THE WOODLANDS, Texas — As the war in Ukraine rages on 6,000 miles from The Woodlands, Dr. Kateryna Komarovskiy, a native Ukrainian, watches helplessly.
“I want it to stop,” says Dr. Komarovskiy. “It’s a nightmare. A lot of my family and friends… we can’t sleep at night.”
Dr. Komarovskiy is an endocrinologist with Memorial Hermann. She has lived in the U.S. since 2002, however, she grew up in Kyiv during the time of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
“It was a terrifying experience,” Komarovskiy remembers. “I will always remember that I needed to move away from my family for 9 months.”
She was sent away to protect herself from the radiation that devastated surrounding areas.
Decades later, the future of her country is once again uncertain as Russia continues its assaults.
On Wednesday a maternity hospital in Kyiv was devastated by an airstrike. Komarovskiy reacted to the images she’s been seeing from her friends who are doctors, still treating people through the war.
“How can they [the Russians] possibly do this? They know that this was not a military facility. And somebody still decided to do it.”
Many of Komarovskiy’s friends are doctors working in Kyiv. Komarovskiy says they’ve been in constant contact. They tell her they’re desperate for basic medical supplies like tourniquets and painkillers.
“They are terrified," she said. "They work very long hours.”
The humanitarian crisis continues to worsen across Ukraine. Aid like food, water, and medical supplies are in high demand. For ways to donate, click here.
For two weeks thousands of civilians have taken shelter in the subways under Kyiv, leaving to find food or water before returning to safety.
“We see videos of people playing musical instruments in the subway just to calm others down.
Heartbreaking images of families huddled with children have swept the internet, including a video of a young girl singing a song from Disney’s Frozen.
Dreams of a happily ever seem too far away right now for the people of Ukraine.
“I never thought I would see something like this happening in Ukraine again,” Komarovskiy said.