CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — As UNC Chapel Hill students lined up to get a threaded yellow and blue bracelet to show their support for Ukraine on Thursday afternoon, Maryna Kapustina was passing out informational texts on the history of her country. 

Kapustina is an associate professor at UNC. She also is a part of the Ukraine Association of North Carolina and a native of Kyiv, the capitol city of Ukraine that was invaded by Russian troops last week. 

"All the students can peacefully go in between lectures and peacefully sit on the grass, talk and enjoy the sun, not like right now in Ukraine, like people have to hide in shelters and they don't know if they'll survive till the morning," said Kapustina. 

Kapustina moved from Ukraine to North Carolina nearly 20 years ago. 

"I'm from Kyiv, all my family, my parents, my grandparents. I was born there, I studied at Kyiv University. I got my Ph.D. there. My brother is still there staying overnight in the shelter. In the morning, I'm calling my friends and I'm seeing if they survive," said Kapustina. 

As she shares educational texts and pieces of her culture with students, Kapustina's goal is to share the meaning of her country. 

"When people ask me where I came from, I tell them I'm from Ukraine. They say, 'oh, I know, you're from Russia,' and I said, 'no, I'm not Russian, I'm Ukrainian,'" said Kapustina. 

Earlier in the day, a group of Ph.D. students in the history department organized a teach-in on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, highlighting important historical context that brought the countries to this point of war. 

“In my view, this is just one very small thing that we can do as academics in a university in order to show support for the people of Ukraine," said Pasuth Thothaveesansuk“In my view, this is just one very small thing that we can do as academics in a university in order to show support for the people of Ukraine," said Pasuth Thothaveesansuk, a Ph.D. student who helped organize the teach-in. 

The teach-in also included two hours of expert panels, opening the floor for questions and discussion from students and faculty. 

Kapustina says its extremely important for students to be informed and understand the context of what is unfolding in her country. 

“This is the goal for this young generation to build a better future, to never happen in the future war between countries," said Kapustina. 

The Ukraine Association of North Carolina will be holding a rally at the state capitol in Raleigh on Saturday, March 5 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.