Maria Shust takes pride in her work. For more than 40 years, she’s preserved artifacts from Ukraine that represent the country’s history and culture, including traditional outfits with embroidery unique to specific regions.

The collection she’s curated at the Ukrainian Museum takes on even more importance as the threat of a Russian invasion of her home country increases.

“As you can imagine, all of us are really shook by this,” Shust explained.

Shust said she has been in contact with museum directors and curators in Ukraine.

They tell her they are trying to figure out how to protect their collections in the event of war. 

Many historical items were lost during World War II.

She said they don’t want to repeat history.

“The fear is really that much of our heritage is going to be destroyed,” she said. “Whatever was brought out during this period, we are preserving it here. But it is such a small part of it, Ukraine has century-old items there that represent our heritage.”

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognizing the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, the two eastern separatist regions of Ukraine. Many fear this recognition could allow leaders in the Russian-backed territories to request military help from Russia, paving the way for invasion into Ukraine.

“Ukrainians who were aware of what totalitarian regime does to people and how difficult it is to survive in that kind of environment, the fact that this can happen again is also very distressing,” Shust said.

While the potential loss of history is great, Shust said the loss of life will be far greater.

“Ukrainians are really a peace-loving people. They are generous, they are kind,” she said through tears. 

And Shusts says they are willing to fight for Ukraine.