SPOKANE, Wash. —
Spokane resident Tanya Willard was born in Ukraine. In 2005, she moved to Washington to give her children an opportunity at a better future.
Her father and two sisters are still living in Ukraine. Willard said she can't bring herself to watch news coverage of a war unfolding in her county anymore.
“It’s very very difficult to go back to sleep," Willard said. "It’s just thoughts running through your mind. You are afraid for your family every single day.”
At the start of the war, Willard said she called her father every day for two weeks. When she asked how he was doing, he told her he was "surviving day by day."
“It’s nerve wracking for me and nerve wracking for them as well because what to do?," Willard said. "What do I do when it starts hitting? Because they ran away from that once before. Apparently not far enough.”
Willard's family lived through the unrest of the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution and were pushed further inward to the country.
Her family chose not to leave because they assumed if something to that degree happened again, it would happen on Russia's side of the border.
Now, war is just miles away from Willard's family and friends.
Supporting her through this time are her Spokane neighbors. Willard said even strangers have expressed their condolences.
“I see a lot of people stepping up to the plate and helping, regardless what help it is," Willard said. "It’s not necessarily financial help. It could be just calling and saying I’m sorry, I love you, we’ll all support you and we’ll pray for your family kind of thing.”
Spokane residents have organized rallies, fundraisers and care packages.
She said the Russian community has been vocal as well.
“Some of them feel bad for what their nation put another nation through,” Willard said. "They've said to me like 'please don't hate me,' and I can't hate them. I say it’s not like you sat there next to the president and make that decision to do what he’s doing.”
Looking to the future, Willard hopes her country will find the strength to forgive and move past this conflict.
“I hope that some day the people will be able to forgive to whoever is causing that and just to move and live their life and rebuild,” Willard said.