BUFFALO N.Y. (WIVB) – People with family and friends in Ukraine say they are becoming more and more concerned and call this a stressful time.
“Everyone is on pins and needles,” Myron Deputat, whose parents were born in Ukraine.
Deputat said they fear what could happen if Russia invades Ukraine.
“What’s going to happen? We don’t know, but everyone is prepared for the worst,” he said. “I’ve been speaking to Ukrainian friends of mine back in the Ukraine, and everybody is bunkering down. They’re ready for an eminent invasion.”
“Everybody is afraid because the odds are, they’re not going to survive,” said Emil Bandriwsky, President of the Dnipro Ukrainian Cultural Center of Buffalo. “Some people will flee, some will stay and fight and many will die and it’s tragic.”
People gathered Saturday at the Ukrainian American Civic Center on Military road to advocate for the European country as it prepares for a possible invasion from Russia.
“I’ve been to Ukraine several times, I still have family in western Ukraine,” said Yuri Hreshchyshyn, the chairman of the Buffalo Chapter of the Ukrainian Congress Committee. “I’m concerned about them and I’ve maintained friendships with people elsewhere in the country, some who are directly involved in this fight and I have a concern for them as well as the nation in general.”
“I still have cousins and nieces and nephews that are in Ukraine that are apparently going to stay and fight. Ukraine will resist,” Bandriwsky said.
This week, President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. is anticipating Russia could invade Ukraine at any moment. Ukrainian Americans say this crisis affects everyone and are asking people to offer support.
“We can’t do this alone. No one can,” Hreshchyshyn said. “The Ukrainians are fighting on the line in Europe, we as Ukrainian Americans and as Americans in general need to step up.”
Members of the Ukrainian American Civic Center and the Ukrainian Cultural Center will be meeting again Saturday Feb. 26 at 1 p.m. at 562 Genesee St.