COLUMBUS, Ohio — For Daryna and Oksana Zaitseva, it's been one year of watching their home country crumble.
“It definitely doesn't feel real,” said Daryna. "A lot of memorable places that were very special to me and my family are gone."
Worse than the loss of structures, they've lost many loved ones. Daryna's friend from childhood, died when Russia took control of Mariupol. The city they once called home.
They have support from fellow members of the Ukrainian community here in Columbus, like Natalia Lebedin, who is the president of the Ukrainian Cultural Association. Right now they are raising funds to purchase and send medical supplies to Ukraine.
"It's a very emotional subject matter for me. My own family [members] were refugees,” Lebedin said.
For Daryna and her mom, Oksana, home is now here, in central Ohio. Oksana owned her own business back in Ukraine. Daryna, a Capital University student, was able to help her mother, brother, and grandparents come here to start their lives over. Her father had to stay behind.
"It feels like everything you worked for is destroyed and those years of your life are gone, life is completely erased. Just no good anymore,” said Daryna. “But my mom is very hopeful because God gave her another chance a second chance to start over and maybe accomplish something different in a better way."
This upcoming Friday, Feb. 24, will mark one year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There's an event planned to show support for Ukraine early Friday evening outside the Statehouse. It's called 365 days of defending freedom.