Welcome to our blog!
Read on to learn more about our volunteers, our work, and the gear we send to Ukraine’s frontlines.
Reflection on Horns of Ukraine
…by Mike Pekarek, U.S. Air Force Veteran & Artistic Outreach & Surplus Equipment Director, UDS
My name is Mike Pekarek. I retired from the U.S. Air Force Bands after 22 years of service in 36 nations on four continents. While stationed in Germany, I traveled through Ukraine several times and met many people who became friends. The closest of these are the horn players of the Presidential Orchestra of Ukraine, a group similar to America’s “President’s Own” US Marine Corps Band. We rehearsed and performed many times together.
I have been supporting Ukrainian defenders, including some of my musician friends, with uniforms and boots since soon after Russia launched the full-scale invasion. I am continuing this work as a volunteer leader with Ukraine Defense Support. Please allow me to share some of my reflections and memories of my friends as they fight for their families, their homes, and their freedom.
After February 24, 2022, the Orchestra contacted several USAF musicians and sent us digitized copies of all the original Ukrainian music in their archive, including some from civilian orchestras. They were, and remain, under threat of having unique parts of their culture destroyed by Russian invaders, either through a stray missile or worse, and sending us copies will prevent their loss. Every time an American performs these works now, we remember how an entire culture can be snuffed out by violence.
The Orchestra was mobilized into an ad hoc infantry unit that fateful February, serving until May fighting and winning the Battle of Kyiv, hunting assassins and saboteurs, digging trenches, building barricades, blocking some streets and setting up others as ambush “kill zones”. Some of these brave musicians signed up for extended service and fight on Ukraine’s frontlines today.
The first time I performed with the Presidential Orchestra of Ukraine was in 2017, on Ukraine’s 26th Independence Day, only three years after the Maidan Revolution, the Revolution of Hope. This concert in Maidan Square, Kyiv, was for thousands, memory expressed through music where Ukrainians had perished in 2014, under the shadow of a building burned out by pro-Russian officials. (Picture #1, Hornsat Maidan 2017)
After winning the Battle of Kyiv, Gregory (top left in the horns photo) recorded this original song, “Cranes.” Anyone with farm experience was ordered to help plant crops in the Summer of 2022 so Ukraine could eat during winter. Reporting to his father’s farm near Poltava, he had left all his instruments in Kyiv and all he had on the farm was his old broken guitar from his teenage years. “Cranes” is about a Russian artillery strike on a civilian bus, recorded on his father’s farm after nine weeks of combat. Cranes have a metaphorical meaning in Ukraine, symbolizing the souls of the departed. One line in the song is “Look at the Cranes as they fly away. They saw a nation on fire, a twisted lump of metal, and iron dust on the trees.”
One of my other horn-player friends, Maksym, is one of Ukraine’s many heroes. Maksym was activated from reserve into his unit, the now-legendary 1st Tanks out of Chernihiv. They engaged a Russian force ten times their size in the Battle of Kyiv and won. In the successful Ukrainian counter-offensive of Summer 2022, he was part of the breakthrough unit that rushed behind Russian lines to hasten their retreat. He liberated many villages and was one of the first into Izyum, where he found a mass grave, filled with victims of Russian war crimes.
It has been my task to outfit many soldiers, often with my own gear. Maksym in the picture is wearing my uniform, the one I wore while deployed in Afghanistan, a tie between American servicemembers and Ukraine as so many Americans veterans have donated their gear to Ukraine. He died with his tank a few weeks later. To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, Maksym like so many others gave the last, full measure of devotion to Ukaine. (Picture #2, Maksym by tank)
My good friend Gregory, who recorded his original song, “Cranes”, was performing as principal Horn of Kyiv’s Operetta Orchestra when he was recalled to service in May 2024. In this photo he’s with his infant son upon completion of basic military training just this past June. In one picture it tells the story of why Ukrainians fight. We have nebulous words like freedom, but in reality he wants a better life, a better Ukraine for his children. He wants to help build that. He has fought in the Bakhmut and Dontestk directions since then.
My last musical performance in Ukraine was with retired Master Sergeant Tom Salyers, a wonderful trumpet player. He wrote this piece for my Air Force retirement. It’s a weaving of the Ukrainian and American national anthems. This is the brass quintet from the Presidential Orchestra’s recording. Every one of these musicians is a combat veteran. Sasha on horn is a wonderful player. https://youtu.be/0zsfm_1A5Jc?si=Oe5ZGHCdT-L5il9H
To close with an overture, this classic piece of Ukrainian high art music was sent to the US Air Force Bands in February 2022. Mykola Lysenko’s Overture to his opera “Taras Bulba”, performed by the USAF Band of Mid America, was a tribute to Ukraine and a way to communicate Ukrainian spirit to audiences in the USA. There are five musicians on this recording that traveled through Ukraine with me, including the conductor. More still donated uniforms and gear for me to deliver. I am playing principal horn: https://youtu.be/0QbxbQD5WCs?si=jaV5zGwxfYH_fV0F
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We Stand in Solidarity with All Who Support Ukraine
Today and every day, Ukraine Defense Support reaffirms its unwavering commitment to Ukraine. We stand with every Ukrainian who defends their freedom, sovereignty, and right to exist. Our support for Ukraine will remain steadfast no matter what the future holds. Every day, step-by-step, we unite with every person who defends freedom and democracy.
We recognize that our efforts to help Ukraine may become even more urgent if American governmental aid is cut or eliminated. To all who believe that no country should be allowed to destroy another – please join us! Ukraine’s fight to prevent the genocide of its people and its culture and history is noble and just.
Our thoughts and hearts go out today and everyday to Ukrainians around the world. We will never give up.
Ukraine’s fight for freedom is our fight too. Слава Україні! Glory to Ukraine! God Bless America!
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UDS Volunteers Learn Life-Saving Skills with the Força Foundation
…by Ryan Widjaja, intern, Ukraine Defense Support
In response to the critical need for advanced pre-hospital trauma services in Ukraine, the Força Foundation created Força Ukraine in 2022 to train Ukrainian soldiers and medical staff in life-saving, in-the-field care. This team of dedicated medical professionals and Ukrainian translators have trained over 1,100 personnel, donated $60,000 in medical equipment directly to medical providers, and raised $100,000 for Ukraine.
Força Ukraine’s mission isn’t just about medical training. It’s about developing capacity in Ukraine for other medical professionals to train more Ukrainians in the life-saving skills the country needs as it faces continual bombardment of both civilian and military targets by russian forces.
To raise awareness of and funding for this critical work, team members toured the United States this summer and provided training to various groups, including Ukraine Defense Support volunteers.
Dr. Steve Donnelly, an emergency medicine physician and co-founder of Força Ukraine, shared that for him, volunteering in Ukraine is about making a true and lasting difference for so many lives in Ukraine.
“No matter what we do, it’s always for Ukraine, and that’s the special part,” he says.
(photo courtesy of Forca)
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Challenge of a Strong Spirit
by Inna Futko, volunteer with Ukraine Defense Support, and Anton Fedorov, defender of Azovstal, who spent 2.5 years in Russian captivity
For more than 2.5 years, Russia has been shelling Ukrainian cities, killing civilians, occupying Ukrainian territories, and abusing Ukrainian prisoners. Ukrainian soldier Anton Fedorov, nicknamed “Crooked,” spent almost 2.5 years in Russian captivity. He survived inhumane torture and is now undergoing rehabilitation in Ukraine. Anton and his friends believe the whole world should know how russia violates the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war, so he is sharing his story.
Anton serves in the National Guard of Ukraine. He was awarded the Cossack Cross of the 2nd and 3rd degrees and the Order of Courage of the 3rd degree. He helped defend Mariupol in 2022 as part of a special purpose reconnaissance company, and ended up with hundreds of other defenders and civilians in the Azovstal steel mill. The defense of Mariupol lasted 86 days. When the last defenders at Azov surrendered they were taken into captivity by the invading forces.
For a long time Azov fighters did not show up on lists for prisoner exchanges. But then, in the 56th exchange, which took place on September 14, 2024, some of the defenders of Azovstal were finally freed. Anton was one of them.
Anton credits the spirit and strength of his fellow brothers in arms with helping him survive. “When there are close, strong brothers in spirit and body, on whom you can count on in the most dangerous moments of life, you can move through the fire, gaining victory,” he says. Despite the difficulty and danger of his chosen profession, Anton’s family and his girlfriend always supported his choice to join the military.
Anton remembers how he felt during the defense of Azovstal, in which Anton took an active part with his brigade. “It was very scary and difficult. There were battles every day, death was always nearby, but shoulder to shoulder, brave sons of Ukraine were ready to fight to the end,” he says.
After the Ukrainian commander-in-chief’s order to stop fighting and withdraw from Azovstal, the next events for Anton, and for most of the soldiers, seemed to happen in a fog, he says. No one understood what would happen next. But everyone obeyed the order to lay down their arms.
We can only imagine the emotions Anton and other POWs experienced. Currently there are an estimated 8,000 POWs whose fates are unknown. (The International Red Cross has not visited most, if any, Ukrainian POWs, including Anton.) But, like all fighters who found themselves face-to-face with the enemy on enemy territory, he was not allowed to call his relatives during his years in captivity, a violation of the Geneva Conventions. For more than two years, Anton’s relatives lived on prayers, hope, and weekly actions in support of the prisoners.
Anton survived the extremely difficult days in captivity by thinking about his loved ones and about embracing them again on Ukrainian land. He also kept his faith in the victory of Ukrainian soldiers who are defeating the russian army on several fronts.
When he finally stepped foot on Ukrainian soil after more than 2.5 years, the first thing Anton did was call his mother and sisters. Their call made it onto all the news on Ukrainian television. He is using that media exposure to challenge others to do push-ups, press-ups and pull-ups, and then challenge the next participant. So far about 30 people have joined him.
Anton says he created the challenge as a way to build his strength back and to prove to others that “I don’t want to be a vegetable and I don’t want to complain that I’m not feeling well. And I want to help other soldiers with that.” Anton is doing these exercises every day in addition to his overall therapy in a rehabilitation hospital, even though he still faces exhaustion caused by so many months in russian captivity.
Anton wants to get back on his feet as soon as possible, and according to his relatives, he should undergo full rehabilitation and return mentally and physically to a normal life. Even 2.5 years of russian captivity did not convince Anton to betray his convictions: “I want to fight on, because this is our Motherland, and no one has the right to destroy its integrity and the sovereignty of our country, Ukraine.”
We are all grateful to Anton for his choice to fight to keep Ukraine on the political map of the world. However, at the moment, Anton needs our help for rehabilitation, as he has an extremely long and expensive road to recovery ahead of him. To learn how you can help, visit Anton’s Twitter/X account at: https://x.com/anton_fedo70412.
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Rally for Justice – Olenivka Prison Massacre
by Marcia Jacobs, Media Director & Chief Storyteller, Ukraine Defense Support
Two years ago, Russia committed a cruel and cynical war crime: on July 28, 2022, in the dead of night, explosions occurred in a Russian prison in the village of Olenivka, where the defenders of Mariupol were held, after which the barracks where the prisoners of war were sleeping began to burn. As a result of the attack, 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed (many burned alive) and more than 130 were injured. UDS held a rally in downtown Seattle on July 28 to commemorate those lost, honor those still in captivity, and raise awareness of this Russian war crime. Local parents, Roman and Valeria (see story below) attended. Their eldest son Roman is a survivor of the Olenivka massacre and is still a POW held in Russian captivity. Thank you to all who joined us.
Два роки тому Росія здійснила жорстокий та цинічний воєнний злочин: 28 липня 2022 року, посеред ночі, у російській в’язниці в селищі Оленівка, де утримувалися захисники Маріуполя, сталися вибухи, після яких почали горіти бараки, в яких спали військовополонені. В результаті нападу 53 українські військовополонені загинули (багато згоріли живцем), а понад 130 отримали поранення. UDS провели мітинг у центрі Сіетлу 28 липня, щоб вшанувати пам’ять загиблих, вшанувати тих, хто ще перебуває в полоні, та привернути увагу до цього російського воєнного злочину. Батьки, Роман та Валерія (дивіться історію нижче), відвідали захід. Їхній старший син Роман вижив під час теракту в Оленівці та досі перебуває в російському полоні. Дякуємо всім, хто приєднався до нас.
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Roman’s Story
by Marcia Jacobs, Media Director & Chief Storyteller, Ukraine Defense Support
Ukrainian parents Valeria and Roman Biletska/Biletskiy and seven of their eight children escaped occupied territory in southern Ukraine in the middle of the night, not knowing which direction led to safety and which led directly into more occupied territory or pockets of invading Russian troops. Most communications had been knocked offline, but they had heard bombs falling on the nearby airport and seen YouTube videos of Russian troops rounding up civilians in a nearby village.
Valeria and Roman escaped knowing their family was especially vulnerable because they have relatives in the security service and in the military, and also because six of their children are adopted, so there were many administrative records about their family in the town’s record system. It was barely two weeks after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, and it was time to leave.
The Biletskas loved their home, beautiful garden, and wheat field in their village, Lymanets. They left Valeria’s mom and siblings, who wanted to stay. They left their successful funeral home business and the bees Roman kept. They left in the only vehicle large enough to take the big family, their funeral hearse.
They headed northwest and at one point had to leave the hearse and hide in nearby bushes to avoid being discovered by Russians. At other stops, Ukrainian forces inspected their car and were surprised to find seven very-much-alive children in the back of the hearse.
Their eldest son, Roman, 23, who had served in the Ukrainian military from 2017 – 2019, had mustered 12 days before the rest of his family left. He would have rejoined Ukraine’s defenders on the first day of the invasion, but he and his dad, Roman senior, needed to bring his younger brother, Serhiy, then 15, home from his school in Kherson, on an island in the Dnipro river.
Serhiy had spent 12 hours on the floor at his school because of nearly constant Russian artillery fire. Once Serhiy was home, Roman rejoined the Ukrainian military. Eight days later, on March 8, he called from Mariupol and let his family know he was okay. A few days after that a civilian called the family and told them Roman was okay. And so, with that news and with the sounds of Russian artillery ringing in their ears and images from local videos showing Russian troops taking over a nearby town, Valeria and her husband made the agonizing choice to leave.
Eventually the family arrived in the relatively safe city of Vinnytsia and stayed with one of her brothers in a refugee center in a school. From there they went to Poland. Valeria didn’t cross the border with her family right away because she feared she wouldn’t be able to receive a call from Roman, but did rejoin her family in Poland once she was reassured her phone would still work outside of Ukraine. In early April they received a call saying their son was dead. Valeria and Roman were shocked and horrified, but they couldn’t believe their son was dead. A few days later they got another call saying the previous call was a mistake and Roman was alive.
New Life in the United States
The senior Roman has brothers who have lived in Washington State since 2002, so the family knew their destination. After Poland they went to France, then to Mexico where they stayed in a refugee camp in Tijuana. They finally entered the U.S. on April 10, 2022.
A week later, they heard from their son Roman that he was okay. He had helped to defend Mariupol and eventually made his way to the giant Azovstal steel mill, along with hundreds of other Ukrainian soldiers and civilians who worked at the steel mill, and their families. On May 17, 2022 they received an official letter telling them Roman was dead. He received a military award signed by Ukraine’s President Zelenkskyy.
During the months from Roman’s April 17 call through the following month of not knowing if he was still alive, and then from May 17 through the next two months of grieving, Valeria turned to her painting to stay strong enough to continue to be the mom her seven surviving children needed. As a new artist, having only started painting four years prior after taking just two art classes in Ukraine, painting became her grief therapy.
Then in July 2022, the Red Cross called the family and told them Roman was still alive and in Russian captivity, having been captured on May 17 at the huge steel mill that has become an international symbol of Ukraine’s resistance to Russia.The siege of the Azovstal mill had bogged Russian troops down there for 80 days, buying time for Ukrainian forces elsewhere to prepare for the coming onslaught and evacuate civilians.
In February 2023 they received a short video showing Roman in a Russian prison. He was very thin. After that they received a letter and a photo from him. They also learned that Roman’s best friend died in a burning car after Russians fired on his car. Valeria’s brother’s wife and their three-year-old son were captured by Russians, who raped and tortured her before killing her, and tortured their little boy by choking him and burning his forehead with cigarettes. The boy is now with his father in Odesa. Valeria and her family keep a beautiful portrait of her in the small gallery where Valeria paints and makes beautiful bouquets of flowers from soap.
Today the proceeds from the gallery sales help sustain the family and sustain several other people in Ukraine. They send money to friends back home and to families whose husbands and fathers are missing, which means they would have no income at all if it weren’t for gifts from generous people like the Biletskas. They also donate works of art to various fundraisers for Ukraine, including to Ukraine Defense Support and many others. And, despite their pain and constant worry for Roman, they work to keep Ukrainian culture alive by hosting small concerts in their gallery featuring extremely gifted Ukrainian musicians.
This past January, the family heard from three other soldiers who were freed in Ukraine via a prisoner exchange with Russia. They knew Roman and shared that he was still alive, strong, and even helping other prisoners.
Батьки українського захиника, який перебуває в російському полні, Валерія та Роман Білецькі та семеро з їхніх восьми дітей тікали з окупованої території на півдні України вночі, не знаючи, який напрямок веде до безпеки, а який — прямо в окуповану територію чи до російських військ. Більшість зв’язків було перервано, але вони чули, як бомби падали на найближчий аеропорт та бачили відео на YouTube про те, як російські війська збирають цивільних у сусідньому селі.
Валерія та Роман евакуювались, знаючи, що їхня родина особливо вразлива, адже у них є родичі в службі безпеки та в армії, а також шестеро з їхніх дітей — усиновлені, тому про їхню родину було багато адміністративних записів у місцевій системі записів. Це сталося майже через два тижні після повномасштабного вторгнення Росії у 2022 році, і настав час виїжджати.
Білецькі любили свій дім, красивий сад і пшеничне поле у своєму селі Лиманець. Вони залишили матір Валерії та її братів і сестер, які хотіли залишитися. Вони покинули свій успішний бізнес похоронного бюро та бджоли, якими опікувався Роман. Вони виїхали в єдиному транспортному засобі, достатньо великому для великої родини — їхньому похоронному катафалку.
Родина прямувала на північно-західнйи напрямок і в один момент мусила залишити катафалк і сховатися в кущах поблизу, щоб уникнути виявлення росіянами. На інших зупинках українські сили перевіряли їхню машину і були здивовані, знайшовши семеро дуже живих дітей у катафалку.
Їхній старший син, Роман, 23 роки, який служив у Збройних Силах України з 2017 по 2019 рік, був мобілізований за 12 днів до евакуації решти його сім’ї. Він мав приєднатися до лав Збройних Сил України в перший день вторгнення, але йому та його батьку, Роману-старшому, потрібно було вивезти тоді 15-річного сина Сергія додому зі школи в Херсоні з острону на річці Дніпро.
Сергій провів 12 годин на підлозі в школі через постійний російський артилерійський вогонь. Після повернення додому Сергія, Роман долучився до української армії. Через вісім днів, 8 березня, він зателефонував з Маріуполя і повідомив своїй сім’ї, що з ним все гаразд. Кілька днів потому незнайомий чоловік зателефонував родині і повідомив, що Роман у безпеці. Так, під звуки російської артилерії в їхніх вухах і зображеннями з місцевих новин, які показували, як російські війська захоплюють найближче місто, Валерія та її чоловік прийняли складне рішення виїхати.
Зрештою сім’я прибула до відносно безпечного міста Вінниця і залишилася у брата Валерії у центрі ВПО у школі. Звідти вони виїхали до Польщі. Валерія не перетнула кордон разом із родиною відразу, оскільки боялася, що не зможе отримати дзвінок від сина Романа, але згодомколи переконалася, що її телефон буде працювати і за межами України, приєдналася до родини в Польщі. На початку квітня вони отримали дзвінок, що їхній син загинув. Але Валерія вірила, що це неправда і через кілька днів вони отримали інший дзвінок, де повідовили що це була помилка і Роман живий.
Старший Роман має братів, які з 2002 року проживають у штаті Вашингтон, тому сім’я знала свій пункт призначення. Після Польщі вони поїхали до Франції, потім до Мексики, де проживали в таборі біженців у Тіхуані. Вони нарешті перейшли кордон до США 10 квітня 2022 року.
Через тиждень родина отримала звістку від свого сина Романа, що з ним усе гаразд. Він брав участь у обороні Маріуполя і врешті-решт потрапив на гігантський металургійний комбінат “Азовсталь”, разом із сотнями інших українських солдатів і цивільних, які працювали на комбінаті, та їхніми сім’ями. 17 травня 2022 року вони отримали офіційного листа, в якому повідомлялося, що Роман загинув. Тоді він отримав військову нагороду, підписану президентом України Зеленським.
Протягом місяців коли мати не знала, чи він її син живий, а потім від 17 травня до наступних двох місяців скорботи, Валерія зверталася до живопису, щоб залишатися достатньо сильною і продовжувати бути матір’ю, якої потребували семеро її дітей, що залишилися живими. Для художниці-початківці, яка почала малювати лише чотири роки тому, відвідавши лише два уроки малювання в Україні, живопис став терапією.
У липні 2022 року Червоний Хрест зателефонував родині і повідомив, що Роман все ж живий і перебуває в російському полоні, захоплений 17 травня на величезному металургійному комбінаті, який став міжнародним символом опору України росії. Облога комбінату “Азовсталь” заблокувала російські війська на 80 днів, давши час українським військам в інших місцях підготуватися до майбутнього наступу і евакуювати цивільне населення.
У лютому 2023 року вони отримали коротке відео, на якому Роман сидів у російській в’язниці. “Він був дуже схудлий”, – каже Валерія. Далі вони отримали від нього лист і фотографію. Вони також дізналися, що найкращий друг Романа, цивільний, загинув у палаючій машині після того, як росіяни обстріляли його автомобіль. Дружину брата Валерії, її ім’я тут, і трирічного сина захопили росіяни, які зґвалтували і катували її перед тим, як убити, а також катували їхнього маленького сина – душили його і припікали лоб сигаретами. Зараз хлопчик перебуває з батьком в Одесі. Валерія та її сім’я зберігають гарний портрет з її іменем тут, у маленькій галереї, де Валерія малює і робить гарні букети квітів з мила.
Сьогодні доходи від продажів галереї допомагають утримувати сім’ю та ще кількох людей в Україні. Вони надсилають гроші друзям додому і сім’ям, чиї чоловіки і батьки зникли безвісти, а це означає, що вони взагалі не мали б ніякого доходу, якби не подарунки від щедрих людей, таких як Білецькі. Вони також дізналися, що найкращий друг Романа загинув у палаючій машині після того, як росіяни обстріляли його автомобіль. Дружину брата Валерії та їхнього трирічного сина захопили росіяни, які зґвалтували і катували її перед тим, як убити, а також катували їхнього маленького сина – душили його і припікали лоб сигаретами. Зараз хлопчик перебуває з батьком в Одесі. Валерія та її сім’я зберігають її гарний портрет у маленькій галереї, де Валерія малює і робить гарні букети квітів з мила.
Сьогодні доходи від продажів галереї Валерії допомагають утримувати сім’ю та ще кілька родин в Україні. Вони надсилають гроші друзям додому та сім’ям, чиї чоловіки та батьки зникли безвісти, а це означає, що вони не мали б жодного доходу, якби не підтримка від таких щедрих людей, як подружжя Білецьких. Вони також жертвують твори мистецтва на різні благодійні акції для України, в тому числі для Ukraine Defense Support та багатьох інших. І, незважаючи на свій біль і постійне хвилювання за cина Романа, вони працюють над тим, щоб українська культура жила, влаштовуючи невеликі концерти у своїй галереї за участю надзвичайно обдарованих українських музикантів.
У січні цього року сім’я отримала звістку від трьох інших солдатів, які були звільнені в Україні в результаті обміну полоненими з Росією. Вони знали Романа і розповіли, що він досі живий, сильний і навіть допомагає іншим полоненим.
