Ukrainian-Americans Struggle to Contact Loved Ones in Ukraine

In village streets, city basements and train stations, the faces of Ukrainians reflected the steep emotional toll a week into Russian's invasion of their country.

As Russia's pulling troops closer to Ukraine's capital, life in Kyiv has moved underground.

Some of the city's metro stations stopped operating and were turned into shelters to accommodate people who fear shooting and shelling on the streets.

Meanwhile, overseas relatives of the sheltered Ukrainians struggle with overwhelming fear and guilt as they try to connect via text messages and other electronic means.

Hanna Tverdokhlib, 37, a Ukrainian immigrant living near Los Angeles spends her days sending text messages to dozens of sheltered family and friends, checking on their welfare.

"I'm trying to stay connected with my relatives," said Tverdokhlib. "It's painful to be with such a big fear about their life."

She tries to stay calm when her texts aren't immediately returned. But the psychological toll and tears that follow are bearing on her.

"What can we say? You know, we feel even some- you know- some I don't know how to explain it, some shame, like we are safe here," Tverdokhlib explained from her apartment in Long Beach, California. "We are safe here in the US. But it's not easier. Your mind can just explode."

After over a week of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia continued its attacks on crowded Ukrainian cities and a 40-mile (64-kilometer) convoy of hundreds of Russian tanks and other vehicles advanced slowly on Kyiv, a city of nearly 3 million people.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's goals are not clear, but the West has warned he may be seeking to topple the government and install a Kremlin-friendly regime.

Kyiv's hospitals have also moved their patients in the basement.

Women with newborn babies and ones expected to go into labour are now staying underground in one of Kyiv's maternity's hospitals.

Thousands of Ukrainians have been fleeing the city through the sprawling railway complex. The United Nations said more than 870,000 people have fled Ukraine in a mounting refugee crisis on the European continent.

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