Vyhivska was living in Zvyagel, near Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, and Kurochkin in St. Petersburg in Russia. Despite the seemingly insurmountable distance, the couple didn’t give up.
Mariia Vyhivska, from Ukraine, right, and Iurii Kurochkin, from Russia, are spotted together in Belgrade, Serbia.“It wasn’t hard,” said Vyhivska, smiling. “I wasn’t afraid, not at all. I am happy. Because I am loved.”“It was a year ago … I started to organize my international passport, to visit Mariia in Ukraine.” recalled Kurochkin. “I finished it in January, and as you know, the war started in February and it crashed all our plans.
The answer turned out to be Serbia, a fellow-Slavic nation in the Balkans that remained friendly with Russia, and where Russians could enter without a visa. Serbia’s capital Belgrade was where Vyhivska and Kurochkin met for the first time. Before they made it work, Mariia had moved to Czechia soon after the war started while Iurii stayed at home in Russia — though — they didn’t give up.Life together hasn’t been without its problems. Last July pro-Russian extremists in Serbia drew a huge Z sign — a symbol of Russia’s invasion — on their building and assailants broke into their flat. They were also attacked by a group of hooligans, Kurochkin said.
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