Read more about Evansville’s international community in the January/February 2025 feature story.
Halyna Badeinova has a perspective on her new hometown that few others could comprehend.
The 48-year-old, with her husband, Serhii Badeinov, and their 7-year-old daughter, Mia, arrived in the Evansville area in September 2023. They left their war-torn community in central Ukraine after it was attacked by Russian forces.
“It was a very hard decision because I really love my land,” Halyna says, but her family feared for their lives.
In the war’s early days, when air raids were constant, they stayed with others in an underground shelter used to store canned food. The family had been back in their own residence for more than a year when a Russian rocket struck another home only 300 meters away.
The blast happened at night, frightening Halyna, Serhii, and Mia. Their family’s own house needed repairs – all of its ventilation tubes were blown out.
“It was a very big explosion,” recalls Halyna, who spoke to Evansville Living with assistance from translator Victoria Mayatskiy. “… That was when we finally decided, a hundred percent, that we could not stay.”
They left through Uniting for Ukraine, a program allowing Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion to stay temporarily in the U.S. The family rents an apartment in Newburgh; Halyna’s brother, Roman, his wife, Yana, and their three sons have lived in the area for several years.
Halyna, who worked as a real estate agent in Ukraine, is picking up English here, as well as cleaning jobs. Serhii has found some construction work. Their status allows them to remain in the U.S. two years; they are just beyond the halfway point.
The family copes by leaning on faith. “We are empowered by knowing that God is with us and with Ukraine,” Halyna says. Her family discovered a circle of support at Grace of Christ Slavic Baptist Church.
Young Mia, her mother says, misses her friends and is overcoming the language barrier, but she is adjusting well and attending John H. Castle Elementary School in Newburgh.
“She grew up very fast and matured faster than kids should,” Halyna says of her daughter. “And she understands that it’s necessary that we’re here, because we’re safe here.”
