The Brazilian Guilherme Palma Donadio, 34, has lived for five years in Lviv (540 km from the capital, Kiev), and has a newborn daughter with his Ukrainian wife Oksana. At dawn on February 24, Guilherme woke up while Oksana was breastfeeding the baby and following the news that Ukraine was being invaded by Russia.
In addition to the safety of his wife, daughter, and the family’s dog, Guilherme has an extra concern: his parents, Brazilians João Batista and Marilena, are also in the country. The couple had traveled to Ukraine about a month ago to visit their son and meet their first granddaughter, who had just been born.
Now, as heavy shelling hits the capital, both are stranded in Ukraine not knowing how to get home. The couple does not speak English or Ukrainian and, according to Guilherme, has received almost no support from the embassy.
Attack from all sides
“I was sure something was going to happen, but the size of this attack was a surprise, from all possible flanks”, says the Brazilian, who has a Ukrainian residence permit and lives near the Polish border, in the west of the country. “It’s a disgrace,” he says.
“I thought it would be in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions [no leste do paÃs] and in Crimea [no sul]. Not in Kiev. [Um paÃs] attack the capital [de outro paÃs europeu] It was something that hadn’t happened since the Second World War.”
“My parents were very scared, of course. Despite living in São Paulo with all the violence there, plane bombing, missile bombing is another conversation,” says Guilherme.
For now, Lviv has not been hit by direct conflict – but the population has increased dramatically, with thousands of people fleeing areas where bombing is taking place. Gasoline sales are limited, there is an overnight curfew, huge lines at markets and congestion on the roads leading to the city.
With the conflict, Guilherme’s parents –João Batista and Marilena– ended up being trapped in the city, prevented from returning to Brazil. Airspace is closed, roads are congested and there is a three-day wait at the Polish border to cross.
The trains that are still making their way to Poland are full and it is very difficult to get a seat – even so, Guilherme will try to get seats for his parents tomorrow.
He says he doesn’t want to try to take his parents either through Hungary or Romania as the route is no longer safe due to conflicts along the way.
imprisoned in Lviv
“We still have internet and electricity, we are safe as far as possible, but we don’t know what will happen,” says the Brazilian. “This could end any minute, a siren could sound here and we’ll have a bombing.”
According to Guilherme, the Brazilian embassy contacted him, but his parents had no support in trying to return home.
“The train that was made available leaving Kiev is absurd. It works like this: you get on the train, then it arrives in Romania and it’s each one for himself. There would be no support”, he says. “I have no hope that the embassy will help.”
While trying to find a solution for the return of his parents, Guilherme is separated from his newborn daughter and his wife – he took them to a village in the countryside where her family lives.
“If there is any kind of bombing or armed conflict in Lviv, I take my parents to the village and we stay there,” he says. “But they want to go back to Brazil.”
“I’m apprehensive, but you don’t have to panic”, he points out. “Now it’s time to wait, keep calm. It’s no use despairing.”
Although he tries to find a way out for his parents, Guilherme has no intention of returning to Brazil for now – his wife is Ukrainian, his daughter has just been born and he has just bought a house.
“Ukrainians are resisting,” he says. “I saw a lot of people volunteering to fight.”
The Brazilian embassy in Kiev says in a statement that it has been working, since the escalation of tensions, to protect the approximately 500 Brazilian citizens in Ukraine. It also says that it “guides Brazilians to follow the instructions of local authorities and follow the news.”
“In Kiev, the recommendation for the moment is to stay at home, unless sirens are activated”, describes the embassy. The diplomatic post also stated that it will provide further guidance over time.
