by Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT–Governor Ned Lamont’s recent signing of a new agreement linking Connecticut with a sister state in Ukraine is a tribute to the ongoing concern and connection many Connecticut residents have for the war-torn country. The agreement was the result of the work started by Marshall Mayer and his brother Brian, the sons of Nancy Diamond and Jeffrey Mayer of Westport, who founded  the nonprofit group Ukraine Aid International (UAI) in 2022, and started a program linking Connecticut towns to sister cities in Ukraine.

As their work for Ukraine has continued, other Westporters, including artist Mark Yurkiw,  continue to devote their lives to helping Ukrainians battle the Russian military’s intrusion into their country.

Sister city

In addition to Westport’s connection with its sister city of Lyman, Ukraine, other Connecticut municipalities in the sister city program include Greenwich, Fairfield, Stamford, Weston, Easton and Ridgefield.

Marshall Mayer now lives in Slovenia, to be closer to Ukraine, where he continues his organization’s work to help the Ukrainians sustain life there.

“War of erasure”

“This is and continues to be a blatant war of erasure,” said Mayer in an interview with Westport Journal. People who speak Ukrainian in the streets are executed, he said, and Ukrainian books have been burned and locked away. “It is a war who’s only goal is to erase a people who have a history that is 1,000 years older than Russia,” he said.

His organization, with a full-time staff of eight, and about a dozen part-time volunteers, provides “moral and financial support,” he said.  UAI has been providing aid in the form of equipment and supplies that can help the Ukrainian people sustain themselves during the war.

Thousands helped

The aid includes water filtration systems for 450,000 Ukrainian citizens, heating systems for 30,000, programs providing vehicles for 100,000 and several therapy camps for 4,000 Ukrainian children, totaling “more than $2.5 million in aid to Ukraine,” Mayer said.

The grandson of a Holocaust survivor, Mayer said the world “has a chance to stop Russia now. If Ukraine were to fall – Russia will double the size of its army … it would become a juggernaut headed straight towards NATO.” 

Donors supportive yet exhausted

Although Westport historically has been very supportive, Mayer said, donations have been less as the war wages on, with less financial support from individuals. “Some of it is just exhaustion. That’s what [Vladimir] Putin is relying on … for everyone to get bored,” he said. “We are primarily a local organization … a grassroots effort … and complete privately funded,” he said. 

Lauding the politicians

Mayer said he is thankful for all the help from Connecticut residents, including those in the sister city program, and the vision of the state’s leaders including Lamont, Congressman Jim Himes, U.S. Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, and state Representative Ceci Maher for their help. First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker and former Police Chief Foti Koskinas were among Westport and Easton officials visiting Ukraine in 2023.

Putin “not holding back”

Another Westporter who is working to help the Ukrainian people in their fight against Russia is Yurkiw, the son of Ukrainian immigrants, who has also been gathering equipment to aid the country for several years since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

“It’s getting worse – the bottom line is Putin is not holding back; he’s bombing everything he can think of, focusing on civilian infrastructure.” Yurkiw said. Even a children’s hospital was recently hit, he said.

“It’s twice as scary now,” he said. “The sirens go all night long …They send hundreds of drones every day and many missiles. It’s terrorizing the people in the country.”

Yurkiw has been sending equipment overseas by “connecting the dots” between organizations, he explained, including $60,000 worth of firefighting equipment not needed by a Connecticut town, and some medical equipment and supplies from the Westport Center for Senior Activities.  He locates provisions and other aid by maintaining a connection with other Ukrainians in Connecticut. “This has almost become a full-time job for me,” he said.

Growing Ukrainian population

“I’m shocked how many Ukrainians there are in Fairfield County,” he said. “Under Biden, a large number of Ukrainians came into the U.S.”

Yurkiw was last at the front lines in Ukraine in November, delivering the supplies he had collected. He also gives talks around the state about the needs in Ukraine and works with Ridgefield Responds “Hope for Ukraine” to gather donations.  He is currently fundraising $7,800 to ship a container of medical equipment to Ukraine.

Area organizations, including the Ukrainian Club in Fairfield, are also hosting events to raise funds including a Chili Cook-Off on Saturday, Sept. 20 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the club, 279 King’s Drive in Fairfield. The event is being sponsored by BEST (The Breeze Event Service Team) and includes prizes for the winners. For more information or to purchase tickets, email breezeeventserviceteam@gmail.com

To donate to Marshall Mayer and United Aid International, visit ukraineaidinternational.org. 

To contact Mark Yurkiw to arrange donations: email mark.think3d@gmail.com or visit https://ridgefieldresponds.org/