Love Grows Between Russian Man, Ukrainian Woman in Serbia

Love Grows Between Russian Man, Ukrainian Woman in Serbia

Mariia Vyhivska is from Ukraine. Iurii Kurochkin is from Russia. Both are 23 years old. They fell in love while playing an online video game.

Their relationship began before Russia invaded¹ Ukraine last February. With their nations at war, the chances of them continuing their relationship were low.

But the couple has beaten the odds².

Vyhivska was living near Ukraine's capital Kyiv. Kurochkin was living in St. Petersburg in Russia. Although they lived far apart, the couple did not give up.

"It wasn't hard," said Vyhivska, smiling. "I wasn't afraid, not at all. I am happy. Because I am loved."

Kurochkin described how the couple started making plans to meet in person.

"It was a year ago ... I started to organize my international passport, to visit Mariia in Ukraine," Kurochkin said. "I finished it in January, and as you know, the war started in February and it crashed all our plans."

There seemed to be little hope of them meeting in person after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Vyhivska and Kurochkin were at a loss³. She moved to Czechia soon after the war started while he stayed at home in Russia. But still, they did not give up. They started considering "some options⁵ to live together," said Kurochkin.

They decided⁶ to go to Serbia. The Slavic nation in the Balkans has remained friendly with Russia and Russians can enter without a visa⁷.

Serbia's capital Belgrade was where Vyhivska and Kurochkin met for the first time.

"I arrived to Serbia on 27th of April and I waited for her for several days," Kurochkin said. "She arrived from the Czech Republic and we met each other at the central bus station."

He was all that she imagined, said Vyhivska.

"There was this moment of unbelievable joy," she said. "I traveled for 16 hours and had no sleep, I couldn't sleep. So, I came out of the bus and I fell into his arms."

Their new life together began immediately. They first stayed in a hotel for young people before finding⁸ a small apartment just outside Belgrade. They took up different jobs while studying online at a St. Petersburg university.

Life together has not been without its problems, however. Last July, pro-Russian extremists in Serbia drew a huge Z sign — a symbol of Russia's invasion⁹ — on their building. Attackers broke into their home. They were also attacked by a violent¹⁰ mob¹¹, Kurochkin said.

"We talk about the war sometimes but we don't have any problems between each other," said Kurochkin.

For Vyhivska, the biggest concern has been how she will be seen by other Ukrainians because of her relationship. She notes that her own family has no objections¹² to the relationship.

"What happens next? We'll see," she said. "We don't know what happens tomorrow."

Kurochkin said the couple will just take things as they come: "We are happy because we are together."

Words in This Story

beat the odds -- idiom. to succeed even when you are not like to

option⁴ - n. the opportunity or ability to choose something or to choose between two or more things

moment - n. a very short period of time

symbol - n. an action, object, event, etc., that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality — often + of

1 invaded   

v.侵入，侵略( invade的过去式和过去分词 )；涌入；侵袭；侵犯

参考例句：

• Troops invaded on August 9th that year. 军队是在那年的8月9日入侵的。
• The diseased tissue can be easily invaded by these microorganisms. 有病的组织容易被微生物侵袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

3 loss   

n.损失，遗失，失败，输，浪费，错过，[军]伤亡，降低

参考例句：

• His death was a great loss to the country.他的逝世对这个国家是一大损失。
• Because of the continued loss,the factory closed down.由于连续亏损，工厂关闭了。

4 option   

n.选择，取舍，选择权，选择的自由

参考例句：

• You will have to pay them;you have no option.你必须付给他们钱，别无选择。
• The option for peace should never be closed off.和平的选择之门永远不应被关死。

5 options   

n.选择(option的名词复数 )；选项；选择权，选择能力；[经济]买卖的特权

参考例句：

• She considered her options. 她仔细考虑了自己的各种选择。
• We are considering the options available to us in this no-win situation. 在这种取胜无望的情形下，我们在考虑有什么选择。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 visa   

n.签证；vt.签准

参考例句：

• You'll have to get a passport,and you'll also need a visa.你必须申办护照，同时还需要有签证。
• The visa expires next month.签证下月到期。

8 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

9 invasion   

n.入侵，侵略，侵犯

参考例句：

• They are ready against the possible invasion.他们防备可能的入侵。
• It is our duty to shield our country from invasion.保卫祖国不受侵犯是我们的责任。

10 violent   

adj.暴力的，猛烈的，激烈的，极端的，凶暴的，歪曲的

参考例句：

• The madman was violent and had to be locked up.这个精神病患者很凶暴，不得不把他锁起来。
• They caught him and gave him a violent beating.他们抓住了他，把他狠狠打了一顿。

11 mob   

n.暴民，民众，暴徒；v.大举包围，乱挤，围攻

参考例句：

• The king was burned in effigy by the angry mob.国王的模拟像被愤怒的民众烧掉以泄心中的愤恨。
• An angry mob is attacking the palace.愤怒的暴徒在攻击王宫。

12 objections   

n.反对( objection的名词复数 )；异议；厌恶；反对的理由

参考例句：

• I think we can safely dismiss their objections. 我认为我们对他们的异议完全可以不予理会。
• The chairman overrode the committee's objections and signed the agreement. 主席不顾委员会的反对，径行签署了协议。