SUGARLOAF, Pa. — Sugarloaf resident Dr. Paula Holoviak, a professor of government at Kutztown University, is worried for family and friends in Ukraine fighting to survive.
"It's heartbreaking," she said. "Everyone is a nervous wreck. I received another message from a close friend of mine, her parents are there. So many really close relatives."
Holoviak reached out to a friend who was still in Ukraine as of Thursday afternoon, asking if he planned to escape to Poland.
"He said, roughly translated, 'Why should we run away? This is our land, this is our home. I plan to stay and fight,'" Holoviak said.
While the Ukrainian President suggested his forces were doing well, Holoviak is concerned the Russians will take over the Ukrainian government and punish the people in a Soviet fashion. Still, she's not convinced Putin will be able to take over the whole country.
"Even though it seems like, 'oh, he has 190,000 troops,' that is not enough to occupy all of Ukraine, which is, you know, the size of Texas," Holoviak said.
She said President Biden's new sanctions won't make a difference right away.
"Sanctions take time. I think what is probably of more immediate effect is the movement of our troops to Poland," Holoviak said. "So I think that is more of a message, which is, 'do not cross this line, NATO is waiting.'"
President Biden promised not to send U.S. Troops into Ukraine, but Holoviak is concerned about the bombings closest to the Polish border and its potential impact on national security.
"We will not go into Ukraine, but if American soldiers are injured or wounded and in NATO territory, we are bounded by treaty to respond," she said. "[That] is the scary part."
Her thoughts always return to the people of Ukraine.
"I'm just devastated," she said. "I walked around our university today thinking about how many young people in Ukraine in the state of emergency are not in their college classes today and are taking up arms."
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