Ukrainians in Grand Rapids worry, hope 1 year later
And good evening everyone, I'm Brian Sterling off the top at 7 o'clock today marks one year since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine which is still standing as a free country. A vigil got underway about an hour ago at the Galette Bridge in Grand Rapids to reflect on the somber anniversary that vigil organized by members of the Ukrainian community here in the city. Ukrainians living in West Michigan have spent their day reflecting on the invasion. News 8's Kyle Mitchell spoke with a woman who moved here just months before it all happened. Valeria Bevzenko-Green is in contact with her friends and family every day. She's confident that Ukraine can win with the support of its allies. The invasion of Ukraine is personal for Valeria Bevzenko-Green.
Sometimes it's really scary and it's hard to realize that everything that's going on there. She moved to Grand Rapids where her husband is from right before the invasion. Some of my friends, they are in army, they are fighting and it's hard because you always worry about them and sometimes it's like weeks or even months when you don't know what's going on with them and where they are, if they are safe, healthy. Valeria has a friend who's been a prisoner of war in Russia since April. The first news that he was alive and he's there, his mom, got when it was July. And it was really emotional. Her friends and family have endured power outages throughout the winter as Russia attacks Ukraine's infrastructure.
Nobody complains a lot because everybody knows that our fighters in the worst position than everybody else. She's from Cherkasse, a city in the center of the country. Her friends and family welcome the news of President Biden's visit with President Zelensky. Everybody was surprised, but I would say happy that President of the U.S. decided to go and actually run to Ukraine. And it was a big deal.
U.S. and its European allies have pledged to send tanks and ammunition. Support Valeria says is crucial. I think a lot of Ukrainians are grateful for help. I hope that military help and humanitarian help will continue. Valeria is classically trained in dance and will soon be teaching children through Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation.
She's unsure when she will be able to visit her family once again. For one side, I'm really excited to go to Ukraine, help people and be around my family, finally hug my parents and my friends. From another side, I'm really scared to see what's happened with people. Leag какое 거�cc pour moi positioned, but we'll talk about that later. Three of the largest cities in Ukraine including Yekaterinburg and Slovakia, Ukraine is one of the 30 states with the largest ottoman problems in 6 foot 5.背 reconzanies, tourists for hardenets.
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