BETHESDA, Md. — A Ukrainian-American filmmaker reflects one year since Russia invaded Ukraine. Olha Onyshko was born and raised in Ukraine, but has lived in Maryland for the last two decades.
She's had to watch in horror as civilian war casualties mount.
“The losses are horrible. The war also we know is horrible. The civilian casualties are horrible, but people are still standing, like grinding their teeth," Onyshko said, "I am very proud to call myself Ukrainian."
She said her mom and some of her friends still live in Ukraine, refusing to leave their homes.
“[My mom] was telling me the first time when we saw the bomb flying, we were, you know, pushed to the ground. Now we just know, to because it's like, I guess happened several times… you have to kind of go on your knees and wait," Onyshko said.
They're waiting and fighting, and Onyshko is working to document people who are helping.
Her current focus is a Polish hotel owner who hosted 260 Ukrainian refugees as they had to flee their homes.
“It's being inspired by people like that, who do not give up," she said.
She and others also haven't stopped collecting donations to send overseas. Right now, they're packing up hundreds of boots to send to the frontlines.
“We still, each of us, is doing little efforts," Onyshko said.
It's little efforts to carry on living, even though the war has forever changed life as they knew it.
“We will not fall, so do not fall. Stand up," she said.
One of the groups Onyshko is helping is United Help Ukraine.
They're hosting a two-day event starting at the Boris Nemtsov Plaza Friday night at 7 p.m. The plaza is outside the Russian Embassy, and it was named for the pro-democracy activist and Kremlin critic after he was shot to death in Russia.
Saturday's event will be at the Lincoln Memorial.
Friday morning, demonstrators painted a Ukrainian flag outside the embassy, too, to start the weekend of remembrances.
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