Just about a year ago, two Ukrainian entertainment industry professionals — Yuliia Chumak, a production coordinator, and her sister Alona Ksenofontova, a hair and makeup artist — wiped tears from their eyes as they told TheWrap about how a carefree trip to Barcelona to celebrate Alona’s 34th birthday abruptly ended with news that Russian forces had invaded, menacing their hometown of Kyiv and occupying other parts of the country.
Unable to return to their homeland, the sisters eventually found their way to Los Angeles through a program called Ukraine Take Shelter. Volunteers from the program took Alona and Yuliia into their mid-Wilshire home.