‘It’s Draining’: Portland Woman Speaks Out From Ukraine Amid Trump-Putin Talks
KOIN-6
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a joint press conference on Friday evening, with the two working together on a possible deal to end the war in Ukraine.
KOIN 6 News spoke with Yulia Brockdorf, a Portland woman currently in Ukraine giving aid. During the conversation, explosions could be heard going off in the background.
“I decided to count how many explosions I hear,” Brockdorf said. “There were over 90 explosions over two hours. Just in this conversation, we had three.”
Since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine roughly three years ago, Brockdorf, a Portland psychotherapist, has gone to her home country of Ukraine several times a year to give aid to frontline workers.
She’s the co-founder of DAWN, an organization that gives support to Ukrainians in the US and abroad. She gave insight into what it’s like in Ukraine currently.
“It’s draining because you never know when it’s going to drop something,” Brockdorf said. “You don’t know what the next moment is going to yield. That’s what Ukrainian defenders’ life is.”