NAMPA, Idaho — Watching what is happening in Ukraine unfold thousands of miles away on TV, 84-year-old Mila Kicha's heart breaks. Kicha, her daughter Alla Aguilar and her grandson Tom Kanon, are all from Ukraine and still have family and friends there, who they worry about.
Aguilar said it is especially hard on her mother, because she has been through something similar before.
"I am an old person, so this is my second time when Kyiv was occupied by an enemy," Kicha said.
Kicha was only 3 years old when she was evacuated from her home during World War II. Her father died in battle trying to keep Kyiv from being overtaken by Hitler and his army.
"Now she has her cousin in Mykolaiv, which is being completely surrounded by enemies," Aguilar said. "She feels horrible."
Kicha and Aguilar both said there have been tensions between Russia and Ukraine for years. The two of them said they expected something like this could happen, but always hoped it wouldn't.
"I'm watching videos on Facebook of my friends and people over there. People are standing in front of tanks and they're pushing them with their hands," Aguilar said about how the people of Ukrainian are defending their country.
Aguilar said the Russian government is spreading disinformation about what their soldiers are doing in Ukraine. She said it angers her because Ukrainian civilian lives are being destroyed.
"Like Kharkiv, it's almost gone," Aguilar said. "It's the second-largest city in Ukraine -- I don't understand."
Although Kanon moved to the U.S. when he was 1 years old with his mother as refugees in 1992, he said he has always felt connected to Ukraine. Kanon has been able to visit his home country a number of times growing up and even spent a few months in Ukraine while in college in 2016, teaching Ukrainian children English.
He said his heart hurts for the country, but especially for his grandmother.
"I know it's the most stress for her reliving what is similar to World War II," Kanon said. "It's just an awful thing to think of."
Kicha and Aguilar said Ukrainian people are fighters. They add Ukraine has been able to hold their own on the ground, but need help in the sky and are calling for a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Without the restriction, Aguilar said she believes the destruction in her homeland will continue.
"But on the ground, we will fight him," Kicha said. "We will resist and we will say glory to Ukraine and our heroes glory."
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