Northeast Ohio reflects nearly one year since war in Ukraine began

Days before the one-year mark of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, those in Northeast Ohio reflected on the events of the past year, and where the war stands now. On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) visited the Ukrainian Museum-Archives in Cleveland, where cultural items, books, and newspaper clippings tell the story of Ukraine’s history. After walking through the museum and observing the traditional decorating of Ukrainian Easter eggs, Brown said that the Ukrainian community here in the United States, and here in Northeast Ohio, has “stood up” throughout the conflict. “The Russians are surprised, one year later, of the success of the Ukrainian people, that they stood up stronger than perhaps anyone thought,” Sen. Brown said. Brown said that it’s important that the United States continues to stand strongly for democracy. “The message to the Russians is Ukraine’s going to continue to stand, and democracy is going to continue to stand,” he said. One Northeast Ohioan who has continued to stand with Ukraine throughout the war is Dr. Taras Mahlay, a doctor with UH, who has put his career on hold to volunteer fulltime with the Cleveland Maidan Association. Dr. Mahlay has been working to collect and send medical supplies to Ukraine. For him, the work is especially meaningful, as his parents are both from Ukraine, and he still has relatives, as well as colleagues, in the country. He said the need for supplies is enormous. “It arrives at a hospital, they chew it up in a day or two, and they’re on the phone, “yeah, we’re short on this, or we’re short on that,’ especially surgical supplies and intensive care unit supplies,” he said. “Their intensive care units are overfilled, their surgical suites are continuously working. Obviously we also have the other problem of the generators and no electricity.” Dr. Mahlay said the Cleveland Maidan Association has a number of events to collect donations and honor the Ukrainian community. isabel Lawrence reports. -- At 3News, we’re not here to tell you the news, we’re here to share the stories that you say matter most to you. Share your ideas, thoughts, concerns and engage in conversations about the communities in which we all call home. Follow 3News on Social: Facebook:   / wkyc.channel3   Twitter:   / wkyc   Instagram:   / wkyc3   Visit our site: https://www.wkyc.com/ And be sure to download our app here: https://wkyc.com/app