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A Colorado man felt called to help in Ukraine but found more than just a volunteer opportunity.
DENVER — In less than two years, Shaughn Varnell’s entire life has changed. And yet some things remain the same.
Wednesday, he was finishing a shift at an automotive repair garage in Kharkiv, where he now lives in Eastern Ukraine.
“This is the place I work out of to fix cars for the military and for volunteers,” Varnell said. “When I came here, it was hard for me to find work working on cars. A struggle. Now I can’t believe that was ever the way, I have 6 cars lined up right now waiting for repairs, we’re busy all the time.”
Two years ago, Varnell was working as mechanic for luxury vehicles in Denver. He’d been following reports of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine closely, and felt called to help in some way. At the time, he figured, what’s there to lose?
“I’m single. I don’t have kids. So I’m kind of an ideal person for that,” he said back in March of 2022. “Hopefully I can help them repair military vehicles, repair ambulances. Whatever they need. Ill fill sandbags and pass out food if they need me to.”
When Varnell first arrived in Ukraine, he spent about a month in the western part of the country, in Lviv, volunteering. A few months later, he made his way east to Kharkiv.
“About a year ago, I found this place, a shop… the owner had left Ukraine and gone to Germany when the war started. And there was another guy working here, doing work for military. I started volunteering here,” he said.
“A lot of people don’t know this — Ukrainian soldiers have to pay for their own cars, their own repairs. The way the system works, there’s not a lot of money to go around. That’s why we do volunteer work to try to keep them on the road because its vital.”
Varnell found the kind of work he was looking for. He also found so much more.
“When I came to Kharkiv, after a while, I met a beautiful wonderful Ukrainian woman and about 6 months ago we got married. In October, she gave birth to a son. I have a little Ukrainian son! And I’m just absolutely thrilled about it,” he said. “It gives me another great reason to be here, to help in the fight for Ukraine.”
Varnell said his wife, Olena, baby son Viktor, and his stepson Miroslav have created a beautiful little family amid the chaos of the war around them.
“I know a lot of people probably hear bad things about Kharkiv in the news, its under attack a lot,” he said. “There’s rockets falling every few days, but luckily we found a house in the suburbs so the house is relatively safe. And I can keep the family somewhat out of harm’s way. But again, its wartime, and… there’s a lot unknown.”
Varnell said he’s in the process of buying the garage where he works now. Using a play on words in Ukrainian, “Stoyaimo,” – or “We Stand” – he has started a fundraiser to help pay for ongoing car repairs for volunteers, medics, and military members.
Two years ago, Ukraine was once a calling. Now, it is his home.
“The spirit of the people, they keep fighting no matter what. Kharkiv is an amazing city. A lot of the population has returned despite the constant attacks,” he said. “This whole time I’ve lived here during the war – you see people out in the streets sweeping, in the parks they’re planting flowers. Keeping the trash bins clean and everything. There’s this beautiful idea that we’re not going to let this war change who we are as a people, and I love that, I love that.”
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