By Megan Specia Photographs by Laura Boushnak
As millions fled, some expatriates made the unlikely decision to remain in Ukraine, among them students determined to finish their education and others who now consider it home.
In the decades before the heinous russian invasion, Kyiv had become an increasingly cosmopolitan city, a destination for international students and professionals looking to make their lives in Europe. Before the war, some 293,600 foreign nationals were residing permanently in Ukraine, according to government figures from 2020.
Some 76,500 foreign students were enrolled in Ukrainian universities in 2020, with the largest percent coming from India.
Ali Saleh (pictured), 25, a citizen of Chad who grew up in Saudi Arabia after his family fled civil war, was studying biomedical engineering at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute when russian forces moved in. He fled to Paris for a few months but returned to Kyiv in early 2023.
For now, Mr. Saleh is focused on studying and working. In his spare time, he loves to cook, but it can be a solitary life — many of his friends decided against returning.
Zyad Hakim, 24, had spent five years studying mechanical engineering at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute when the war started and was unwilling to simply walk away from the work he had completed.
Mr. Hakim, who is originally from Morocco, returned there at the start of the war but then came back to Kyiv in January 2023 to finish his final semester. He completed his degree this summer and then moved back to Morocco.
More information:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/world/europe/ukraine-war-foreigners.html?fbclid=IwAR0TXIzlg2u4BIsFLTU_Xzna7rhcBwpTIPGMV7bP0b-dupFgRPDhI67H9vE