SAN ANTONIO — It has been over seven hundred days since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Olena Romanko runs Pashina Craft Bakery off of Hildebrand Ave, selling coffee, pastries and cakes to let San Antonio customers experience the flavor her native country has to offer.
"I started to put roots little bit here in Texas,” she said.
Romanko has been in San Antonio for over a year with her kids. She believes her husband is still imprisoned by Russia.
“My people from Kherson region, on the south of Ukraine… because Russian took out many Ukrainian man and woman…and put in prison, like political prison now." Romanko said. "These people, Ukrainian, accept torture huge torture.”
On Jan. 3, Ukraine and Russia exchanged over 200 prisoners of war in Kyiv. Two hundred twenty-four soldiers and six civilians returned home to Ukraine.
"I just want to attract this attention to this problem about civilian prisoners because military prisoners exchanged…civilian prisoners no exchanged," Romanko explained.
Feb. 24 will mark two years since the war began, though Romanko still holds out hope the war will end soon.
"I believe this war will be finished this year… I believe, whole my heart, whole my soul,” she said.
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