A group from the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church in Lexington is heading out Thursday on a safety mission to Ukraine.
The five men will be delivering bullet-proof vests along with some limited medical supplies. Alek Selepina came to the U.S. from Ukraine in 1998. Selepina says vests will go to volunteers transporting food and refugees from hot spots. He says two men he knew from a Ukrainian church suffered fatal injuries.
“They’re not serving in the army or anything. They’re just working for the convoy. They took the food in and those convoys were shot upon and two of them were part of the injured ones. So, they’re no longer with us,” said Selepina.
Selepina’s brother Victor is among those making the trip. Alek Selepina says they have family and friends in Ukraine who had a chance to come to Lexington. He says they’ve felt the need to stay there and help their fellow Ukrainians.
“They felt the need and more urgent to stay there and help the people with humanitarian aid as much as they can do,” said Selepina.
Asked how long he thought the Russian invasion of Ukraine would go on, Selepina says he couldn’t answer that question, but wished it would end today.
