MILLCREEK, Utah — Ukraine is continuing its lightning-fast counter-offensive that has had the Russian military on its heels for much of the past week.
On Monday, the Ukrainians captured more territory, and on Tuesday, the Ukrainian military reported for the first time, that it shot down an Iranian-made attack drone used by Russian forces.
Ukrainians here in Utah have kept a close eye on the war with Russia.
Daniela Rychahova is from Kyiv and was there on Feb. 24 with her parents and two siblings when Russia's invasion began.
"We wake up at 5:30 a.m... and just the rocket was near our house," said Rychahova.
Rychahova, who is just 15 years old, sais she and her family spent two days in Kyiv in an underground parking area before deciding to go to the western border of Ukraine for safety reasons.
"I was born in Ukraine, I grew up in Ukraine, and it was so hard to understand that first couple of days, even a couple of weeks, what is going on," she said.
It wasn't until Aug. 9, that Rychahova and her family came here to Utah, finding shelter in a Methodist Church in Millcreek.
Now, Rychahova, a student at Olympus High School in Holladay, has been keeping an eye on the war. She says the military is fighting to reclaim territory.
"Our military there, very good results and you can see it," she said.
Seeing the war change course over the last week has brought optimism to Ukrainians like Rychahova.
"It's kind of a critical moment because Russian also retreat before, but mostly it was not because they had high pressure from the side of Ukrainian military," said Anatoliy Garan, who is originally from Kherson, Ukraine.
Garan came to Utah 12 years ago, and some of his family members, including his mother, have joined him here since then.
FOX 13 News asked Garan if he feels like Ukraine's recent progress has been a turning point in their war with Russia.
"I think yes, that it might be turning point and Ukrainian forces can progress faster than before," he said.
Earlier this week, in just a 24-hour span, the Ukrainian military was able to liberate 20 villages. That includes the Kharkiv region, home to Ukraine's second-largest city.
"Russians tried to capture this region maybe during 2-3 months," said Garan.
Garan said Ukraine was able to liberate Kharkiv in just one week.
The progress made by the Ukrainian military — to not only liberate certain areas but also to push the Russian military back — has brought hope to those like Rychahova.
"We are going to win because it was our country, and like this was our grandma's, granddad's, so it's ours. It's not theirs," said Rychahova.
She said her family has been granted humanitarian parole, which is a tool used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in response to Russia's war on Ukraine.
This will allow her family to live here for at least the next two years.
In all, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his forces have liberated more than 2,300 square miles in the east and the south since the beginning of the month.
