CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Andriy Kovalskiy’s daughter and her family stayed in Ukraine as long as they could, then escaped into neighboring Slovakia shortly after the Russian invasion began.

Kovalskiy, an Austin Peay State University professor who is from Ukraine, had been scheduled to speak at the Kiwanis Club of Clarksville at about the same time, but he had to reschedule to fly to Europe to help his family.

Andriy Kovalskiy speaks at the Kiwanis Club of Clarksville meeting on April 5, 2022. (Lee Erwin)

In a rescheduled appearance at Kiwanis on Tuesday, he said his daughter Dariya, her husband and their three children were welcomed by Slovakian residents. Kovalskiy met them there to help in any way he could. The family spent three weeks there before Dariya’s husband was able to contact a friend and secure a manufacturing job in Ireland, which is where they are now staying.

Kovalskiy is hopeful that Ukraine can fight off the invasion.

“There are 245,00 regular Army soldiers who are well trained, disciplined, and highly motivated, and there are 1 million in reserves. So there are people to fight, but there is no equipment to fight, Russia has much more sophisticated equipment,” he said.

Andriy Kovalskiy with granddaughters Melania and Adriana. (Contributed)

Kovalskiy said it’s not a war about land, it’s a colonial war. Russia wants to get back all of the territories they lost, and they started with Ukraine. Kovalskiy said one of the most important reasons is that Ukraine is the breadbasket of the world.

He displayed a slide with showing Ukraine ranks first in the world for the export of sunflowers and sunflower oil, second for barley production, third largest producer and fourth largest exporter of corn, and fifth largest exporter of wheat.

Kovalskiy has been in the U.S. since 2004 and has been in Clarksville for the past 10 years, becoming a U.S. citizen in 2015.

Andriy Kovalskiy’s grandchildren after their arrival in Ireland. (Contributed)

But he has had trouble getting his daughter and her family into the U.S. He said doesn’t understand why U.S. government restrictions won’t allow his family to come to America, even as visitors.

“I strongly believe that if the president of the United States announced that 100,000 Ukrainians will be welcome to the U.S., I believe that children of U.S. citizens should be also allowed. Otherwise, I cannot understand who will come,” Kovalskiy said.