THE WASHINGTON POST — Maria Smereka, a third-year student at Pennsylvania State University, spent late Wednesday and early Thursday watching the news come in as Russia launched missile attacks near Ukraine’s capital. Her parents and siblings were born in Ukraine and immigrated to the United States before she was born. The 20-year-old grew up in a Ukrainian community in Pittsburgh, where she adopted Ukrainian as her first language. She considers the country her home. Smereka said she stayed up late messaging members of the Ukrainian Society, a cultural group she leads on campus. “Many of us did not get sleep.” Hours later, Smereka would help organize a demonstration near campus. At its peak, about 50 people were in attendance. “Ukraine needs support more than ever,” Smereka, who is studying neurobiology and Spanish said Friday. She said her family, in central and western Ukraine, is safe — but it’s unclear for how long. “It’s surreal to see bombings and innocent people being killed in Ukraine. Being in the U.S., with an ocean between you, it’s not much you can do.”