Nataliya Williams, who moved to Canada 12 years ago, says she has a lot of family in Donetsk, which is in southeastern Ukraine not far from Kyiv.
She says the Russians started the war very early in the morning.
“Between four and five a.m. when all people were sleeping. Putin started to strike aerodromes, airports, and military bases in Ukraine but some missiles went to house and buildings. People wake up and little kids were scared, and it was horrible for everyone.”
Williams says the Ukrainian people tried to be well organized.
“They started to go to volunteer army. President Zelensky made a law that everyone who wants to protect our country can show a Ukrainian passport and get a weapon. Last night because all those brave people, Ukrainian army and Ukrainian civilian people, even without any military training, they were under serious attack with Russians.”
Williams says even some older women, who can’t go to the army and are sitting in basements hiding from artillery attack, are making molotov cocktails.
“They are heroes, and how you call soldiers who came to my land to kill my family, to kill my friends, to take out Ukrainian government. How will you call them ? Are they thieves, are they burglars, are they killers ? Yes, yes, terrorists ? yes.”
Williams says Putin is telling the world that he has to do it because Ukraine has a Nazi government, which she calls a lie, saying that the Ukrainian nation is a multi cultural country that elected a President.
She says it is Putin who is similar to Hitler.
Williams adds that this was actually started in 2014 with the invasion of Crimea.
” It was called Ukrainian crisis. Truly, the world waited too long. They gave too much time and power to Putin. And when American intelligence started to say Russia is moving army close to Crimean border. Unfortunately, our country wasn’t very well prepared because NATO didn’t want to take Ukraine to their union.”
Williams says right now her family is OK, but she says it is difficult to keep in touch with them and she is stressed.