Ukrainian Woman Recounts Fleeing War, Four Years in the US, and Her Return Home

Ukrainian news outlet Pravda has published a personal essay by a woman describing her years as a war refugee and her eventual return to Ukraine after four years spent in the United States. According to the outlet's editorial note, Center for Economic Strategy data show that 5.6 million Ukrainian war refugees were living abroad as of early 2026, with most settled in Europe and only around 5% having gone to the US.

The author described leaving Odesa on the 44th day of the full-scale war, on April 8, 2022, shortly after news emerged of atrocities committed in Bucha. She wrote candidly about feelings of guilt and self-perceived betrayal over her decision to leave, as well as the difficulty of rebuilding an identity in an unfamiliar country.

Stages of adjustment and isolation

She explained that the first period of adjustment abroad typically lasts around nine months, during which a refugee moves through several stages of grief. She admitted to concealing her true mental state during medical mental-health screenings, fearing that any recorded diagnosis would remain permanently on file even after her free insurance coverage expired within a few months.

While living as a refugee, she became pregnant and gave birth, describing the experience as deeply intertwined with the trauma of the war and the beginning of a new life in a foreign land.

Life in Brooklyn

By 2024, the author was living in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood, which she described as a diverse, multicultural area she compared to Odesa's Moldavanka district. She wrote about the varied backgrounds, traditions, and daily routines of local residents, as well as the challenge of preserving her own cultural identity in a new environment. After four years in the US, she ultimately decided to return to Ukraine.