My grandma, Elena, was born in 1957, after World War II ended. She was born in Ukraine, in Dnepropetrovsk. Her mother would talk about how hard the times were when the fascists bombed Kyiv, Dnepropetrovsk, the entirety of Ukraine, and the USSR. The males in her family went to the front lines to fight the Germans. The women stayed in the shelter of their house, which had a deep basement where they could hide from the German fascists and the bombs.

My grandma came to America with my family in 2016, while her sisters stayed in Ukraine—Olena, a physics professor, and Olga, a pediatrician. In a civilized time, who would have thought that there would be bombing again? This time it was Russia itself which was bombing Ukraine. Brothers against brothers, Slavic killing Slavic. Ukraine had fewer soldiers, less advanced weapons, and no preparation. However, they had something Russia did not: bravery, soul strength and a lot of love.

Russians couldn’t take Kyiv and they couldn’t weaken Ukrainians. The world was shocked at Ukraine’s heroism and bravery for their protection and love of their country. Many Ukrainians who lived safe, happy lives in other countries moved back to protect their country, with many dying. My grandma’s two sisters were invited to stay with friends in Poland for protection. However, both of them said they wouldn’t leave their country or their people.

The most shocking thing was that they lived in their deep basement, where they hid from the bombs, the basement that was made for World War II, when their mother hid there. But they weren’t alone. With many women in the basement at night, sacrificing sleep, they spent the night sewing socks and clothes for soldiers. People this strong will never be defeated. If they don’t back down, why should I?

Liza Davitaia, age 16, The School of Los Angeles