Reflecting on escaping Ukraine as war enters 3rd year

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - A Colorado Springs group called Ukraine Power sends humanitarian aid to Ukrainians. Their program director actually fled Ukraine herself two and a half years ago.

Yana Malyk tells KRDO13 she left in the middle of the night with her two young daughters. She says it was terrifying but she felt like she had no other choice. Now that she's built her life here in Colorado Springs she's doing everything she can to help those still suffering in Ukraine, including members of her own family. 

"I had everything in Ukraine. Even if I moved to Ukraine, west of Ukraine, I still have, like, a job and everything," shared Yana Malyk.

She left it all behind for her family's future. Malyk left in the middle of the night with her daughters and met up with a man she had only met once before on Zoom. He was holding one yellow and one blue balloon at the airport.

"I always was thinking about my girls, especially when I saw when my older started to get, silver hairs from the air alarms, every day. I understood I could not continue life here because I can't lose my children," explained Malyk.

Air alarms continue to blare daily in Ukraine as Malyk awaits messages from family in occupied territory. 

"My mother is in, west of Ukraine, and my, parents in law still in occupied territory. It's hard because we, we don't have a connection with them. They have a chance two times a month to go to another city to send us a text that they're still alive. It's hard. It's breaking my heart," said Malyk.

With the weight of missing family on her heart, she tries to do everything she can to help those displaced in Ukraine. She communicates with families and teachers there to see how she can help. Malyk says they write up a list of supplies and send it back to her and the Power Ukraine group.

"I really want to help all these refugees. All these people moved from occupied territory because I'm the same. I can feel them," explained Malyk.

The family that took in Yana Malyk, her husband, and her two kids run Ukraine Power. Whitney Luckett is the pro bono CEO and she says together they’ve raised nearly 400 thousand dollars to help the devastated community in Ukraine.