LEWISTON — The center pews at the Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul were packed Sunday with community members and Ukrainian New Mainers who stood in solidarity with Ukrainians in their 720 Days of Resistance.

The event began with a service featuring Ukrainian stories and songs and prayers by the Rev. Daniel Greenleaf, the basilica’s pastor, and Pastor Pavlo Opalnyk and Pastor Viascheslav Marar.

Alina Terzi performed the state anthem of Ukraine, “Shche ne vmerla Ukraina.” Coastal Winds from Freeport performed the song “Oi y luzi” and Topsham Strings, “Plyne Kacha.” Oksana Vasylenko performed “Zrodylys my velykoi godyny,” or, “March of Ukrainian Nationalists.”

Through a bake sale, silent auction and general donations, the event also served as a fundraiser aiming to purchase an emergency response vehicle and medical kits for the people of Ukraine.

Tetiana Cherednichenko, one of the event’s organizers and a refugee from Kyiv, said the past two years have been difficult, but the second anniversary of the war is not filled entirely with grief and anger.

“The past two years have been marked by strength, resilience and collective spirit that refuses to be brought down,” Cherednichenko said. “Today’s event is not just a celebration … but a tribute to the unbeatable human spirit that continues to shine brightly in challenging times.”

Yurii Saiko and his family of five just recently came to the U.S., narrowly missing several run-ins with Russian forces in the first days of the war and on their way out. Saiko comes from a town about 30 km from the Ukraine-Russian border and his town was among the first to hear Russian missiles flying overhead and to see forces coming through.

The family sensed Feb. 23, 2022, that something unusual was happening, and by 4:30 the next morning, the first of Russian missiles began barraging Ukrainian towns. Gathering in the safest corner of their home, the family remained in place until bombing slowed and they could safely make it to a basement on the property about 20 meters away. In about three days, Russian soldiers were moving through the town.

With just a small amount of food and a town with empty grocery stores, Saiko said the family had to make bread in a frying pan and, for a while, that’s all they had.

“At that point, we really wanted to leave, but they wouldn’t allow anybody to leave,” Saiko said.

Those who did try to leave were met either by gunfire from Russian soldiers or explosions from land mines forces planted in the wide-open fields around the town. Days away from buses Russian forces allowed through to transport families, the Saikos were offered a ride by a family from town. When Saiko tried to make a last phone call to the family before they were scheduled to leave, nobody answered. Six months later, Saiko said, they learned the family had been blown up.

“Women, children and the driver were in the car,” Saiko said. “We could have been in that car.”

When the Saikos later made it out on one of the buses they passed through five Russian checkpoints and each time risked the possibility that Russian soldiers would pull the men from the buses to be shot. They were stopped for two hours at a Ukrainian checkpoint so Ukrainian forces could regain a stretch of road Russians were occupying. Russian forces were using phosphorus bombs in that area and buses and cars were being bombed and shot at constantly, Saiko said.

He thanked God for answering his prayers to get his family to safety, the U.S. government for its support and Maine for welcoming those fleeing the war.

Opalnyk’s sons Andrii and Oleg spoke during the service. Andrii shared some of Ukraine’s history, the meaning of its flags and stories from the first days after the war broke out. Oleg shared his transformation from anger and hopelessness to positive action.

Oleg, who has lived in the United States for more than 20 years, said inner turmoil was eating at him, knowing friends and family are still in Ukraine facing danger daily.

During the first weeks, Oleg was convinced he needed to go back to Ukraine to help fight Russian forces, but it couldn’t be that simple, he said — with a business to run and others depending on him, he felt helpless.

“I was telling my wife, ‘I’m probably going to go to war, go and fight,’” Oleg said. “I believe I shouldn’t kill somebody, but at that moment, I was so angry. I wanted to go and protect people who were helpless.”

Oleg said that’s why he’s developed such an enthusiasm for the medical kits Ukrainians have been trying to put together, mostly from the shelter of churches of all denominations, for soldiers on the frontlines.

The small packs have morphine, tourniquets, bandages, a variety of other first response items and a pocket Bible.

Switching from a mindset of violence to “how can I help from here,” Oleg knew he could do more by helping fund churches back home to produce these packs at no cost to Ukrainian soldiers.

“Twenty dollars — $20 — that will save someone’s life,” he said.

Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline said any amount of help the community can provide for Ukrainians is a positive step. Praying for victory and peace two years ago when the war broke out, and now returning to pray for the same reasons, he said, leaves everyone with a heavy heart but “strength and fervor no less diminished.”

“Over these past two years, there have been countless stories of perseverance and resistance,” Sheline said. “Never before in modern times has the world been given a better definition of these two terms as what Ukraine has provided.”

The event was sponsored by Lewiston-Auburn Chamber of Commerce, which is accepting donations for the cause.

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