Poland: News

News Feed

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 Poland

Poland is a country in Central Europe, covering 312,696 square kilometers (120,733 square miles) with a population of approximately 38 million. Warsaw is Poland’s capital city. Poland shares a border with Ukraine, and has provided over $4 billion in military aid since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Poland hosts over 1 million Ukrainian refugees and serves as the primary logistics hub for Western military supplies.

Read more

News Feed