Paralyzed Ukrainian Model Opens Up About Escaping Russian Invasion to Appear in L.A. Runway Show
After the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine last month, model Oksana Kononets faced an arduous journey to escape the violence and arrive in America in time to participate in a fashion show for people with disabilities.
Earlier this month, the 29-year-old appeared alongside other models in Los Angeles for the annual fashion show hosted by Runway of Dreams, a nonprofit that supports adaptive clothing for people who have disabilities.
Kononets has used a wheelchair since 2012 when she fell from a fifth-floor apartment. She injured her spine in the fall and was left paralyzed at 19 years old.
Since the accident, Kononets followed her dreams of becoming a model and developed projects to bring more attention to people with disabilities who are interested in fashion. That's why fleeing Ukraine at the start of the war and bringing her message to the U.S. was so important to her.
"I was very proud," Kononets tells PEOPLE (The TV Show!) correspondent Sandra Vergara of appearing in the event earlier this month. "I came here, it was a very great moment for me."
Kononets says she wants to remind people in the fashion industry that there are many people with disabilities who want to express themselves using clothing and accessories.
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"The main message... is power, is beauty, and [equality]," she explains. "For me, it's the main message because already people with disabilities want to be [beautiful], want to be in fashion, to wear beautiful clothes. This runaway show shows this."
Kononets — who had been planning on attending the Runway of Dreams show — says she made a five-day journey from Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, as Russia prepared an attack on the country in late February. During the trip, she spent 11 hours on a crowded train while on her way to safety in Poland.
"[My mother] packed our luggage, only one luggage, for two [people]," she recalls, adding that there was a "big crowd" at the railway station. "We ride 11 hours to the west of Ukraine, 11 hours."
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Once she arrived, Kononets traveled to the Netherlands and eventually secured a flight to the U.S. thanks to a friend.
"After this trip, I was very tired and also I can't imagine that I'm here," she says of landing in America on March 5. "I'm in safety, me and my mom is good. I understood that I have a [chance] to participate in Runway Of Dreams and I was happier about this. I was happier."
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Kononets says the people of her home country are "strong," and she believes they will persevere. And for people with disabilities who want to enter the fashion industry, she says the opportunities will come.
"I want to say to people never give up," Kononets says. "Never give up. Dreams come true."
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The Russian attack on Ukraine is an evolving story, with information changing quickly. Follow PEOPLE's complete coverage of the war here, including stories from citizens on the ground and ways to help.
