'People die every day' | 24-year-old Ukrainian woman describes horrors of war to Louisvillians

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A young Ukrainian woman is sharing the hellish reality of war.

From near constant drone attacks to her father being pulled off a bus and beaten, Kristina Synia is trying to make a difference and help the people who are still living in a war-torn region.

The 24-year-old shared photos with WDRB News of burned and boarded up buildings, blood-stained public transportation and bodies in the streets.

“In Kherson, people die every day,” she said.

Kherson, Ukraine, was once a thriving river city. It’s where Synia was born and raised and graduated college. To her, it’s home.

“It's very scary. It's very dangerous. You can't leave. It's just people have everyday one question. ‘Will I live tomorrow or no?’ Because it's very dangerous and because you are hungry,” Synia said.

Russia invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago on February 24, 2022.

In a room full of people at Louisville’s Northeast Regional Library, Synia described how life there is now full of terror. She said Russia has taken everything from the people of Kherson.

“Car, homes, life, a voice, freedom, health and life.”

And she distinctly remembers the 81st day of the war.

“Russian occupiers stopped the bus. My dad... take my dad out into the street. Take off all clothes. And many blows to the body with machine gun butt,” Synia said.

He's now left with serious injuries for the rest of his life.

During the war, Synia joined forces with a northern Kentucky man, Benjamin Dusing, delivering aid to the people of Ukraine.

“All the things that we have here in the U.S., we take for granted. The most basic things, they don’t have. And so it made me very grateful to have those things and I think gratitude is an action word,” Dusing said.

His nonprofit organization, World Aid Runners, helps the poor and elderly who are unable to leave. It provides basic food, medicine and hygiene products. But they say hundreds of drone strikes a day can make it difficult and dangerous.

“Drones. Very small, very quiet. You don't have... you can't have react(ion),” Synia said.

“These are small first person view drones. You can't see them. You can't hear them. They fly too high and they simply hunt civilians every day and kill them. It is a veritable blood bath,” Dusing said.

Most of the population fled the area, but those who are left are looking for support and something money can’t buy.

“Love and hope,” Synia said.

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