The Facebook group that's a lifeline for Russian speakers in the US to share real talk about the war in Ukraine

• The Facebook group Russian Insider has over 17,000 members.
• A hub for Russian speakers in the US, they share news and updates of the community.

Eugene Shkolnikov browses the Facebook group Russian Insider whenever he can find the time between his job and looking after his five month old baby. But when he does scroll through, he told Insider he finds it enlightening.

When he first joined, people would share articles and personal experiences about what was going on in the Russian speaking community in the United States. It was a group for anything from business to personal connections.

But since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February, the group has become a lifeline for members to share their thoughts and feelings about the devastation they are witnessing. It's a place where people post videos of protests against the conflict, and talk candidly about what their family and friends in both Russia and Ukraine are currently going through.

"It's not really one sided," said Shkolnikov, saying that there are differing opinions, and no set agenda for the thoughts people share. "On the Russian Insider, the different types of Russian speaking people participate in conversations and you can see what's going on, on both sides."

Shkolnikov is originally from Kharkiv — a city in northeast Ukraine that Russian forces have heavily bombed during the invasion — though moved to the US when he was 17. He said it feels strange watching the conflict unfolding in the city he grew up in, where he still has many friends. Shkolnikov, 46, remembers growing up in the Soviet Union and not thinking of the differences in nationalities within it.

"I'm a Russian speaking Jew that was born in Ukraine and I would not know the difference between Russian and Ukrainian," he said. "It's weird, because those nationalities, they're brothers."

Russian Insider has over 17,000 members, and in addition to conversations about the war it has become a hub for fundraising and activism to support people displaced in the conflict. In one recent post, for instance, a Russian Insider member said hundreds of boxes of medical supplies, food, clothing, baby wipes, and more had been collected through donation efforts from the community.

"At a time when we are being divided more each day, it is a true blessing to experience the true giving nature of all people," the member wrote.

In response to the division they are seeing, Shkolnikov said the Russian speaking community in the US has been increasingly united. Shkolnikov said that doesn't mean everyone agrees — far from it. The Russian Insider group is full of posts about why the war started, and who's to blame. But he says there's also a sense that everyone comes to these discussions with respect.

Michael Levitis, the founder of Russian Insider, told Insider he started the group eight years ago as a place for people in the Russian American community to exchange information and network. Levitis is a former Brooklyn nightclub owner who pleaded guilty to fraud in 2014, but remains a vocal member of the Russian-American community and hosts a Russian language radio show. He's glad to have seen it evolve into a place for raising money and offering services to help those trapped in the conflict and the millions of refugees who have fled Ukraine.

"We are against the war," Levitis said. "We are against bloodshed, against bombing of people and civilians."

Russian Insider holds weekly seminars with attorneys to help people who have been suddenly uprooted, as well as interviews with people on the ground in Ukraine. In one interview, Levitis spoke with Vadym Ivchenko, a member of Ukrainian parliament, live from a bomb shelter in Kyiv, who told Levitis' listeners which organizations they should be supporting.

Immigration Attorney Yakov Spektor, who has taken part in interviews and seminars on Russian Insider, told Insider there is "so much demand for information" right now, particularly from Ukrainian refugees trying to make their way to the US or other countries.

President Joe Biden recently announced the US would take in 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, and Spektor was "inundated" with calls — but red tape and delays mean that there's no immediate timeline for when those refugees may actually gain asylum in the US. Social media groups like Russian Insider have risen up to try and give people resources and mobilize to help refugees, Spektor said.

"They're providing resources to people trying to figure out how to bring people here faster, or get people like me involved who suggest how to navigate the system," Spektor said. "That's what Russian Insider and other groups have been pretty busy doing since the war started."

People in the group also discuss how Russian businesses in the US have been affected since the conflict began. Some staff at Russian restaurants in New York say they have faced harassment and vandalism, despite their establishments sometimes actually being owned by Ukrainians. One business in Brooklyn's Brighton Beach, took the word "Russia" out of its name and changed it to "international" after the owner felt the word Russia had become divisive.

Russian Insider has also grappled with its own identity related to the war. When Russia first invaded Ukraine, Levitis faced calls to change the group's name. At first he thought it might be a good idea, but a poll of the members suggested otherwise. Being proud of their heritage, he said, does not mean supporting the war.

"We're not gonna change the name, because of anti-Russian sentiment," he said. "Let's use the group for good."