With the internet, almost everyone can keep up on current events. The Ukraine and Russia crisis is a prime example of this. When educating yourself on the topic, one cannot help but feel lost on how to help. Poway senior Ljosha Kremliovsky, however, takes matters into his own hands.

Who this affects directly, however, as is often the case in wars, are civilians. “The moment the war started, I saw my friends in Ukraine posting about it all on their story,” Kremliovsky said.

Kremliovsky began by first donating and posting links to various charities that were actively helping the country with medical supplies. Such foundations include Sunflowers For Peace who provide Ukrainians with medkits, and Revived Soldiers of Ukraine, another non-profit that provides aid to families of soldiers injured on the frontlines.

Now, Kremliovsky has begun collecting money from donors to ship supplies himself to his friends in need. “I also collected money for shipping direct aid for my friend’s town, for the diabetic children who need insulin,” Kremliovsky said.

“I saw Ljosha posting links throughout all his social media accounts and I decided that I really needed to support this cause. It was important to him, and I thought so too,”  senior Sydney Goldman said.

Mainly operating through online transactions on social media with links on his Instagram and Snapchat, Kremliovsky buys supplies that his friends in Ukraine are in dire need of. “My friends buy equipment from the Romanian border. Right now, they are at risk of getting shot at any moment. I am trying to get them bullet proof vests, anything,” he said.

Having family in both Ukraine and Russia, Kremliovsky is also concerned about the problem of anti-russian rhetoric that is quickly spreading through the United States. “I noticed a lot of anti-russian attitudes, like that restaurant downtown that almost got shut down,” Kremlivsky said.

He is referring to ‘Pushkin Russian Restaurant’ in downtown San Diego, where owner Ike Gazaryan has received threats and 1-star reviews online, claiming his business supports the invasion of Ukraine, which is  not true according to the owner himself.

The most important thing to the Poway resident is knowing that he and people who are donating through him are helping people in need. 

“It felt really good donating since I don’t usually have the confidence to stand up for some things. For Ljosha to have the strength to help people across the world from us is so inspiring,” senior Carly Plante said.

He also regularly posts links on his instagram page @gotljoshan, where he can be found posting pictures on his story of what he is sending directly, taking accountability with donations.  There are also other organizations you could donate to directly – World Central Kitchen http://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine, Razom for Ukraine http://razomforukraine.org/razom-emergency-response, Nova Ukraine http://novaukraine.org, United Help Ukraine http://unitedhelpukraine.org/about-us, and Global Giving http://globalgiving.org/projects/ukraine-crisis-refundlief-.