Slava Ukraini.
“Glory to Ukraine,” in English.
For more than 100 years, the above has served as both a battlefield call to arms, and an everyday greeting, for a country and a people long accustomed to war.
Over the past 10 days, it’s also been a personal prayer for Khrystyna Pelchar.
That was when Vladimir Putin began sending troops, tanks and targeted missiles across the borders of her Ukrainian homeland.
Now, the 24-year-old WVU doctoral student in political science says it every time she thinks of her mother, sister and grandmother who are still there, aiding in the homefront effort that she isn’t sure how much longer can hold — given the sheer numbers on the other side.
Which means she can’t tell you how many times she says it, since her mind is always racing with sped-up images of war.
Pelchar hails from Lviv, the largest city in western Ukraine.
As of early last week, her hometown had yet to fall under the shadow of the Russian army — even though the air raid sirens started sounding their ominous overtures, causing citizens to look up in reflex.
The women are no longer in Lviv, their family member in West Virginia said. They’re currently outside of the city, encamped at an address she’d prefer not to name.
“They’re in a comparatively safe location,” she said. “But nothing’s really safe in Ukraine anymore.”
Even the structures and installations that should be kept very safe and protected, just by the nature of what they do.
In the northwestern city of Enerhodar this past Thursday evening, Russian shells hit Europe’s largest nuclear plant, initially sparking flames — and fears of a radioactive meltdown.
Meanwhile, Pelchar and others in Morgantown’s Ukrainian community are doing what they can to keep kindred fires burning here.
Monday, the community will host informational sessions in the main lobby of WVU’s Mountainlair, with flyers and other materials on how to best contribute to the cause.
Tables will be staffed from noon-4 p.m., and a candlelight vigil will follow at Woodburn Hall at 7 p.m.
You may also visit www.Morgantown-ua.info for more Ukrainian history and other ways you can help.
Pelchar is still able to make cellphone calls to her family, but with Russian forces targeting TV towers and other electronic infrastructure, she expects that won’t last, either.
She was briefly overcome as she recently recounted one of those calls to that location she’s too worried to name.
“My mother said, ‘I will always love you. Every second.’ The world is supporting us, but we are fighting this war all alone.”
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