Girlfriend of MU Ukrainian student acquires visa and airline ticket to come to Columbia

It's a clear path for Alina Rohulia to arrive in Columbia next week in time to start the fall semester as a student at the University of Missouri, says her boyfriend, MU Ukrainian student Vlad Sazhen.

Rohulia and Sazhen both are from Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, but Sazhen has been a student at MU since last fall semester. Rohulia and her family left war-torn Kharkiv early in the Russian invasion for the relative safety of Poltava.

Sazhen's parents and sister are in Kyiv.

Sazhen and Rohulia had been trying to find a way to get her out of Ukraine, and officials at MU provided a solution.

More: MU Ukrainian student Vlad Sazhen troubled by latest Russian missile attack on his country

They each have received three-year, non-resident scholarships, allowing both to attend MU as full-time, degree-seeking students. Sazhen is an exchange student now. The  assistance is through MU's International Student and Scholar Services.

A donation to MU's Ukrainian Emergency Fund is paying for Rohulia's airfare to the U.S. So far, the university has not identified the donor.

Rohulia plans to study biomedical engineering, while Sazhen is studying aerospace engineering. Sazhen on Thursday wore a new College of Engineering T-shirt, saying he has one for Rohulia, too.

Rohulia is in Krakow, Poland, where her visa interview took place on Tuesday.

"I think it went fine," Sazhen said before learning on Friday of its approval. "She was expecting three or four questions and she got 12."

The questions included what her major is, if she had applied to other universities, how long she planned to stay in the U.S. and where her family is, Sazhen said.

Sazhen messaged the Tribune on Friday that Rohulia had received her passport back with the visa.

"She's got her plane ticket to the United States on Aug. 5," Sazhen said.

He's not relaxing yet, he said.

"I will only be 100% calm when she's on her plane from Chicago to Columbia," Sazhen said.

Previously: MU Ukrainian student Vlad Sazhen awaits arrival of girlfriend with visa interview near

Sazhen on Thursday also discussed current events in Ukraine:

U.S. weapons

U.S. weapons, especially High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, are slowing the momentum of the Russian military, with the potential to reverse it, Sazhen said.

"Even right now the situation on the front line is changing rapidly," Sazhen said.

The weapons are being used by Ukraine to retake Russian-occupied Kherson.

The Ukrainian military has used the rockets to damage a bridge the Russian military used to supply weapons and soldiers.

"They're using it with surgical precision," Sazhen said.

The weapons are making a big difference, because Russia has no equivalent weapons, he said.

"Kherson hopefully will be Ukrainian once again," he said.

"We will not stop until we liberate the last meter of our Ukrainian land," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. "We won’t rest until we liberate our last village."

Russia's economy

A study by Yale University economists reports that Western sanctions have crippled Russia's economy.

"The Russian economy is reeling and now is not the time to step on the brakes," the study states.

A report from the International Monetary Fund contradicts that, saying the Russian economy is doing better than expected despite sanctions, with high oil prices providing  an economic boost.

Sazhen favors the Yale study, he said.

"Sanctions already crippled the Russian war machine," he said. "My opinion is sanctions are extremely helpful. What we should do is continue adding more and more sanctions."

Castration

A video that emerged Thursday apparently showing a Russian soldier castrating a Ukrainian soldier is more evidence of Russian war crimes, Sazhen said.

"This is violating any possible rule of war," Sazhen said. "Everyone is extremely angry."

Roger McKinney is the education reporter for the Tribune. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on Twitter at @rmckinney9.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: MU Ukrainian student anticipates arrival of girlfriend