CLEVELAND — Two years after the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Northeast Ohio’s Ukrainian community has been grappling with loss while not giving up hope.
“It is very difficult to live even though one single day during the war and to describe the last two years is extremely difficult,” Myroslav Pylypchuk told News 5 through an interpreter Saturday.
Pylypchuk, a Ukrainian Army lieutenant, first arrived in the U.S. for medical treatment after stepping on a Russian landmine. The blast shattered his leg so severely it required amputation, and he was fitted for a prosthetic in the U.S. Pylypchuck’s wife and young son joined him in late 2023, arriving in Parma as refugees through the Uniting for Ukraine program.
“It was very difficult. I was blaming myself for leaving my friends, my buddies, that are still fighting. And I’m here in the comfort of the United States,” he said.
Pylypchuk joined hundreds of others in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist Saturday for a prayer vigil for peace to mark the second anniversary of the war’s escalation.
“All children should be able to sing without fear of harm,” said Cleveland Catholic Diocese Bishop Ed Malesic after a group of children sang in Ukrainian and English to start the service.
The bishop for the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma asked for the Diocese’s help in hosting a 2-year anniversary vigil. Religious leaders from multiple denominations were in attendance.
“People of goodwill are standing for the same principle that our own nation was created: freedom,” said St. Josaphat Bishop Bohdan Danylo.
The Cleveland Maidan Association also coordinated the event. The group’s president, along with numerous volunteers, has been collecting monetary donations and medical supplies to send to Ukraine over the past two years.
“Lives are being lost,” said organization president Dr. Taras Mahlay. “I’m doing significantly more saving now than I was working full time.”
The physician of internal medicine quit his day job a year ago to dedicate more time to the collection and distribution of supplies in Ukraine. He said the logistics of coordinating shipments to war-torn hospitals has become increasingly complex.
“The injuries now are probably worse now than they were before,” Mahlay said, adding his goal is to train more Ukrainian medics in the coming months.
He said the injuries and destruction of cities are growing worse, but the Ukrainian people are unwavering in their optimism.
“They’re positive in the sense that they believe Ukraine is going to win because they cannot lose,” he said. “We need some civility and humanity in this world and this needs to stop.”
It was a sentiment many shared during Saturday’s vigil.
“The people of Ukraine still believe in victory, it is just they’re exhausted physically and financially after a longstanding war,” Pylypchuk said.
