PULLMAN, Wash. — For days now, Ukrainians have fled their homes to dodge waves of bombs as Russia invades their country.
Meanwhile, a Washington State University (WSU) athlete from Ukraine is watching her hometown turn to ashes from Pullman.
Kateryna Maistrenko is on the Rowing team at WSU. She is living across the world from her family, who live in the heart of Kyiv, Ukraine. Since the invasion, she's been in constant contact with them and she can't help but worry about their safety.
"It's just like a constant fear of like waking up and not knowing if my family and friends are still alive," Maistrenko said.
Photos shared by friends and family in Ukraine show an almost unrecognizable neighborhood.
"There's the kids who just woke up at five in the morning and didn't have their house," she said. "They didn't have anything."
She doesn't even know if her own school or family's apartment is still standing.
"There was like a bomb right by there," Maistrenko said.
Her family fled from their apartment in Kyiv to their country home about 30 minutes from the city.
"We have a big basement and are they able to take a lot of people," she said. "There's like more than like 40 people right now. So my dad just opened the door to some of the kids who don't have families and some of the neighbors who just don't have as big houses "
She said her family keeps the lights off at night and armed themselves with shovels. Still, she's been told nowhere in Ukraine is safe.
"People try to run away from big cities to the small towns, but there's no such thing as a safe place anymore" Maistrenko said.
She prays for her family's safety and the safety of her friends who are fighting for peace in Ukraine. Many of them are only 18 years old.
Meanwhile, she remains positive and hopeful the violence will end and her loved ones will be kept safe.
