Ukrainian Independence Day Marked With Ceremony For 3rd Year In West Haven

Written by Michael P. Walsh

WEST HAVEN, CT — Mayor Dorinda Borer stood with members of the Ukrainian American community in front of City Hall on Friday in observance of Ukrainian Independence Day.

The public event marked the eve of Ukrainian independence and was organized by advocacy Chair Ann Salemme of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America Branch 108 of New Haven.

The ceremony included poignant remarks by Salemme, Borer, West Haven Fair Rent Commission Chairman Steven R. Mullins and Ukrainian American Veterans Post 33 Cmdr. Carl Harvey.

Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, which Russia launched on Feb. 24, 2022, a New Haven-based support network that includes the UAV post and St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church has shipped $8.2 million worth of donated humanitarian supplies to Ukraine’s western city of Lviv to aid relief efforts, said Harvey, of Orange.

The ceremony also included the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Prayer for Ukraine,” a patriotic Ukrainian hymn, led by the gathering of more than two dozen Ukrainians, including a pair of young refugees holding up a blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag and others holding up a “Glory to Ukraine, Glory to the Heroes” flag.

West Haven Mayor Dorinda Borer, holding sunflowers, stands with members of the Ukrainian American community, including advocacy Chair Ann Salemme of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America Branch 108 of New Haven, third from left, and West Haven Fair Rent Commission Chairman Steven R. Mullins, fourth from left, in front of City Hall on Friday, Aug. 23, in observance of Ukrainian Independence Day. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

(City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

This press release was produced by the City of West Haven. The views expressed here are the author’s own.