GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — 19-year-old Ukrainian exchange student Anastasiia Lehova often plays the piano as a way to clear her mind from the devastating reality in her home country.
!['I just want to speak with my mother': UW-Green Bay exchange student is waiting to hear from her family in Ukraine](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d4fa5a6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/864x502+0+0/resize/864x502!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff9%2Fe09df3d54cb6bb6a1c5386f72f7b%2Fscreen-shot-2022-04-03-at-5.26.00%20PM.png)
“My [home] university destroyed, hospital, theaters,” Lehova said.
Lehova is an exchange student at UW-Green Bay from Mariupol.
That's in the southeast of Ukraine and it has been under siege by Russia for the last month.
"Until today I lose communication with my whole family, my friends, and so on because city now is in black out. And it's super difficult because they [don't have] any water, food, service, heating and all of this stuff,” Lehova said.
!['I just want to speak with my mother': UW-Green Bay exchange student is waiting to hear from her family in Ukraine](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4624a5f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1080x1080+0+0/resize/1080x1080!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7e%2F0b%2F945c542b49dc9fc4b0cc0f811009%2Fphoto-2022-03-29-05-09-20.jpg)
She said she hasn't spoken to her family since March 2. Above is a picture of her mom and two younger siblings.
Every time she sends her loved ones a message, there's no response.
"Nothing. It's silent. I wrote a lot of messages in apps like by ordinary message and so on, silence everywhere. Like friends, family, no one," Lehova said. “I haven't communicated with my mother, I just want to speak with my mother. I just want to speak with her."
!['I just want to speak with my mother': UW-Green Bay exchange student is waiting to hear from her family in Ukraine](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6454526/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1080x1080+0+0/resize/1080x1080!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F08%2F35%2Fbea1c11f448c9699be348e0f3a02%2Fphoto-2022-04-03-14-48-16.jpg)
NBC 26 asked Lehova how she was holding up.
“I’m not okay. I just cry sometimes,” Lehova said.
The piano is the one thing that, for now, is allowing her to have hope.
!['I just want to speak with my mother': UW-Green Bay exchange student is waiting to hear from her family in Ukraine](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/fad877e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/768x448+0+0/resize/768x448!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff8%2F73%2Fe8d8bb2342bc9087faf2cb26ac79%2Fscreen-shot-2022-04-03-at-5.25.42%20PM.png)
!['I just want to speak with my mother': UW-Green Bay exchange student is waiting to hear from her family in Ukraine](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/817e090/2147483647/strip/true/crop/756x498+0+0/resize/756x498!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7b%2F71%2Fba83ced74ade9a25c4b72efd435d%2Fscreen-shot-2022-04-03-at-5.24.27%20PM.png)
!['I just want to speak with my mother': UW-Green Bay exchange student is waiting to hear from her family in Ukraine](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/564ff69/2147483647/strip/true/crop/874x522+0+0/resize/874x522!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F88%2Fa7%2F1927624f4dba8b7d2b987bf64efb%2Fscreen-shot-2022-04-03-at-5.24.52%20PM.png)
While she hasn’t heard from her family for more than a month, she says said she is continuing to pray that her loved ones are still alive.
!['I just want to speak with my mother': UW-Green Bay exchange student is waiting to hear from her family in Ukraine](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c9859cb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1280x960+0+0/resize/1280x960!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fad%2F0d%2Fa0f26bfc4ac2af23d845f9056962%2Fphoto-2022-04-03-14-48-09-2.jpg)
"[My mom is a] super [unpredictable] person, that's why I'm scared. Maybe she walked to the destroyed buildings to see what happened. I hope she's hiding in the basement of a building. I don't really know,” Lehova said. “[Not knowing] is scary.”
Lehova said her student visa is set to expire this May. However, she is working to extend it due to the circumstances in her home country of Ukraine.