BOISE, Idaho — Update: Natasha told KTVB NatashasKitchen.com has raised more than $34,000 for the Samaritan's Purse for Ukraine Aid through the blog's Facebook and Instagram pages.
"Heartbreaking" is how Natasha and Vadim Kravchuk feel as they watch what is happening in Ukraine as the Russian invasion continues.
The Eagle husband and wife, originally from Ukraine, said they have family and friends in the country going without power, running water and have no way of leaving their city because Russians have occupied the area they're in.
"It's just heartbreaking seeing things as people's lives are being torn apart," said Vadim.
"We have a lot of relatives that are throughout Ukraine. There are a lot of relatives that are in the dangerous zones," said Natasha. She added she is thankful they are all still alive.
Hearing negative updates from their family has the couple upset because they have a lot of pride and love for their home country.
"It's been really difficult to watch what's happening," Natasha said. "I mean we think the Ukrainian people are amazing people and it's a great country. This is not the kind of publicity we want it to be getting."
Natasha immigrated from Ukraine to the United States in 1989 with her family of seven as refugees. Vadim and his family of seven moved with his grandparents to the U.S. from Ukraine in 1995.
Years later the two met in Boise at a church event.
"It wasn't until after we started getting to know each other that we learned his dad and my mom grew up in the same village," Natasha said. She added the Ukrainian community is tightly-knit in the Treasure Valley.
While they've both lived in the U.S. for most of their lives, the husband and wife still want to honor their country throughout their daily lives. For them, there's no better way to do so than through food.
"Ukrainian cuisine is big in our home," Natasha said. "Just creating those traditions that we grew up with, those meals that memorable growing up."
They've been able to turn those traditions into a successful food blog, NatashasKitchen.com, which has been able to attract millions of followers from around the world.
"We share a lot of Ukrainian recipes, recipes that we enjoyed growing up, so it is very near and dear to our hearts," Natasha said.
As the invasion of Ukrainian continues, they've been holding their Ukrainian pride closer to their hearts. They continue to pray for the safety of family, some of who are at the frontlines.
"My cousin lives there and he's pretty much the same age as myself, he has also two kids and he's been drafted," Vadim said.
They are able to stay in touch with family, but it's mostly negative news and they said they feel helpless watching and hearing about thousands of miles away.
"It just rained the other day so they're collecting rainwater to have enough to bathe themselves since they haven't bathed in about a week," Vadim said.
For Natasha, following what's been happening really hits close to home being a refugee and knowing the history between Russia and Ukraine.
"We see the videos and photos of people at the border and you can't help but see your family," Natasha said. She added her grandparents survived Holodomor, the Ukrainian famine-genocide in 1932-1933.
"Millions died because they were being starved out."
The Kravchuk's said they know people in Ukraine want their country to remain a sovereign state. Natasha said what Ukrainians are fighting to keep their freedom.
"I mean Ukrainian people are definitely a strong people and seeing them be so united in this time is really inspiring," Natasha said.
They say people can do two things to help support the people of Ukraine; pray and give. Natasha said there are loads of organizations helping aid the country during this invasion. One she recommends is Samaritans Purse, an international relief organization that has deployed disaster response specialists to help refugees in neighboring countries.
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