NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Ukrainian churches across the state have been at the center of relief efforts for war-torn Ukraine, but St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church in New Haven may have one-upped the others.
Yale New Haven Health (YNHH) is donating $1 million of medical supplies to the Ukrainian relief efforts, but the wife of the priest at St. Michael's says the hospital is responsible for much more.
Iuliana Godenciuk says injured Ukrainian soldiers, connected to families in the church, were brought to New Haven for treatment at YNHH.
Godenciuk says, "In our parish, it was like three (soldiers) and they stayed here. One passed away."
She says the two soldiers, who survived, were treated and sent back to Ukraine with their wives, who accompanied them to New Haven.
"One was completely blind," said Godenciuk, who grew up on the Ukraine/Romania border. The other soldier required a prosthetic leg, she said.
Yale New Haven Health has not yet confirmed to FOX61 that they indeed rendered this care.
Pictures shared by Godenciuk show how much everyone has cared, including a woman dropping off handsewn blankets she made and donated to the church's relief efforts.
"I've seen what's going on over there and I stopped doing what I was doing just to make sure that I could provide for the need for Ukraine," said retired school teacher Linda Douglas of Hamden.
Wednesday's donation marked her second batch of blankets.
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"I have little blankets also for the Infants," she said, showing them off. She noted it takes her half an hour to make two.
But the church is asking for only medical supplies and monetary donations moving forward.
"We need to change because it's so expensive to ship," Godenciuk said.
The church has spent roughly $20,000, she says, on four shipments of goods so far.
Topping her wish list of donations: a used ambulance, which she says is among the medical response equipment Ukraine needs desperately.
Tony Terzi is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tterzi@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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