Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg and local representatives of CHS4Ukraine, including President Maka Aptsiauri, Secretary Anna Spann and Treasurer Kenneth Marolda, on Thursday (2/23) will welcome ten Ukrainian soldiers to a meeting and press conference at 10:30 am inside the Council Chamber at City Hall (80 Broad Street).
The soldiers, who are visiting the U.S. for medical treatment in other cities, will discuss their war-time experiences at the Charleston meeting, which falls on the eve of the Russian invasion one year ago on February 24, 2022.
While in the U.S., the soldiers received prosthetics provided at no cost by the Oakdale, Minnesota-based Protez Foundation. Mykola Sarazhynskyy, Director of Community Engagement for Protez Foundation will attend Thursday's meeting and press conference.
“For the last year, Protez Foundation has provided prosthetics for 42 soldiers and 4 civilians including 2 children,” said Mr. Sarazhynskyy. “This effort has been supported by the generosity of many communities across the US.”
The City Hall meeting and press conference will culminate the soldiers' four-day Charleston visit. The visit includes a series of cultural and community events organized by CHS4Ukraine, whose mission is to unite the Charleston community and provide relief to those persons suffering in Ukraine. Since its founding, CHS4Ukraine has organized awareness and fundraising campaigns, as well as made 27 trips to Ukraine to deliver donations of 13,000 tactical medical and life saving equipment items.
Ukrainian and Russian translations to English will be provided at the meeting and press conference, which will be open to the public. Mayor Tecklenburg will also announce details for the Charleston Vigil for Ukraine that will take place in front of City Hall at 6 pm on Friday, February 24th.
For more information about CHS4Ukraine, visit: https://www.chs4ukraine.org.
