HANOVER, Md. — Odesa is a Ukrainian city under near-constant attack by Russian invasion.
It's also Baltimore's sister city.
With the connection, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is planning to send a new round of aid to the city.
Gov. Hogan is sending 1,072 pallets of supplies to Baltimore's sister city.
The mayor of Odesa said his No. 1 need his medical supplies.
So, Maryland is sending Odesa 485,000 bandages and wound care and 200 ventilators in the shipment, among other healthcare items.
The state police donated body armor and shields as well.
All this is equivalent to a cargo plane’s worth of materials.
“The atrocities taking place in Ukraine have served as a reminder to all of us exactly why strong ties an alliance is critical and why it's so important to do whatever we can to do to support our allies in a time of need,” Gov. Hogan said.
Odesa is a port city, just like Baltimore.
This multimillion-dollar shipment is leaving Wednesday and going straight to the region.
We've all seen the horrific images from the war.
Even though it's thousands of miles away, it has a direct impact here in Baltimore.
Katrina Mandel, a Ukrainian American and the chairwoman of the Baltimore Odesa sister city committee, equates the impact on her as the same we all felt when 911 happened against us.
“Two buildings in America were struck and I relive that every day because I see buildings going down in Ukraine,” Mandel said. “You worry every day when you check your phone and wonder if one of my family members were hit, what if a school with children were hit. Did they make it home, are they sleeping safe at home tonight.
“This means saving lives. This is how I fight, this is how I protect my family, to protect my heritage, my home, the place where I came from.”
Gov. Hogan said another reason for this effort is to send a message to Putin.
“That here in Maryland we stand on the side of peace and freedom,” Gov. Hogan said.
Russian troops pounded the vital Ukrainian port on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said, an apparent effort to disrupt the supply lines and Western weapons shipments critical to Kyiv’s defense.
Russia hit the city of Odesa with seven hypersonic missiles, one hitting a warehouse and a shopping center that killed a worker.
The governor was joined for the announcement at a warehouse in Hanover, Maryland, by Yaroslav Brisiuck, deputy chief of mission for the Embassy of Ukraine.
Additional medical supplies have been donated to the Paul Chester Children’s Hope Foundation, a Dickerson-based grassroots medical organization, to support the treatment of children and adults wounded during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
If you want to help or donate to the city of Odesa visit this website.
