There, in an airport on the other side of the world, Vladyslav Gargun and Violetta Gruzdeva saw each other for the first time. They had previously met online and got to know each other during the summer of 2021, but not like this. Not face to face. And not as the world was rapidly changing around them. But at that moment, when they finally shared the same space, love took over, and the world stopped for them.
“For that moment it was the love at first sight,” Vladyslav said in broken English of the day he met Violetta, the love of his life.
He’s from Ukraine. She’s from Russia. And like any great love story, theirs comes with adversity — in this case, it came in the form of a war that erupted between their home countries soon after they met, forcing them to leave everything they know behind to be together.
Now they reside in South McAllen and live as refugees in the United States. But considering the war they escaped back home, to say they have a shot at living happily ever after wouldn’t quite do their story justice.
LOVE AND WAR
Many lives were turned upside down earlier this year when Russia invaded Ukraine, and the young couple was not the exception, considering where they were from nearly stopped them from being together.
Vladyslav and Violetta, 25 and 24, first met online and began talking in June 2021, but it wasn’t until months later when they finally laid eyes on each other. The couple met in person in the island country of Cyprus near Turkey, where they spent a week together and fell more and more in love as each day went by.
When that week ended they had to temporarily part ways, but it wasn’t for long. In fact, a few months later they returned to Turkey where they would spend two months together.
After dating for the better part of a year, they knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. Before they could get married, however, they had to get through the toughest part of any relationship — meeting the parents.
With the pressure rising between both countries it made it extremely difficult for them to travel to each other’s homes. However, in determination to meet their families they decided to travel to Georgia, where Vladyslav would meet Violetta’s mother for the first time.
On her way to Georgia, Vladyslav’s mother stepped out of her Ukrainian home that evening excited to see her son and Violetta, he said. Unbeknownst to her, it was the last time she’d see her homeland before it was ravaged by war.
“My mom came 23 of February, she left Ukraine the 23 in the evening and she was in Georgia at 1 a.m. … five hours before the war started — the Russian invasion started. My mom was very lucky,” Vladyslav said, referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began that day.
Vladyslav added that he spoke to his brother the day Russia invaded and heard of the hardships they endured as Russian soldiers breached the city of Kyiv. His brother, friends, neighbors and other residents slept in the basements of their homes in fear as their once beautiful city was attacked.
The couple along with Vladyslav’s mother remained in Georgia in hopes that the war would come to an end soon, he said. Vladyslav’s mother would later return to Ukraine due to health issues that made travel difficult.
Growing increasingly concerned that Violetta’s Russian citizenship would complicate matters wherever they went in Europe, the two decided to marry without their families present in hopes it would make it easier to travel.
That idea would soon be put to the test as Vladyslav said he and Violetta needed to move after the cost of living in Georgia became too expensive. An apartment that once cost them $150 had increased to $500 to $700, he explained.
In hopes of finding a cheaper place to live they moved to Turkey but were only allowed to stay for two months, so they began to look for a place that would allow them to stay together longer.
“In Turkey we started to look for some opportunities to go somewhere and be able to stay more than a few months, because now we don’t know when it (the war) will be over,” Vladyslav said.
The U.S. and United Kingdom were options, but the UK was only providing assistance for Ukrainian refugees and not those from Russia, he said. This made it more difficult for the couple to travel together.
“Even if she is my wife she holds Russian passports … She couldn’t go and she can’t go even now to Western Europe because she has no visa,” Vladyslav explained, adding that finding a place where they could both stay proved to be a difficult task. “Europe provides help for Ukrainians but they don’t provide help for Russians even if she is my wife.
“The only way for us to be together was the United States of America.”
COMING TO AMERICA
At first the couple thought they could travel to the U.S. by crossing through Mexico, among other options. Then, on April 21, President Biden introduced the Uniting for Ukraine program, and a pathway to the U.S. became more pronounced for Vladyslav and Violetta.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Ukrainians are eligible for the program, which grants humanitarian parole in the U.S. for up to two years for them and non-Ukranian immediate family members, if they lived in Ukraine as of Feb. 11 and have a sponsor in the United States. Public health requirements such as vaccinations are also part of the process, as well as rigorous “biometric and biographic screening and vetting security checks.”
After completing the process and finding a sponsor in Hidalgo County, Vladyslav and Violetta made their way to the U.S.
Vladyslav came first and attempted to speak to authorities about securing Violetta’s travel authorization. Although those attempts were initially unsuccessful, she did eventually receive that authorization and made her way to the U.S. on July 31, along with their beloved German Spitz, Mers.
With the help of the program Vladyslav can also apply for a work permit, a Social Security number and food assistance.
He hopes to receive his permit soon and begin working here. With the money he earns he hopes to help support his family back in Ukraine.
“Only the U.S. help us and we are very thankful for that, because now we have the opportunity to be together, to be with our dog, to have a calm life,” Vladyslav said with gratitude.
These days, Vladyslav and Violetta are enjoying their time in the Rio Grande Valley. They’re making repairs to the house they’re now calling home, and are hopeful of the life ahead of them as residents of South Texas.
