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PRAYING FOR UKRAINE Church holds prayer services for family members and friends in Ukraine
DAVE MASON/NEWS-PRESS
Pastor Michael Smiyun of the First Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church of Santa Barbara said his church is praying for the protection of the Ukrainians during the Russian invasion.
By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
DAVE MASON/NEWS-PRESS
“There’s support from this country and all over the world. I’m amazed by how many people care,” said Ksenia Luchkowska, who was born to ethnic Ukranians and proudly displays a Ukrainian flag outside her Santa Barbara home.
Ksenia Luchkowska, who was born to Ukrainian parents, finds encouragement in the world’s support By KAITLYN SCHALLHORN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Horror and fear. Those are the emotions Ksenia Luchkowska first felt when she heard Russia launched a devastating attack on Ukraine in late February. The Santa Barbara resident was born in 1944 in a displaced persons camp in what is now Jaslo, Poland (then, a German occupation zone) to ethnic Ukrainian parents. Her father was an officer in the Polish army, and her family fled after
Germany invaded and the Soviets began to move in. Eventually, Ms. Luchkowska and her family relocated to Belgium for a few years before settling in Lorain, Ohio, in a Ukrainian community. And in 1978, she came to Santa Barbara with her late husband, hotelier Eric Friden, and set down roots. But Ms. Luchkowska never forgot about her upbringing and family still in Ukraine. When Ukraine became an independent country in 1991, Ms. Luchkowska made the trek
overseas, volunteering to teach English. She spent time in Yalta on the Crimean Peninsula, the capital city of Kyiv and Lviv, a western city popular among tourists near Poland. There in Lviv, Ms. Luchkowska met her older cousin who said, “I hope you get on your knees and thank your parents for getting you out.” It was a dire message Ms. Luchkowska still remembers some 20 years later as she watches news of the Russian invasion — which the White House has dubbed
“Putin’s War of Choice” — play out in the media. “I know that President Putin of Russia has been saying for quite a while there’s no such thing as Ukraine, we should all be one big happy family,” Ms. Luchkowska told the News-Press. “Some brother he is. He attacks Ukraine with such horrible means. It’s horrendous. It’s just awful. It’s unthinkable.” Ms. Luchkowska and others with Ukrainian ties in the Please see KSENIA on A5
Two Santa Barbara friends, both from Ukraine, unite to help refugees By KAITLYN SCHALLHORN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Gregory Lyutko and Walter Polowczak were both born in Ukraine just a few years and a few hundred kilometers apart. But now, the two men have found themselves settled in Santa Barbara with their longtime friendship propelling them on a mission: to raise awareness and aid for Ukrainians who have become refugees seemingly overnight as Russia continues to aggressively invade their country. Mr. Lyutko and Mr. Polowczak have organized two
demonstrations in Santa Barbara with another planned at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden Sunday. With family and friends still in Ukraine in the midst of the conflict, both men are particularly concerned about the refugees — and their future. “At this rate, Ukraine is literally being annihilated,” Mr. Polowczak, 65, told the NewsPress. “Irrespective of how this whole thing gets resolved, what are they going to go back to? There are no homes, no economy. In many cases, these are women with children because their husbands
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are fighting the war.” Mr. Lyutko moved to Santa Barbara more than 30 years ago with his wife and two children from a part of Ukraine still under the control of the Soviet Union at the time to pursue freedom. Among countless other family members, he has five siblings currently in Ukraine who he speaks with every morning. So far, Mr. Lyutko said, his family is OK but has sought protection in bomb shelters as they hide “from Russian aggression.” “I feel the sorrow and suffering of the Ukrainian people. My
The First Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church of Santa Barbara has been holding nightly services this week to pray for Ukraine. Many in the congregation, including the pastor himself, have family and friends in Ukraine. “We gather together to pray to stop this bloody war. A lot of our family members are still there,” Pastor Michael Smiyun told the News-Press Wednesday. “Our relatives and friends are spending day and night in a bunker. Especially the children. “We are praying to protect them. We are praying to God to give them wisdom for what to do for themselves and others,” Pastor Smiyun said. “We are also praying for their brothers in Christ to help them. Additionally, we are praying for wisdom for
the Ukrainian president, to stop this evil from Russia — they are not listening to anyone, other presidents or countries. “We believe God can do more than we can imagine,” he said. “According to the Bible, there are alot of miracles where God saved the nation of Israel and other nations. We are also praying for the U.S., and we are thankful for anyone who stands with us. “We are also praying for Ukrainian refugees,” said Pastor Smiyun. More than 500,000 Ukrianians have fled across their western border. “They were living a normal life, and now they have basically nothing. We are also raising funds to purchase supplies for the refugees,” Pastor Smiyun said. The First Ukrainian Please see CHURCH on A5
Russia intensifies attacks, Ukraine won’t back down By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
sympathy to all Ukrainian people, including my relatives,” Mr. Lyutko, 60, told the News-Press. And aside from his family, Mr. Polowczack communicates almost daily with a seminary that has turned into a refugee center. Before Russia’s invasion, Mr. Polowczak was traveling extensively to Ukraine as he is involved with charity and missions work. He moved to the Chicago area in 1968 when he was 12 years old and continues to split his time between Santa Barbara and Chicago. In fact, Mr. Polowczak
As Russian forces intensified their attacks Wednesday on the civilian areas of Ukraine’s largest cities, particularly Kyiv and Kharkiv, Ukrainian civilians continued to flee neighboring nations for refuge. “During this time, we have truly become one,” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a televised address to Ukraine. “We forgave each other. We started loving each other. We help each other. We are worried for each other.” Kharkiv, a city of 1.5 million people, has been the target of the most intensive bombing. Reuters quoted authorities as saying 21 people have been killed by shelling and airstrikes within 24 hours and
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UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT PHOTO
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky
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