MELROSE, MASS. (WHDH) - The Ukrainian Cultural Center of New England helped bring awareness about what’s happening in Ukraine during an informative session at Melrose City Hall on Saturday.
Andriy Boyko shared before and after photos of the Ukrainian city where his children were born. The after photos showed extensive damage to the city caused by Russian attacks.
“People now hiding from missiles, from bombs,” he described. “Kids sit in basements; in some places without food, without water.”
Boyko also worries about his parents who he says are in a territory that Russian troops have taken over.
Kitty Flynn is one Melrose resident who felt it was important to attend this informative session.
“We thought we would come in and learn a bit more about Ukraine and bear witness to what the people are going through over there,” she said.
City officials have been collecting medical supplies for Ukraine through the local organization Sunflowers of Peace. Melrose Mayor Paul Brodeur says the response shows just how much people want to help.
“These are big issues, you don’t know how to plug in, you know something wrong is going on, you know that you’re not going over there, you’re not a diplomat or whatever the case may be, so how do you plugin? How do you show support?” he questioned.
Local Ukrainians say they hope by sharing their stories, they can encourage United States lawmakers to take more action.
“The first item I would like to ask is about close the sky,” Andriy Boyko said. “It means they stop bombing our cities. They stop killing our people.”
City officials say they hope to have another community engagement session regarding Ukraine some time in the near future.
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