CAMPBELL HALL – St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Campbell Hall held its annual festival on Sunday to celebrate the heritage of parishioners.
While there were Ukrainian delicacies, singing, dancing and games for the kids, the day was all about support for their homeland as Vladimir Putin’s Russia continues its invasion.
Anita Machuck arrived from Ukraine just two days before the festival and she was visibly shaken by the war and its effects on her country.
“There are great people there and our brave young men are fighting for the country and it’s a very sad situation, but there is bravery at the front and the rest of the country,” she said through an interpreter.
The spiritual leader of the church, The Very Reverend Father Yaroslav Kostyk said Putin is evil, plain and simple.
“This is what evil is. We have to know his evil; he doesn’t have mercy. He doesn’t know what to do except dark things,” he said.
Father Kostyk’s congregation has been contributing to the Ukrainian cause on a regular basis since the invasion began.
He is hopeful that despite the brutality of the Russian invaders, Ukraine will prevail as an independent, free country.
