Indonesian women stand by their ‘very good’ Ukrainian husbands despite constant Russian attacks

Despite having their homes ransacked by Russian soldiers, some Indonesian women stay in Ukraine to support their husbands, who they describe as ‘very good men’

Some women also faced problems virtually, as they recounted tales of being bullied online by Indonesians who believe Moscow’s propaganda about the war

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Maya, an Indonesian women, has dinner with her husband and son in Odesa. She is among a growing list of Indonesians staying in Ukraine despite Russia’s invasion of the country. Photo: Maya

Published: 6:30pm, 1 May 2022Updated: 1:45am, 21 Apr 2023

Several Indonesian women living in Ukraine are refusing to leave their adopted homeland despite narrowly escaping bombings, and having rockets fly above their heads. Some of these ladies have also had their homes ransacked by Russian soldiers, but are standing by their Ukrainian husbands whom they proudly declared as “very good men.”

They are among some 21 Indonesian citizens who have remained in Ukraine since the war broke out on February 24 due to “family-related issues,” said Teuku Faizasyah, spokesman for Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Last Saturday in Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa, Maya, a 44-year-old Indonesian was out on the streets with her husband and 3-year-old son when Russia started firing missiles.

Maya is an Indonesia woman living in Ukraine with her husband and son.

“I saw a rocket fly above my head. I don’t know where it landed. It set off all the alarms on the cars parked on the street which went “cuit, cuit, cuit,” Maya told This Week In Asia good-naturedly as she mimicked the sound of the alarms in a phone interview from Odesa.

At least eight people, including a mother and a child, were killed in the Russian missile attack that day in the port city, according to officials and media reports.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Indonesia, Vasyl Hamianin said Odesa, as the main Black Sea port of Ukraine has always been a target. “Russia as a terrorist state does everything it can to destroy [the] global food security system, including [a] blockade of seaports and destruction of transport infrastructure,” said Hamianin.

Still, Maya, who hails from Indramayu in West Java, remains undeterred.