Bishop's Stortford's Ukrainian community pay poignant tribute to their homeland in service at Methodist Church
Profound pain, continuing grief and resolute defiance were powerfully expressed as Bishop’s Stortford’s Ukrainian community marked the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of their homeland.
The event at the Methodist Church in South Street on Saturday (Feb 25) was organised by refugees Yuliia Yurdakavushan and Natalia Borozenets, who narrated in English and Ukrainian.
The mothers used music, poetry, videos and powerful personal testimonies to convey the horror of the past 12 months, moving those present to tears.
Since Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered his forces to attack on February 24, 2022, official UN High Commissioner for Human Rights figures indicate his troops have inflicted 21,293 civilian casualties in Ukraine: 8,006 killed and 13,287 injured.
However, this dreadful toll is feared to be the tip of the iceberg. Ukraine’s leading war crimes prosecutor Yuriy Belousov believes the civilian death toll is 100,000.
In the face of such an assault, Yuliia and Natalia said their countrymen and women had united to become a shield, ready to resist and to stop tanks with their bare hands if necessary.
Anna Vdovenko, a mother from Mariupol, occupied by the enemy since May 2022 and still the scene of some of the war’s fiercest fighting, told of the "terrible tragedy" that she and her son, Bogdan and daughter, Masha, endured before they escaped.
As the Russians laid siege, the city was cut off as though an “iron dome” was entombing them.
As she took shelter in a cellar with her children, her mother and her grandmother, they prayed for the safety of her husband, Volodymyr, who was fighting the Russians.
The family drank water from radiators to survive in the bitter cold and, as the bombs rained down, she wrote her children’s blood types on their bodies and put the names and addresses of family and friends in their pockets so they might have a chance to survive if she perished.
As they were finally able to flee, she described their journey to freedom as a “horror movie”. Their home, once the tenth largest city in the country with a population of more than 425,000, was a wasteland littered with makeshift graves and burned buildings.
Her husband was injured and taken prisoner but has since been decorated for his bravery by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and returned to the front line.
As she thanked the British people for welcoming her, she vowed that Ukraine would set an example for the world and defeat the Russians.
In the meantime, the fighting continues and a refugee child sent a heartfelt message to her father: “Come back, Daddy, come back Dad and quickly... I love you so much, my Daddy. And I pray for you to God, but I ask the Heavenly Father ‘Our Father, send us victory’.”
Dasha Knurenko, 17, recited Against All Hope I Hope by Ukrainian poet Lesya Ukrainka and the service continued with further poignant contributions from women and children who have found sanctuary in Bishop’s Stortford.
For all their gratitude at finding a safe refuge, it was clear the heart of each one remained with those still struggling in Ukraine and they were counting the days until they could return.
Girls with hair braided with blue and yellow ribbons and boys wearing T-shirts emblazoned with a heart in the same Ukrainian colours took part in a candlelit procession, symbolising a spirit that the war cannot extinguish.
As the service ended, Yuliia emphasised that determination, paying tribute to the “unbreakable” women around her and millions more mothers who have taken the "desperate step" into the unknown to leave their homeland and save their children.
Bishop’s Stortford’s deputy mayor Cllr Toby Garrett was visibly moved by the service and said how pleased he was that so many local people attended to share the commemoration with the refugees.
As the event took place, the mayor, Cllr Dave Anderson, was already on his way to Ukraine, helping to drive an aid convoy into the war zone.
