As Russia Invades Ukraine, North Port’s Ukrainian Community Plans Rally, Other Events

NORTH PORT, FL — Many members of Sarasota County’s large and vibrant Eastern European community are anxiously watching and reading news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and planning events to support their loved ones back home, local organizers say.

On Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m., the Revived Soldiers Ukraine, an organization dedicated to raising funds for the medical rehabilitation of Ukrainian soldiers, will be at St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Cultural Center at 4100 S. Biscayne Drive in North Port.

A rally is also scheduled for Friday, 5 to 6 p.m., as U.S. 41 and Biscayne Drive in North Port — an intersection of significant importance to the local Ukrainian community.

“We've got five Ukrainian churches and a dozen Ukrainian organizations down here in that area and many stores. It's our little Ukraine,” said Daria Tomashosky with the Ukranian American Club.

About 5,000 Ukrainians call the North Port area home, according to Visit Sarasota.

“It’s a very tough time for us all,” said Bohdana Puzyk, president of the Ukranian National Women’s League of America’s local chapter.

While she was born in America, she has a number of family members and friends living in Ukraine, including a niece born in the United States who attended university there, fell in love, got married and stayed in the country.

In recent months, Russian President Vladimir Putin built up troops along the Ukrainian border and invaded the country on Thursday. Russia continued to unleash airstrikes on cities and military bases into Friday, sending in troops and tanks from three sides, according to the Associated Press. The fighting has killed more than 100 Ukrainians.

“(Putin’s) attacking Ukraine, but he’s attacking democracy everywhere. It’s a tough place to be,” Puzyk said. “I was born in America to parents who lived through World War II – Hitler on one front, Stalin on the other. The Ukraine is still my country. It’s my parents’ homeland and we’re all very concerned.”

In the months and weeks leading up to the attack, Puzyk said she’s received daily phone calls from loved ones back home and locals concerned about their families in the Ukraine.

The frequency of these calls has increased in recent days.

“I talked with a dear friend in the capitol city of Kyiv and they are terrified. They are stressed. With the situation in Kyiv, they don’t know whether they can leave just to get to the countryside, as they call it there, the villages,” she said. “The gas stations have no gas. The roads are blocked. It’s just a parking lot.”

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The calls are pouring in for Tomashosky, as well.

“I’ve been on the phone with my family and friends in Ukraine half the morning,” she said. “It’s tough. It’s sad. We’re anxious. Some are leaving Kyiv, if they can. But some are staying, they have businesses they need to close up and other things keeping them there.”

It seems as though Putin and the Russian military are currently focusing more on destroying Ukraine’s infrastructure and preventing its residents from moving easily throughout the country, Puzyk said. “More than destroying buildings and people. The worst part is they do not know what is coming next, though. Will they stop? Go further? I can’t even imagine.”

In North Port, they’re uncertain of the best ways to help since it’s so early in the crisis. For now, various Ukrainian organizations are collecting donations that Puzyk said will eventually be used toward humanitarian aid in the country. This aid will likely be distributed through a larger organization, like the Red Cross.

“But we still don’t know yet. We’re very anxious, sitting on the edge of our chairs, and do not even know what is the best way to help,” she said.

Friday’s rally is an opportunity for the community to show that they stand with Ukrainians, Puzyk added.

“We want to stand with Ukraine and pray for Ukraine,” she said. “It’s about awareness. Don’t let (Putin) get away with this. The world is watching.”