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Neighbors from hell — How one Oleshky family survived living next to Russian soldiers

For years, the Samarsky family lived in the embattled, occupied Oleshky alongside neighbors no one wished to have — Russian soldiers. Serhii Samarsky, his wife Olha Liutikova, and their son Vladyslav remained in the town after Russian forces occupied it during the early stages of its full-scale invasion until October 2026, when a humanitarian mission, mediated by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, allowed them to be evacuated. Together, they survived relentless air attacks, cold winters without he

Vladyslav Samarsky at the Ukraine-Belarus border in Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Oct. 31, 2026.

About Baltics

The Baltics comprise Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, three NATO member states on the Baltic Sea that together cover 175,000 square kilometers (67,568 square miles). The countries have a combined population of approximately 6 million. The Baltics strongly support Ukraine with military aid, refugee assistance, and international advocacy, and view Russian aggression as an existential threat due to their shared history of Soviet occupation.

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