For Inessa Moreland, Russia's invasion of Ukraine is more than headlines about a distant conflict -- it's hitting home.
Moreland immigrated to Fulton from Ukraine in 2000 when her husband got a job at America's National Churchill Museum. Her nearly 93-year-old father still lives in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Kharkiv is in the northeastern part of Ukraine, about 25 miles from the boarder with Russia. Currently, Kharkiv is one of many Ukrainian cities under attack from Russia.
Moreland said she's lucky the section of the city where he lives hasn't been heavily hit, but regardless, the attacks are affecting him.
"His caregiver left after the first week of war," she said. "She was very scared because the house was just shaking. She's in Italy now. My dad was scared too, but he's not a person who shows emotions. He holds it inside, so his blood pressure goes up and down."
He isn't able to leave the apartment by himself, Moreland said, but can walk around with a walker most of the time.
While 93 years old is fairly common in the U.S., she said, it isn't in Ukraine, especially for men.
"He has Armenian roots," she said. "His family lived in Turkey and they escaped Armenian Genocide in 1915 and they went to Georgia, the Soviet Union basically."
He went on to attend college and become an engineer. Ultimately, he moved to Kharkiv for factory work.
During WWII, he lived in the capital of Georgia while his mom worked as a nurse.
"His father was too old to go to the army, so he worked at the military factory and his mom was a nurse," she said. "She just basically lived in the hospital, taking care of wounded and all that, and he lived by himself. His father (and) his uncle gave him some money once in a while and he got some food for himself. So he was by himself as a teenager and he made it. Now this, and he's 93."
Since he can't leave the apartment, Moreland said, his neighbor is helping get him necessities like food.
However, due to medical conditions, he has a catheter, which requires a urologist to come clean and change regularly. A urologist has been able to come change it in the past, but with the bombings in Kharkiv, the situation is constantly changing.
His regular urologist is either hiding from the bombings with her two children or has gotten out of western Ukraine -- instead, Moreland found a retired urologist who has come by a couple times.
"I hope that urologist is still in Ukraine," Moreland said. "But what if he leaves? It's a very unstable situation."
She's doing what she can from Fulton to try and get him what he needs.
Thanks to Zoom, Moreland said, she can call him without out-of-country fees and is able to check in daily, even if it's over the phone or reception isn't very good.
She's also keeping in contact with friends in Kharkiv, including sending money when she can.
When friends started finding out she's from Ukraine, Moreland said, they wanted to help and she started collecting donations.
"I collect money like every week and send it to Ukraine," she said. "The Walmart people know me already."
She said the money gets sent to Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces (TDF). Essentially the TDF is a volunteer group of former military members that provides humanitarian aid and uses some of their military training.
"One thing is to find saboteurs in Kharkiv," Moreland said. "They have a curfew. Those guys go from apartment to apartment, from building to building and try to catch those bad guys ... My friends and I helped to get them those night-vision goggles because they didn't have them. Once they had them, they felt powerful because they can see."
Moreland said if anybody would like to give donations, they can reach out to her at [email protected].
She does have some hope the conflict will end May 9, which is Victory Day in Russia.
It celebrates Nazi Germany's surrender in 1945 and typically includes a large military parade.
Moreland said it seems like Russia is low on weapons and soldiers, even recruiting some from invaded Ukrainian towns.
"You just captured the city and you hire those guys to fight against their homeland? Just crazy," she said.
The Ukrainian people are also fighting back in some instances, with civilians attacking Russian vehicles and collecting supplies.
Moreland said her personal opinion is that Victory Day will put an end to the "active phase of war."
"He (Russian President Vladimir Putin) has to produce something for his people -- who are zombies -- to show them the result," she said. "Now, they cannot show them anything because they didn't capture Kyiv."
Moreland said she encourages people to help where they can by donating money, expressing their opinions to their politicians and praying for the people of Ukraine.
For instance, she said, she's written letters to politicians expressing anger that a country the size of the U.S. is only accepting 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, whereas smaller countries like Poland are accepting at least two million.
"We can do more as Americans," Moreland said.
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a shop following a Russian bombardment in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, April 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Ukrainian servicemen run for cover as explosions are heard during a Russian attack in downtown Kharkiv, Ukraine, Sunday, April 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)