TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Tampa resident and community activist Tetiana Chupryna is taking care of her mother who escaped her war-torn neighborhood in Ukraine.
“Her condo was destroyed. Her house has no roof,” Chupryna said. “She was denied political asylum. Right now, we are just waiting on TPS to be approved.
Chupryna, along with Natalia Turenkov, is back from being in Washington D.C., after advocating for more sanctions against Russia to end its war with Ukraine. On Friday, President Donald Trump signed that bipartisan bill.
“We are very proud to say we had something to do with it,” Turenkov said.
Before the bill became law, the two Tampa residents joined other native Ukrainians to speak to lawmakers like Sen. Ashley Moody, Tampa and St. Pete Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor, and Pinellas Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna.
The bill is also named after the late South Carolina Sen. Linsey Graham. The longtime lawmaker died shortly after visiting Ukraine.
“This is the largest Russian sanctioning bill for the past two years. It not only impacts Russia but Russia’s closest allies,”Turenkov said.
On Monday, President Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media site, urging the war to end.
now, the two Tampa residents are focused on reuniting kids who were separated from their families in Ukraine.
“Over 20,000 were relocated from Ukrainian territory into Russia,” Turenkov said.
They would also like longer humanitarian protections for Ukrainian refugees including those in Tampa. “We are not asking for welfare or food stamps. We just want to have a normal life,” Chupryna said.
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