SARASOTA, Fla. — Russian citizens living in Sarasota are reacting to what's happening in Ukraine and they too have said the overseas war is unnecessary.
Some members of the Russian community said they are troubled by their former government's actions in neighboring Ukraine and they want the violence to come to an end.
"It's terrible actually, my heart is broken," said Iulia Miloslavskaia, a blogger and mom of two living in Sarasota.
Miloslavskaia, originally from Moscow, was on a trip to the U.S. five years ago but said she was forced to stay after she got frantic phone calls from home. She said her friends told her thugs from Russia's ruling party had broken into her home, ransacked her apartment, and smashed her car windows.
Miloslavskaia who lived in Atlanta and Jacksonville before landing in Sarasota said she took that as a threat to her and her family because of her participation in local politics.
"It's hard being in the opposite party in Russia because you are not allowed to say what you think," Miloslavskaia said.
"Right now, I am really trying to hold myself," said Olga Sarachina, another recent Sarasota resident from Russia.
Sarachina said she moved to Sarasota about a year and a half ago to get away from what she called "Russian propaganda."
She recalled a story of meeting American schools girls during a choral competition and how the adults warned her not to accept sweets from the girls because they might be poisoned. She said as children, by the end of the event, they had ignored the warnings, enjoyed the sweets and chocolates, and played together with each other as friends.
"I understood that something was wrong, something was very wrong because the reality, and what people tell me, is not the same thing. All these years, I really believed that these ideas about Russia being surrounded by enemies would never exist, but I was wrong. For me right now, it's a huge step back into my past," Sarachina said.
Both women have friends and family in Ukraine and said they are concerned about the ongoing war.
"I couldn't work, I couldn't do anything most of the day. I cried, I shouted and we are trying to support each other," said Sarachina who found herself checking her social media feed or calling friends in Ukraine, worried she might read or hear news of their death.
The United Nations said in the first week, since tensions escalated, more than one million Ukrainian refugees have sought shelter in neighboring countries including Poland, Moldova, Romania, and other European countries.
"Not everyone can go to Poland or somewhere to a safe place," said Miloslavskaia.
The women said they at first thought the crisis over Ukraine was normal political rhetoric from President Vladimir Putin in a bid to maintain his persona of being a strongman leader on the global stage. But after seeing how the situation has escalated, they say their country's president has gone too far this time.
"It's not allowed to cross boundaries of anybody in their life and of other countries," Sarachina said.
"Ukraine is an independent country. How can he just come and, you know, go into your home and say 'Oh OK, come on, right now it's mine,' no that's wrong, of course, that very wrong," said Miloslavskaia.
Along with their fellow neighbors in Sarasota, and across the world, they want Putin to put an end to the attacks, pull out his forces, pack away the weapons, and pitch for peace.
"We have to cut it, it's his responsibility, what he has made, we didn't want this war," Sarachina said.
Meanwhile, members of the community are organizing to collect donations and supplies to help with relief efforts in Ukraine including assisting asylum seekers.