'Stand With Ukraine': Phoenixville Marking Anniversary of War

PHOENIXVILLE, PA —As the one-year anniversary of the Russian war against Ukraine approaches, Ukrainians in the Phoenixville region are preparing services, vigils, and other special events to express support for their beloved homeland.

“We are marking the one-year anniversary,” Vera. M. Andryczyk, a member of the Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church in Phoenixville. “The war is unresolved. Putin cannot be permitted to win.”

On Feb. 24, 2022, the Russians invaded Ukraine. Putin falsely claimed the government was ruled by neo-Nazis.

More the 5,000 miles away, the Ukrainian community in the Phoenixville area began feverishly organizing drives to provide food, funds, and support for the Ukrainians.

“Every day we wake up we brace ourselves. Today, there are people being held hostage in basements.”

Andryczyk said she fled from Ukraine in 1949 when she was just seven years old.

She and her husband, Roman, have a condominium in Ukraine, where they would go to visit relatives before the pandemic.

Andryczyk said she received messages recently that the area where the condominium is located was hit.

The church has been draped in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine, and continues to collect donations and provide support.

Phoenixville plans

Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church will commemorate the anniversary at 11 a.m. Sunday, Feb, 26, with a special Moleben-prayer service conducted by Very Rev. Ihor Royik for the people of Ukraine during this time of war.

A short program "Stand With Ukraine" marking the anniversary of the war will follow.

“We honor the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people,” Andryczyk said.

The public is invited to attend.