Dori: Local woman with family in Ukraine calls it a battle of ‘good vs evil’

As Washingtonians were going to bed Wednesday night, Katya Sedova’s family in Ukraine was waking to earthshattering sounds of Russian missile strikes raining down across the eastern European country.

Born and raised in Ukraine before moving to Seattle, Sedova was in Washington, D.C., for work this week – but connected by phone with loved ones in her homeland.

On Thursday, she joined The Dori Monson Show to talk about the full range of emotions she feels while separated from her family in Kyiv – a target that U.S. Defense Department officials believe Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to “decapitate.”

“My range of emotions is anywhere from feeling surreal, feeling shocked, to feeling extreme anger at the actions of the president of the Russian federation,” Sedova said.

“There was always some inevitability” about a Russian invasion of Ukraine “because of the statements he has made,” Sedova said about Vladimir Putin. “… But (Putin’s) views have gotten far more extreme. Anyone who listened to his speech on Monday, especially if they listened to it in the original Russian, would be shocked how closely it approximates some of the speeches we heard … that led to World War II. It was that kind of extreme rhetoric.”

UW Russia expert: Ukraine could be worst war in Europe since 1945

For those unfamiliar with Ukraine’s history, Sedova wanted Dori’s listeners to know that Ukraine’s struggles have gone on for centuries. Its people “survived Stalin’s genocide,” she said.

“They survived Hitler’s occupation,” she continued. “They fought hard in 1991, and again in 2014 against the corrupt regime that was aligned with Moscow. They choose a direction toward democracy. This time, they defended it with blood.”

“Yes, there is a lot of pride, but there is also an understanding of a long view of history,” she added.

This week’s invasion is “good versus evil, a battle unfolding before our very eyes, a David versus Goliath story,” Sedova said. “Please, please pray for Ukraine.”

Listen to Dori’s entire interview with Katya Sedova:

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from noon – 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.