NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — The number of people seeking refuge in neighboring European countries amid the Russia-Ukraine war continues to grow. Top United Nations officials report nearly one million people have already escaped Ukrainian life as they know it to become refugees.

Victor Selepina, along with his parents and five siblings, came to America as Ukrainian refugees in 1998. His father was searching for a more stable income for his big family, and so America it was. 

Selepina was just eight years old when his American journey started at John F. Kennedy Airport. Selepina’s family put roots down in Lexington in 2005 after living in Utica, New York for seven years. Now, he lives and works in Nicholasville as a logistics coordinator for Shram Logistics Solutions. 

Victor Selepina’s siblings and parents pose for a picture in Ukraine. (Victor Selepina)

He said Ukraine will always be home.

“We are peaceful people and a peaceful nation. Don’t like to start beef with anybody,” he said.

Selepina remembers a peaceful Ukraine and plenty of family dinners in their Rivne home, which is on Ukraine’s western side. Streets, buildings and neighborhoods look like total destruction in Ukraine right now. They’re continuing to be ripped apart by the Russian army. 

It’s what raises hairs on Selepina’s neck, because he knows firsthand what it feels like to uproot his entire life, leaving friends and family back in his home country of Ukraine. 

“I do believe [refugees] will come. We ended up here, of all places in Lexington. Who would’ve thought? Honestly before we moved here, I had no idea that Lexington even existed,” Selepina said.

Selepina and his wife made Lexington home after his father-in-law Yaroslav “Jerry” Boyechko became the pastor of the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church in Nicholasville. The couple has been together for 10 years, with five children ranging from ages ten to two.

“That’s our little Sammy. He’s four years old now,” said Selepina. 

The most recent data reports the City of Lexington had 61 Ukrainian refugees come to the city during the 2019 fiscal year. Currently, Lexington is considered a refugee city, which offers special resources other cities do not, and Kentucky Refugee Ministries is one of the many resources refugees lean on for assistance. 

Lexington Councilmember and Co-Chair of the Mayor’s International Affairs Advisory Commission Jennifer Reynolds provided insight on what it means to be a refugee city.

“Only certain cities receive refugees and they have to have an agency like that and does the resettling and goes through a process with the government. So if there were Ukrainian Refugees they would go through Kentucky Refugee Ministries (KRM),” said Reynolds.

Selepina knows that in the end, refugees make towns and communities stronger. He saw his father work for $5.50 an hour to provide for his family.

“Fortunately, I know it’s good for some families to reunite. I understand it’s not going to be easy for the city, but all I can say is those Ukrainian people are very hardworking people,” he said. “If people are worried about the economy and its effects, I can assure you they will not milk the system.”

Reynolds said the city does not yet have any insights into whether Ukrainian refugees will come to Lexington because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 

Kentucky Refugee Ministries was contacted for a statement, but no response was given.