I’m Ukrairian by birth and background (we left when I was 18), My family living there (uncle, aunties, cousins and their children - 2 cousins are currently serving in Kiev area), their families stayed in the home towns, hiding in the bomb shelters.

I was born in the Donbas area of Ukraine and spent my early life in the Western Zakarpattia Oblast until moving to Canada as a young teenager with my parents and little brother.

All other family members (aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews) are now stranded in central Ukraine with no means of escape, praying quietly in their homes and hiding whenever the sirens warn them. Some of our family friends have been traveling for many days trying to get to Poland and safety.

I now live in New York with my husband and two young daughters and my heart is breaking for the innocent civilians, displaced families, young mothers and children hiding in the bomb shelters, new mothers giving birth in subway stations, and foreign students for whom it’s too dangerous to evacuate.

My morning starts with calling my family - while the phone is ringing, I pray that I’ll hear the familiar voices of people I love. With each new report I find myself praying for peace, for the safety of ordinary people just like us, for the children that may never see their fathers and grandparents again.