Facing uncertain futures, Ukrainian refugees in Delta Junction lean on community and faith

Facing uncertain futures, Ukrainian refugees in Delta Junction lean on community and faith

Natali and Oleksii Butenko pray at the Word of Life church in Delta Junction on Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Photo by Valerie Lake/Alaska Public Media) Dashing through prickly spruce trees on his four-wheeler, Oleksii Butenko led his wife and seven children up a trail near Delta Junction in May. The older kids rode their own four-wheelers and dirt bikes, while the little ones held on behind. At a clearing, they turned off their engines and walked up a …

War torn: Refugees at El Camino face an uncertain future

It was icy cold, dark and deathly quiet. At 4 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2022 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 15-year-old Amaliia Ripko stumbled into the living room and found her father huddled in front of the TV. He was watching a U.N. conference discussing a possible Russian attack on her country. Suddenly, the sound of loud explosions shook the apartment. “We had big-ass panoramic windows,” Ripko said. “I saw something weird. I thought, That’s probably not firew…