BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo's Ukrainian community members fear the worst is yet to come with conflict rising in Ukraine.
"There are now approximately 190,000 troops on the Ukrainian border on three sides," says Yuri Hreshchyshyn, chairman of Buffalo Chapter Ukrainian Congress Committee of America. "North East of Russia and the Peninsula as well they seem to impose to invade."
The chairman expressed his worries for his family and friends in Ukraine.
"I'm concerned for them personally, but they know what they are facing. They're fighting for their own home," says Hreshchyshyn.
Others believe the tensions between Ukraine and Russia could be a case of history repeating itself.
"We're going to have a massive bloodshed, and you're going to have a lot of destruction and a lot of refugees," says Emil Bandresky, president of Dnipro Ukrainian Cultural Center of Buffalo. "You're probably going to have a carnage we haven't seen since Stalin and Hitler waged World War 2."
The chairman of the Buffalo Chapter Ukrainian Congress Committee of America explains the significance of having America stand its ground.
"It's important for Americans to stand firm now and not wait until it's too late," Hreshchyshyn says. "Because if we wait, there'll be a bad result not only for Ukrainians in Ukraine but for Europe and the world in general."
There'll be an open meeting at the Ukrainian Cultural Center this Saturday in response to the tensions between Ukraine and Russia.
DETAILS:
When: Saturday Feb. 26th at 1:00 p.m.
Where: Dnipro Ukrainian Cultural Center, 562 Genesee St, Buffalo, NY 14204
What: Open meeting in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
