MILWAUKEE — A local Ukrainian opera singer is using her voice to spread awareness about the raging war against Russia.
Anya Nakonechna is supposed to be attending music school at the Lviv National Music Academy in Western Ukraine, but due to the war, she's forced to stay in Milwaukee. She has been praying and hoping her classmates back home are safe.
"My group members and I have lived through so much and we're gonna live through this war as well. Of the boys I've studied with, (they) haven't held a gun in their life but they are so eager to learn," said Nakonechna.
She says just this past week, Russian soldiers attacked an area in Western Ukraine, closer to the Poland border where she was supposed to be staying.
As an aspiring opera singer, Nakonechna immigrated from Ukraine to Milwaukee when she was young. She still has dozens of relatives back home and one day hopes to return back to them all while pursuing her passion for music.
"Music in Ukraine is much more dominant, it's part of the culture," she said.
While in Milwaukee, Nakonechna wants to use her music to help spread awareness of the ongoing conflict between the two countries.
"We've lived to the day where the whole world is saying slava Ukraini!"
This translates to "Glory to Ukraine."
