, but the only one that is suffering right now is the country. Investors when they see a situation like this do not want to invest, they do not buy investment funds“, considers.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Diaz’s classmates (right) became influential in the political and diplomatic arena in Ukraine. (Photo: Eduardo Díaz / Courtesy for El Comercio)

Like Díaz, Iván Figueroa from Ica also came to Ukraine before the fall of the Soviet Union and maintains a close relationship with the small Peruvian community in that country, which, he says, is also not panicked by the situation. “It seems incredible, but there really is no fear. Even the Peruvians who live here and who already consider ourselves Ukrainians do not feel it so strongly.”, he comments to this newspaper.

“I realized that this is something serious because some Peruvian friends who came from Poland were going to visit me, but the US embassy – they live in the US – recommended that they leave the territory Ukrainian, and then they left earlier than planned and we couldn’t see each other. At the level of some embassies, consulates, international organizations, there are those requests to leave the country”, says the 56-year-old compatriot who works in finance.

Peruvian Iván Figueroa has lived in Ukraine since 1983. He has been working in finance for five years, but before that he managed many restaurants in the country. (Photo: Iván Figueroa / Courtesy for El Comercio)

Figueroa comments that the Peruvian community in the Ukraine is very small. “Before it was bigger, but when the scholarship stage ended, it was reduced a lot,” he says. (Photo: Iván Figueroa / Courtesy for El Comercio)

According to data from the Foreign Ministry provided to El Comercio, 63 nationals were registered on the electoral roll in Ukraine for the 2021 elections.

The concentration of more than 100 thousand Russian soldiers on the border with Ukraine has sparked fears in the West, which says the Kremlin intends to intervene in the former Soviet republic to limit the presence of NATO forces in eastern Europe. The alarms increased when Washington said that the Russian attack is imminent and even set a date, first in January and then in February, for the offensive.

Russian BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles during exercises conducted by the armed forces of the Southern Military District at the Kadamovsky firing range in the Rostov region, Russia, last Thursday. (Photo: Reuters) (SERGEY PIVOVAROV/)

tense calm

Figueroa comments that, in Kiev, the distance from the conflict zone influences life to continue normally, although the expectation is latent to know how the tension will end. “Although we have had this for many years, now the news is quite strong and people are concerned, many are wondering if Russia will continue to attack the Ukrainian people and if at some point there will be a more solid conflict”.

Peruvian Yazel Hipolito, a commercial helicopter pilot who has been in Ukraine, highlights that all activities are carried out normally, work has not stopped, transportation, public services and the educational system work as usual. “The only strange thing I have noticed is the presence of Ukrainian flags in some houses and businesses in the city of Kremenchuk, which is located between Kiev and the border with Russia”, he points.

Ukrainian soldiers hold their country’s flags during a demonstration in Odessa, Ukraine, on January 22. (Photo: Bloomberg) (Christopher Occhicone /)

Hipolito, 40, works for a helicopter company that provides services to the United Nations. He lives in Kiev, but for training purposes he constantly travels to Krenchuk.

Yazel Hipolito, a 40-year-old from Lima, is a commercial helicopter pilot. (Photo: Yazel Hipolito / Courtesy of El Comercio)

“I talk a lot with my fellow Ukrainians. A few days ago I spoke with one who is 26 years old. I perceive that mainly young people do not give much importance to this issue. Actually, here in Ukraine people over the age of 40 have a certain affinity for the Soviet Union and want to maintain close relations with Russia and young people want to belong to the European Union. With these tensions these differences are brought to the surface“He says.

“I was uncertain and that has been growing, not to the point of worrying because the Ukrainians themselves dismiss the news, but I did choose to inform myself a little more. I do not strictly believe in everything that is said, but it is a fact that there are Russian soldiers on the border, that there is a Ukrainian contingent that is constantly receiving soldiers from Spain, from NATO, that an aircraft has arrived bringing weapons from the United States United. We all watch the news, the uncertainty has grown a bit, but not to the point of worrying because everything works normally”, adds Hipolito.

Hipolito works in different UN humanitarian aid missions in Africa. (Photo: Yazel Hipolito / Courtesy of El Comercio)

The compatriot has been living in Ukraine for a year. (Photo: Yazel Hipolito / Courtesy of El Comercio)

He says that another reason why the ghost of war is not scary is because there are many Russians who live in Ukraine, as well as Ukrainians residing in Russia. The relations are very close between the citizens, so the citizens do not believe it is possible that there will be a war.

Although fear does not dominate, there is concern that this crisis will affect the country in a non-warlike way. Hipolito fears that the dollar will rise due to instability, while Díaz has seen that sales in the real estate sector have slowed down a bit. “Some people are withdrawing cash as a precaution. Those who are scared and are sending their families to other parts of Europe are very few. Citizens in general do not plan to mobilize or leave the country“, Add.

A Ukrainian drives an armored personnel carrier near the front line position in the Luhansk area of ​​eastern Ukraine. The photo is from last Friday. (Photo: AP) (Vadim Ghirda /)

Expectation for the future

For the compatriots it is clear that the episodes of tension between Russia Y Ukraine they will continue.

“Here the biggest drawback we have is Putin. This is not going to end until Putin is out of power”, considers Díaz, for whom the Russian president is using Ukraine to blackmail NATO, Europe and the United States.

It further states that despite the armed conflict against separatist groups, which according to experts are financed by Russia, Ukraine continues to maintain a stable economy, although this year inflation has increased by 10%, following a global trend.

“For everything else, the situation in the country is calm, but we are attentive to any event”, he points.

For his part, Figueroa adds that the expectation to see what will happen in the future is framed more in the collateral damage of the tension. “Nobody believes that Putin will dare to cross the line, but these conflicts do influence the economy, relations with relatives, etc.”, regrets the Peruvian.

Members of the 35th Naval Infantry Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces take part in troop deployment exercises in Odessa. (Photo: Reuters) (35 NAVAL INFANTRY BRIGADE/)

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Source: Elcomercio