DEPEW, NY (WKBW) — At a fitness studio in Depew off George Urban Boulevard, a Ukrainian refugee woman can be found each Sunday teaching young children’s rhythmic gymnastics in a program she calls 7 Elephants of Western New York .

As the Russian war against Ukraine rages on in her country, she's finding solace in teaching children a sport she mastered in Ukraine.

Our 7 News Senior Reporter Eileen Buckley met with the teacher and her students to capture her story.

“Side by side,” instructs Oleksandra Klimantova. “My kind of gymnastics is not popular in the United States. Rhythmic gymnastics is one of the most popular sports in Ukraine."

Ukrainian athlete and educator Oleksandra Klimantova tells me she left her war-torn country and arrived here in Western New York three years ago.

"How

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