‘Always Ukrainian.’ How Myrtle Beach is fighting to keep a beleaguered country free

Through an on-again, off-again cellphone connection that faded as the tractor-trailer he was riding in wove through traffic, the determination in Stan Petrovsky’s voice was loud and clear.

“I’m very happy that we have this unity. We’ve seen this unity all over the world. When we see something like this happen in Ukraine, that’s why we come together and do something on the ground to try and support them,” Petrovsky, a Ukrainian native, told The Sun News Monday morning.

He and Myrtle Beach dance teacher Anastasiia Sliusarenko have helped coordinate several prayer vigils since the Feb. 24 invasion began.

On Monday, as some of their family members sheltered in the war-torn country, they were taking more concrete steps to help.

They are not alone.

And on Tuesday, their adopted South Carolina city will become one of the first in the state to formally condemn Russia through a symbolic resolution supporting Ukraine’s independence.

“The City of Myrtle Beach stands with the Ukrainian people and its government in opposing (Russian president) Vladimir Putin’s invasion and war against this democratic nation, and expresses its profound support at this difficult time, while calling upon Russia to halt this deadly and unconscionable aggression against a peaceful neighbor,” the resolution states in part.

Petrovsky, a Myrtle Beach-based wedding photographer, was en route to Chicago with $800,000 worth of medical supplies collected over the past two weeks.

“This has only happened because we’ve been praying,” he said. “But it’s very important for us to continue this mission. To save lives.”

Petrovsky has made the 15-hour drive to Chicago twice to make sure the goods reach their destination.

The bulk of the medical supplies - including surgical kits and hospital gowns - came through Tabernacle of God Ministries in Marion.

“We have opened our doors to the Ukrainian people,” pastor Larry Williams said in a March 5 Facebook video showing the supplies being loaded. “When it’s time for them to rebuild, our doors will still be open.”

The minister, who has followed developments on television and online, has been inspired by what he’s seen on the ground in Ukraine.

“I’ve never seen such courage in my entire life. God is with the country.”

For Petrovsky, the war couldn’t be more personal.

His parents are hunkered down in separate bomb shelters in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.

His young stepbrother has been sent to safety in Poland.

“My parents are being bombed basically every day,” Petrovsky said. His father “just sent his son and stepdaughter to another country by themselves, underage, just so they can be alive.

“I don’t know if tomorrow I’m going to hear from my family,” Petrovsky said. “But right now, they’re alive. And thank God.”

Sliusarenko said the community support has boosted the spirits of Myrtle Beach’s Ukrainian population.

“Because our tragedy is so massive, so overwhelming, so mind-blowing, we need more support,” she said. “ And it’s not because we aren’t grateful, but thousands of people are dying,” she said. “Share our flag. Share our stories.”

Like Petrovsky, Sliusarenko’s family is living in an underground bomb shelter.

The support she’s found in Myrtle Beach makes that burden easier to bear.

“If I’m wearing my Ukraine T-shirt, people are asking on the street, ‘what can we do,’” she said.

She intends to stand fast.

“I will never stop,” she said..

“I will never give up.

“I will never be Russian.”

“Even though I live in America and I’m grateful, I’m always Ukrainian.”

This story was originally published March 7, 2022 at 12:00 AM.