ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — An internal medicine doctor from Ukraine who is now living in St. Petersburg is doing everything she can to help her country.
Maryia Vengrenyuk speaks Ukrainian, understands Polish and is a medical doctor, so she plans to travel to the Polish border as soon as possible to help refugees and wounded soldiers.
Vengrenyuk went to Kiev last summer with Revived Soldiers Ukraine. It’s a Florida-based organization that delivers medical equipment and supplies, arranges humanitarian aid and provides medical treatment to injured Ukrainian soldiers.
“The first time we went for the opening of our physical therapy rehabilitation center, which was recently very heavily shelled,” said Vengrenyuk.
She and her brother returned for Ukraine’s 30th Independence Day. They walked in the parade in Kiev, waving blue and yellow flags to celebrate independence from the Soviet Union. The festivities happened seven months before Russia’s invasion.
“Everyone was just enjoying life,” she said. “Even up until two weeks ago – everyone was just going about their life. They were going to work, they were going to the gym and before you know it, everyone started to evacuate.”
Vengrenyuk now fears for her family’s safety in western Ukraine. Her aunts, uncles and cousins are sleeping in bomb shelters.
“We’re all trying to be very strong,” she said. “We believe that we will withstand this aggression. We are going to fight until the end. We will not give up. Doesn’t matter where we live, doesn’t matter where Ukrainians are, we will all fight until the end.”
Vengrenyuk said the Ukrainian community is strong in the Tampa Bay area. She, along with Revived Soldiers Ukraine and the Epiphany Ukrainian Catholic Church in St. Petersburg, are collecting medical supplies. If you would like to help, click here.
