KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ukraine is celebrating 31 years of independence on Wednesday, but now they’re fighting to preserve their freedom.
It has been been six months since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Nadiia Sukha, a Ukrainian journalist with ties to Kansas City, tells KSHB 41 News she doesn’t want the world to forget about her country.
“The last six months showed world the real face of Russia, but they also showed world real faces of Ukrainians,” Sukha said.
Sukha says the Ukrainian people are resilient and through out bombing, destruction, constant threats and rockets flying overhead, her people continue to fight for their rights.
“To demonstrate to the world and ourselves that we really deserve this independence,” Sukha said.
Sukha says over the last six months, the Ukrainian people have been fighting Russian aggression and trying to save democracy, all while living in rubble and destruction.
“Our soldiers and people who are prisoners of war today. It’s our brothers, our sisters, our children and it’s people of our country," Sukha said. "We fight our right to freedom everyday and we lose our friends our relatives our familiars.”
Sukha shared photos with KSHB 41 News while covering the war.
She too has endured a lot working on the front lines, including losing those close to her.
“Russian soldiers killed a few of my close friends,” Sukha said. “They were young, bright people, they were very creative and I think that they could change Ukraine and change this world, but they wanted to defend their country.”
Sukha said that over the course of the last six months, the people in her country are finding some normalcy.
“It’s become easier to live in Kyiv, because business has started to work here," she said. "Cafes and restaurants are open, people are walking in parks, and you can easily by food."
Sukha stresses that although some days are brighter, she wants to world to know that people of all life are dying, evacuating and being separated from families.
“People think it’s a little country near Russia and even part of Russia, but today we have set opportunity to show we are really a strong independent country,” Sukha said. “People don’t forget about Ukrainians. Our children, our people and soldiers, because it is very important for peace in our world in general.”
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