Ukrainian Americans work for peace

The fighting, the bombings, the refugees — seeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it feels as if the horrors of World War II have returned to Europe, said Ivan Bilaniuk. It’s surreal to witness a full-scale war in 2022, said the first-generation Ukrainian American, in a country where his family and friends live.
As Ukraine fights to defend its country, many Ukrainian Americans are working stateside to increase awareness about the war, to raise funds for refugees and to pray for peace in their ancestral homeland.
Bilaniuk, a parishioner of St. Mark Church in Vienna, believes that Russia invaded because Ukraine, a neighboring European-leaning, growing democratic country, is a threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “corrupt regime,” he said. “It’s a war on the West and its values, so to speak. He also has a twisted view of history and he wants to reverse the Soviet Union’s collapse and bring particularly Ukraine back into the fold as part of the greater Russian empire. He will bear very high costs in trying to bring Ukraine back into the fold, and we’re seeing that every day, very painfully, in the news as we hear of bombings of civilian areas.”
Bilaniuk and his family, who also attend Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Silver Spring, are keeping in touch with Ukrainian family and friends and following Ukrainian media to stay informed about the war.
“I have extended family is in the Kyiv area. There’s a curfew so there’s very limited hours that they allow folks to go out and buy provisions. They don’t want people out on the streets. There is no normal life,” he said. “There’s mostly nighttime bombings, although there’s (daytime) fighting on the city outskirts. I have family members that are not too far away, so they’re hearing all the fighting and artillery between the Ukrainian forces and the approaching Russians.”
John, another local Ukrainian Catholic who asked that his name be withheld to protect his family, has relatives in Western Ukraine, which is farther away from the frontline fighting and has seen an influx of in-country refugees. “All western towns and villages are trying to help,” he said. “We are donating money to help a little to feed, clothe and provide basic necessities to these refugees. The need is great.”
It’s been an extremely stressful time, said Bilaniuk. “Ukraine has been independent for over 30 years and the country’s very existence is at stake,” he said. “Family, friends can literally be annihilated the way the war is being waged with targeting of civilians. There’s sort of a stress, despair following what is happening, but Ukrainians are inspiring the world and showing that they are a proud and resilient people fighting for their continued freedom and future.”
He’s grateful that the United States is helping and praying for Ukraine, noting the Feb. 28 Mass Bishop Michael F. Burbidge celebrated for peace and justice in Ukraine and throughout the world. Blue and yellow Ukrainian flags, which represent the sky and fields of wheat, said Bilaniuk, are seen flying around Northern Virginia. “The West is aware now and is supporting Ukraine. (But there’s still) angst and the stress (for) all the human suffering and the uncertainty of whether this awareness and support is too late to prevent a catastrophe.”
John asked that local Catholics not forget about Ukraine in the challenging days ahead. “I feel like that might be part of Putin’s plan, too — to drag out the war so it isn’t the headliner in the news,” he said. “This needs to stay in the headlines. The security of Europe is at stake.”
He also noted the religious tensions. “The western part of Ukraine is traditionally Greek Catholic (Eastern rite). There is a lot of pressure for all Christian churches in Ukraine to turn Orthodox,” he said. “Keep in mind that the Catholic Church is not formally recognized in Russia. Catholicism is seen as a Western religion.”
Bilaniuk asked that local Catholics speak to their elected representatives about supporting Ukraine. He also suggested donating to charities such as the Ukrainian Catholic University Foundation’s emergency fund.
“Thank you to the bishop and our diocese for the support and prayer (you’re) already giving,” he said. “Ukrainian Americans are heartened by how the community is supporting Ukraine.”