Ukrainian American Club of Southwest Florida fundraising for those fighting in Ukraine

The Ukrainian American Club of Southwest Florida is raising money for wounded warriors in Ukraine. And that money will be used to pay for painkillers and other medical supplies.

All of this is to help those fighting the Russian forces and the people of North Port make sure soldiers have the assistance they need.

An apartment building in Ukraine is shelled as the violent Russian invasion continues and the Ukrainian people fight back.

Bohdan Seredenko served in Ukrainian Army. “It doesn’t matter who you are or if you have military experience or not. Everyone just goes, and everyone’s ready,” Seredenko said.

In 2016, he lost his leg after stepping on a land mine. Now, he watches his country fight against the Russian forces.

“Everyone understands it’s completely Russian military, and right now, a lot of young people fight for Ukraine. They understand who we fight for,” Seredenko said.

This sentiment is felt thousands of miles away from Ukraine, here in Southwest Florida. The Ukrainian American Club of Southwest Florida hosted a fundraiser on Saturday to raise money for those fighting in Ukraine.

Iryna Discipio is the president of the revived soldiers of Ukraine. “We have hours. We don’t have days,” said Discipio.

Discipio says the funds will go towards medications like painkillers. “Everything we do ship from the U.S. has to go to Warsaw, Poland, and by cars, we can transfer through the border,” she said.

With the money they’ve raised, they hope it shows the people of Ukraine that they are not alone.

“We just want to show the whole world we’re not going to stop,” said Seredenko.

So far, they’ve raised more than $29,000. Discipio hopes the message they sent on Saturday will continue to bring people together. They also hope to see the continuation of American support because she says every city in Ukraine needs help.