LANCASTER, S.C. — This week will mark one whole year since Russia first launched attacks against Ukraine. Tens of thousands of people have died and millions displaced from the war-torn country.
One year on, there are no signs of it stopping.
One South Carolina journeyed to Ukraine where he spent months there on a mission to help during these challenging times.
“It was a calling. I just truly felt that I needed to go, and I needed to help and I could do something purposeful,” said Bryan Wright.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Two weeks later Wright purchased a one-way ticket to Ukraine.
“My first initial time there was wrangling supplies and getting those supplies to areas where they needed to go like Irpin, Bucha…mainly neighborhoods that were hard hit near Kyiv on the initial invasion,” he said.
There he connected with a resistant fighter who took him under his wing. He and other supporters all stayed in a flat. They slept in a room on the floor together where the signs of the war were all around them.
“It is very surreal, especially the air aid sirens. When I first got there, I was hearing them three-four times a day,” said Wright. “Initially hearing the war in a distance so close… large arms fire, small arms fire, artillery rockets….you could hear the rockets whistling overhead. It changes you.”
Wright said he has seen massive destruction and entire cities completely destroyed.
“If I can describe the war and the atrocities that I’ve seen… I would say barbaric, genocide. The targets that the Russians target, the infrastructure, the water, the markets. They target every single thing a human being needs to live,” said Wright.
He spent 6 months in Ukraine, helping in humanitarian efforts and documenting the war. He says he was motivated by the fight he saw with the Ukrainians. He described his time there as living in his true purpose.
“Walking away from what I experienced in Ukraine really solidified that I am my true self. And that feels really good when you can really look at yourself in the mirror and say… I gave a little bit. I put myself in danger to help my fellow humans. And I’ll do it again,” said Wright.
He said he is planning to go back to Ukraine in a few months where he hopes to capture the victory of the country, he now calls a second home. Wright is working on his documentary film which he said will be complete once the war is over.