Key Points
- Wednesday marked six months since Russia invaded Ukraine as its people commemorated 31 years of independence.
- It's a day of remembrance for Ukrainians who fled their country and have made a new home in Australia.
It's been less than four months since Anna Kolieda settled into her new Sydney home - a far cry from her Ukrainian hometown of Dnipro.
While she is physically in Australia, her heart remains attached to the country she fled two weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February.
Wednesday marks Ukraine's independence day and 31 years since it gained independence from the former Soviet Union. It also marks six months since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
It's allowed Ms Kolieda to reflect on the "tough decision" to leave Ukraine when it dawned on her family that the war was not going to end overnight.
[All Ukrainians] had to start from scratch. It's tricky. I wouldn't say that it's easy and fun. But we are a resistant nation, Ukraine.Anna Kolieda
"We were waiting, we were living one day at a time. And we believed like 'maybe tomorrow it will finish, maybe tomorrow it will finish'," she said.
"When I understood that it's not finishing, I [made] the decision to move to Australia to try to be as far from war as possible with all these tensions in Europe.
"[All Ukrainians] had to start from scratch. It's tricky. I wouldn't say that it's easy and fun. But we are a resistant nation, Ukraine."
Ukrainian refugee Anna Kolieda reflects on the decision to leave Dnipro and flee to Australia during the Russian invasion. Source: SBS News
'People still need help'
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reaffirmed solidarity with Ukraine, saying the two countries will celebrate "the bonds of humanity through which we will surely find the peace we seek".
"You share gifts of culture, faith and history that enrich us all," he said in a statement on Wednesday.
"We are one with you and we share in your sorrow at the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine."
- for new Ukrainians to access special settlement support and financial government benefits.
Between 23 February and 31 July this year, the Department of Home Affairs granted almost 9,000 visas to Ukrainians - most of which are temporary.
Around 4,400 Ukrainians have arrived in Australia since the invasion began.
"The Department of Home Affairs continues to progress visa applications from Ukrainian nationals as a priority, particularly for those with a strong, personal connection to Australia," a spokesperson said.
"Temporary applications to facilitate urgent travel are processed generally within days."
Ms Kolieda is one of the thousands who was granted a temporary humanitarian concern visa (subclass 786). She said while her transition to Australia has been "amazing", she believed more people should benefit from the now-expired offer from the government.
"To get here, you need to make a lot of efforts, so it's not that easy as to go to Europe, for example," she said.
She said it needed to be extended to cater to Ukrainians who would arguably need more time to move across the world to Australia.
"I believe that a lot of people still need help ... it took some time to make all this way here and effort."
'Glorify our heritage'
To commemorate more than three decades of independence, more than a dozen Ukrainians went to the Russian Embassy in Canberra on Wednesday both in defiance and in support of their country.
Ukrainian-Australian man Andrew Liszcynsky said today's attendance outside Russia's embassy was a way to "glorify our heritage". Source: SBS News / Naveen Razik
"Rather than to have a formal protest, [we're here] to glorify our heritage.
"There's a lot of images coming, both good and tragic from Ukraine at the moment, and we give them our support by waving Ukrainian flags."
As the war continues to rage on with no end in sight, Ms Kolieda watches on from afar with the hope that the next independence day will be one of peace and safety for her people.
"Like any nation, we really deserve this day for us this - this year, especially I hope that next one will be an independent war-free country of Ukraine."
