Anna Iermolaieva was in the Drug Discovery lab when she first heard the news. Russia had invaded her homeland of Ukraine. Despite the monthslong military buildup, she found herself sobbing.

“I called my family immediately, and I felt so helpless and heartbroken. I felt like the loneliest person in the world being so far away from home during a hard time like this,” said Iermolaieva, 19, a research assistant in Dr. Andrii Monastyrskyi’s lab at Moffitt Cancer Center.

Her family is in Kozyatyn, in the central part of Ukraine, which thankfully has not been attacked. Her mom, Tetiana, is the mayor of her hometown, and she’s responsible not just for her own life, but for the lives of many Ukrainians. That includes providing shelter, water, electricity, medical help and more.

Iermolaieva’s older brother tried to enlist in a territorial defense unit, but he was rejected because he had not previously served in the army.

“The army said they’re not just taking people so they can go there and die on their first day. They need people with experience,” Iermolaieva said. “As this war has progressed, I stopped feeling broken, and I started feeling strong and super proud of our army. I’m really happy they are fighting back. They are the real heroes.”

As Russian forces threaten the capital, Kyiv, Iermolaieva’s family has no plans to evacuate. She texts and calls everyone back home “every three seconds.”

“We don’t have a second motherland. We will fight until we win or until we die.”

She is focused on doing what she can from Tampa, raising awareness of the conflict and asking for support to help end the war.

“We would appreciate any kind of help from the American people. We would appreciate donations for our army or help spreading awareness,” Iermolaieva said. “A lot of people lost their kids, siblings, parents, yesterday and today in Ukraine. Mothers are leaving big cities with their kids while fathers stay and fight. A lot of people didn’t wake up yesterday, and a lot won’t wake up today or tomorrow.

“War is horrible and really scary. I only saw those kinds of things in the movies. When I saw rockets launching, missiles, cities being shelled, I thought this is not something that would happen in the middle of Europe in the 21^st century.”

Iermolaieva is also a third year student at the University of South Florida pursuing a biomedical sciences degree. She is coordinating with other Ukrainian students to plan a peaceful assembly at 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 2, at the Marshall Student Center on USF's Tampa campus, which is supported by university officials.

“We would be happy to see anyone who wants to support not just the Ukraine, but democracy and freedom in the world,” Iermolaieva said. “I just want the war to stop. That’s it.”