'We Have Little Children With Adult Faces' Ukrainians Speak About Life During War, Help For Youngest Victims
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- While Ukraine has so far been able to stop Russia from taking control of the capital, Kyiv, many living in cities to the east are nervous.
Oksana and Dmitry spoke to WJZ from the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, home to almost 1 million people.
The two have been helping distribute funds donated from Baltimore. At this point, they have no intention of leaving.
While there have been some air strikes, Dnipro has largely been spared — for now — but war is on their doorstep.
"We do get air raid warnings every day. For example, yesterday we had three of them and each one lasted for two hours — maybe more," Oksana said. "As soon as you get a notification, you have to head to a shelter. I do hope we never experience what it is like when your apartment building or house is hit. But they are crazy."
Dmitry described what is happening in his country as "just like a bad, bad dream, and I hope to wake up and say, 'Oh, it was just a bad dream.'"
Oksana has received messages of support from friends on Facebook she has not seen in years and some she has never met. "We would like to thank people in the United States because from the very first minute, I received messages. Right away you get messages of support, and it really matters."
Both have helped refugees who are streaming in from horrifying conditions to their east, including those who fled the devastated city of Mariupol.
"They say, 'Close your eyes' to the children because they're driving through the parts of human bodies," Dmitry said. "Now you have seen what is Satan."
Oksana talked about volunteer centers in Dnipro. "We feed them. Take care of them. They usually stay overnight. Then, they head west. We take care of displaced people, and there are too many."
It is the children of war that haunt her. "Today we have little children but with adult faces. They have these adult expressions on their faces. It's really sad. We need to let kids be kids."
She talked about the support they are getting from Baltimore. Oksana recently helped with a donation of money that was designated to buy supplies for new mothers.
She said she had to go to many stores but managed to find items like baby food that are in short supply. Oksana said the director of one pre-natal center was overjoyed at what she was able to obtain and told her, "If you see any of this kind please bring more."
Oksana prepared the care packages with special messages. "We translated and put the names of those mothers from the Baltimore community. When you experience this kind of reality, it's really important to know that people care."
Dmitry said the support lets them know "we are not alone. Life is not finished."
"You never know what to expect, and it's kind of the reality of our life right now," Oksana said. "It's so sad that the reality is like from the movies. It's real war. We are a peaceful nation, and we just want this war to end—to escape this nightmare."
