Ukrainian Interpreter Shares Experience Covering Russia's Invasion

The impact of the war thus far on the people of Ukraine is overwhelming, with thousands dead, millions displaced, and cities in rubble. And yet, Lviv resident Andriana Zmysla says, the Ukrainian spirit is far from broken.

"February 24, I think, changed Ukrainians and this country forever," said Zmysla Monday in a zoom interview. "The east and west of the country is united as never before -- all the people just have a common goal, to repel the Russian aggression."

Zmysla is a freelance interpreter who has worked recently with crews for CBS News and the New York Times who are covering the war. She was in Kyiv in February 24, the day the war started.

"I was awake at 4:00 a.m. and I heard the first 10 missiles fired at Kyiv," recalled Zmysla. "I’ve seen them, the first explosions and I heard the first explosions -- this was the moment that I understood that the war actually started."

Zmysla was working with CBS News at the time and says she spent the several days listening for incoming rounds by night, helping the news crew document the devastation by day, all the while developing very specific feelings toward Russia.

"Determination mixed with a feeling of hate, strong hate," she said. "And this feeling doesn’t disappear even now. I cannot hear Russian language; I cannot watch anything connected or hear anything connected with Russia -- even the word 'Russia' provokes this hate in me."

Her feelings for Russian President Putin and his war machine only darkened when Russian airstrikes destroyed the military training base in Yavoriv in far western Ukraine.

"I worked for more than four years there, and I’ve lost many friends and people I knew," said Zmysla. More than three dozen people were killed and more than a hundred injured in the attack.

It was during her four-year stint with the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraineat the Yavoriv Combat Training Center that Zmysla also worked as an interpreter for U.S. Army units, including Oklahoma's 45th Infantry Brigade. She says the training they provided made a difference.

"The combat first aid training, I think, was very effective," said Zmysla. "I think that is one of the main reasons why the Ukrainian army has much less losses and victims on the battlefield than Russia does."

Zmysla says Vladimir Putin not only miscalculated the fighting ability of the Ukrainian army, but he also grossly underestimated the will of the Ukrainian people

"We are determined, of course," she said, "all the Ukrainians are determined to fight till the end, no matter what the price is."

It would be nice, she says, if NATO would help Ukraine protect its airspace. Otherwise, she has little faith that peace talks will actually bring peace and the alternative is a prolonged and deadly war.

"Too many civilians are dying and this is too huge, too big a price to pay."