LEHIGHTON, Pa. — A growing threat in Eastern Europe is weighing heavy in the hearts of Carbon County natives Paula Holoviak and Ulana Prociuk. The pair help run the Ukrainian Homestead, a cultural center outside Lehighton.
Holoviak is a professor of philosophy and government at Kutztown University.
"I get this, Americans saying, 'Well, what does this mean for us?' It means a lot to us because we personally have friends and family and roots, connection, but it has implications for world security," Holoviak said.
As talks for a diplomatic solution continue, Prociuk is worried for her loved ones.
"I have family there, and they are concerned, but they go about their everyday life. They are concerned; they're scared," Pociuk said. "They were under the Soviet rule; they had thirty years of freedom. Here again, the same thing is probably going to happen. Hopefully, it won't."
"It's very calm," Holoviak added. "I mean, people are nervous, but they're keeping their calm. They're not picking up their stuff and heading for the borders."
Still, United States citizens are getting out of the country, and the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv has been evacuated.
"I was in touch with a friend, actually, who just got on a plane and left after all of us saying, 'please leave, please leave,'" Holoviak said.
Holoviak said if Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a move against Ukraine, it could spell greater conflict.
While U.S. Troops will not come in direct contact with Russian forces, the country has offered help.
"I'm part of an advocacy group that has lobbied Congress to provide this sort of aid, we're part of a larger organization, and they have been," Holoviak said. "Most recently, they've been shipping ammunition and certain types of weapons."
Holoviak and Prociuk said people of all religions are gathering to pray for Ukraine, as the country's freedom and future hang in the balance.
"They will survive. They are resilient people. Ukraine will survive, and so will its people," Prociuk said. "They will fight for their borders and for the freedom of their country."
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