Ukraine became independent on August 24, 1991, after spending nearly 90 years as part of the USSR (created in 1922). August 24 is a national holiday in Ukraine, but celebrations were muted this year since the war with Russia is still ongoing.

Since August 24 was a Wednesday this year, the local volunteer group Hope4Ukraine hosted an end-of-summer festival on August 21 (Sunday) at the Kolping Center near Winton Woods. The festival included food, music, and kids’ activities. We hosted a similar event in May which was very successful, but the crowds created long lines. We hoped the Kolping Center could help us better accommodate even more people.

Again, Nataliya, her son Alex, and I helped bake hundreds of pierogis ahead of time. I was really looking forward to helping out again and volunteered to distribute drink tickets at the festival. However, I felt slightly ill the day before the event and felt even worse the morning of the festival. I took a COVID test at home and got a positive result! I made it more than 2 years without getting sick, but my luck had finally run out. I suspect Alex brought it home from school since he was also sick, despite testing negative twice.

My throat was extremely sore and was so painful that all I ate that day was Greek yogurt! My throat hurt so bad I thought maybe it was strep throat at first, which I had suffered several times in my youth. In addition, I had an ugly cough and was very tired. I spent most of the day watching TV and snoozing on the couch instead of helping at the festival! Since I am high risk for complications from COVID, I made a video appointment with my doctor on Monday, and she prescribed Paxlovid for me even though I was already starting to feeling better.

Unfortunately, the drug affected my sense of taste and made everything taste very bitter (a small price to pay for extra help). In addition, the Paxlovid could have had several ugly interactions with my other medications, so I had to carefully adjust my prescription regime. But by Tuesday I was well on the road to recovery, and I was almost completely recovered by the end of the week. Thankfully, I tested negative in time for my first and only adult birthday party (40^th) which Nataliya thoughtfully organized. In the grand scheme of things, my bout of COVID was very “mild” indeed, but I am still very cautious since I wouldn’t care to repeat the experience or inflict it on anybody else. I’ll sign up for another booster soon as well. I can only imagine how much worse it would have been without vaccines or Paxlovid.

Even without my help, the Ukrainian festival was another big hit! We had raised $36,000 at the first fundraiser in May and hoped to meet or exceed that in August. But by this point, the war had dragged on for 6 months, and I wasn’t sure crowds would still appear like they had in May. I needn’t have worried! My aunt and uncle attended the August festival and said the lines were still wrapped around the Kolping Center. They bought a couple packages of frozen stuffed cabbage (holubtsi), which they later said were delicious. In the end, we raised another $46,000 which will buy vital medical equipment and supplies for hospitals in Nataliya’s hometown of Kharkiv.

Kharkiv is Ukraine’s 2^nd largest city and is only 25 miles from the Russian border. The city was partially encircled and under constant rocket and artillery bombardment (including indiscriminate cluster munitions) for nearly 3 months. The city suffered extensive damage and more than 1,000 civilians were killed. The Ukrainians launched a counter-offensive in May that pushed weak Russian forces away from the northern half of the city, but the enemy still threatened the southern part of the region with sporadic bombardment throughout the summer. That was until Ukraine launched another quick and powerful counterattack last week (early September) that forced the Russians to beat another hasty retreat. The Russians were so surprised and demoralized that they reportedly dropped their rifles and fled on bicycles stolen from local residents.

After yet another humiliating defeat (even if relatively minor in scope), the Russians retaliated against Kharkiv and destroyed numerous powerplants, water stations, and other infrastructure. Russia no longer even tries to pretend that they care about avoiding civilian targets. Nataliya’s parents still live in a village on the outskirts of Kharkiv and her mother, Iryna, says the local powerplant was damaged in the barrage.  The station was so close that you can see the towers from her parents’ house. Firefighters battled a blaze for 12 hours at the plant, but the station is already back in operation. Nataliya’s parents have had several close calls before, but Nataliya said they remain resolute even after the latest attack.

On the other hand, her brother, Michael, seems to be settling down in Israel. They left Ukraine in June and went to Israel under the Right of Return since his wife has Jewish ancestry. Michael has a young autistic son, Leo, and they managed to secure a spot for him a special needs education program. A bus picks up Leo and there are only a couple other students in the class with him, so they get a lot of individual attention and help. Nataliya hopes to visit them in Israel over spring break next year.

Despite the good news and strong support, it will take a lot of time and money to rebuild what has been damaged or destroyed. Ideally, Putin and the Russians would be forced to pay reparations in exchange for sanctions relief, but that won’t happen any time soon (if ever). Kharkiv is one of Cincinnati’s sister cities, and officials from the Kharkiv Red Cross visited the region last month (August) to begin planning for the post-war future. The officials visited local mental health experts and physical therapists in search of advice about how to help injured and traumatized residents after the war. They also praised the local sister city association which helped raise $117,000 to buy food and medicine in Kharkiv.

Another local volunteer group, Cincy4Ukraine, continues to collect donations of clothing and medical supplies as well. We spent several hours sorting and packaging the latest round of donations which will easily fill another 1-ton cargo truck!

Our next major fundraiser is a gala concert at 6:30 p.m. on October 8. Tickets include a cocktail reception and hors d’oeuvres. The program includes opera, ballet, and various performers from around the globe.

Slava Ukraini! (Glory to Ukraine)