BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Feb. 24th marks one year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and several Ukrainian refugees in Western New York say the weight of it finally hit them while they have no choice but to accept the unknown.
So many were clueless as to what was happening on the day Russia attacked Ukraine, many lost loved ones, and so many left Ukraine to seek refugee.
Among them was 27-year-old Anna Olitska with her two kids.
She tells 7 News reporter Yoselin Person she woke up Friday morning truly accepting the reality of the war in her home country, Ukraine.
“You think it’ll be for a few days, you think it’ll be a few weeks,” she says. “You think it’ll be a few months, now it is one year. Now we understand that it’ll be for years.”
Others like Natalia Logan lost some family members in the war, and she won’t forget the chaos of Feb. 24th.
“War, war in Ukraine,” Natalia Logan says. “I remember this maybe tank from Russia.”
Natalia, Anna, and 50 others gathered to head down to Washington D.C., Saturday, hoping to shine a spotlight on the war.
Meantime, the Ukrainian Congress Executive Board says it’s working with the National Institute to provide a way for Ukrainian refugees who have specialized degrees to be able to use them here in Western New York.
“We have doctors in the United States. Surgeons from Kyviv and that are not qualified to be doctors unless they’re qualified to be technicians,” says Mark Houghton, a Coordinator of Ukrainian Congress Executive Board.
But until the war comes to an end, those who have found a temporary home in WNY are holding on to hope.
“I’ll be very happy when the war stops,” says Natalia Logan. “This is our dream.”
