A volunteer with a Ukrainian medical battalion said she is seeing her people die as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine.
Tata Marharian moved from her hometown in the Donbas region to the capital of Kyiv in 2015 to study international law, she told CNN's Jim Sciutto in an interview.
“I’m seeing dead children. I'm seeing hospitals being bombed. I'm seeing churches being bombed. It’s difficult. … I’m seeing my people die. I'm seeing all sorts of horrible things. I studied crimes against humanity at the university. I studied international humanitarian law. I never thought I would see this with my own eyes in my country,” she said.
Marharian said that she is convinced she and her fellow volunteers can make a difference.
“I’ve never been more happy to be Ukrainian," she said.
"I've never been more lucky to be born in this country. We all are united, we all are consolidated, and one person maybe is powerless to make a difference, but trust me, we're not one. There are a lot of people fighting here, back to back. So, yeah, we do have hope,” she said.
She called Russia’s claims that its forces are not targeting civilians as “ridiculous,” saying that her hometown of Volnovakha is "on the verge of humanitarian crisis" and invading forces "bombed the hell out of it."
"I know it is difficult for people to sort of realize the scale of the situation right now, but just imagine that there is a city and there is a town, small town, and you've spent there 17 years of your life. You drove your bike over there and you went to school, you said hello to your neighbors, you lived and loved, you laughed there, and then the other day you see the town, it's completely bombed and there is not a single house … The last thing I want is for my beautiful Kyiv to repeat the destiny of my Volnovakha. I'll do anything in my power to stop this aggression," she said.