Ada Perlman, Contributing Photographer'

Members of the Yale community gathered at the Women’s Table on Monday to commemorate three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The ceremony featured speeches from Ukrainian students and lector Olha Tytarenko — who heads the Ukrainian Program at Yale — and a prayer led by University Chaplain Maytal Saltiel. 

Saltiel spoke of the “heartbreak and fear” that these past three years have brought and prayed that next year attendees will not have to gather again for a vigil. She recited a prayer written by 19th-century Ukrainian rabbi Nathan Sternhartz.

“May we see the day when war and bloodshed cease, when a great peace will embrace the whole world. That nation shall not threaten nation, and humanity will not again know war. For all who live on earth shall realize we have not come into being to hate or to destroy. We have come into being to praise, to labor, and to love. Let love and justice flow like a mighty stream. Let peace fill the earth. Let the waters fill the sea, and let us say amen,” said Saltiel as the audience answered amen. 

Christina Logvynyuk ’25, a Ukrainian American student, was a first year when the full-scale invasion began and reflected that her entire undergraduate experience has been “inextricable” from the war. She recalled studying in the Gilmore Music Library when she first found out there were airstrikes outside of Kyiv.

“In that moment, my worldview shifted completely, just like every Ukrainian. Over the last four years, I haven’t been back to that study spot, after that life was different, but at least with the outpouring of international support, we weren’t alone,” said Logvynyuk. 

Logvynyuk emphasized the importance of continued American support and listening to the voices coming out of Ukraine. She read a poem by Maksym Kryvtsov, a Ukrainian poet and soldier who was killed earlier this year. 

“As an American, it is my responsibility to make sure their voices are heard,” said Logvynyuk before reading the poem aloud.

Tytarenko shared her experience of finding out about the war in the U.S. while much of her family remains in Ukraine. In particular, she shared that her uncle had tried to flee his home in Kharkiv which was attacked intensely at the beginning of the war. Her uncle ended up in a hospital in Russia. 

Tytarenko said he was “lucky” that volunteers helped him escape and reunite with his family in Ukraine. She said this story is one of many stories that have come out of the war.

“Every Ukrainian, whether in Ukraine or abroad, carries stories like that. We all know someone, a relative, a friend, a friend of a friend, a classmate, a former professor, a student. These stories define us now,” said Tytarenko. 

She said that what happens in Ukraine will “determine the future of democracy everywhere.”

When asked what she thinks of a possible peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, Tytarenko told the News that the conversations about the agreement have been happening without Ukraine involved. 

“Ukraine should be involved in the negotiations, in the conversation, and Ukraine should lead that conversation,” she said. She sees this moment as a way for greater Europe to reckon with the value of democracy. 

“We are also witnessing an opportunity for Europe to regroup as well and share responsibility for the upholding of democratic values, and joining in with the understanding that this is not just the war between Russia and Ukraine.” 

Tytarenko described Ukraine as being on the “front line of a much greater battle” for democratic values against tyranny. 

“It is a war of freedom, against oppression, of justice, against brutality,” she said. 

She encouraged attendees to continue standing with Ukraine.

“As long as people unite, as long as people stand together and support Ukraine and Ukrainians, there is hope,” said Tytarenko. 

Tytarenko told the News that as part of the Ukrainian language classes at Yale, her students are translating the poetry of Ukrainian soldiers on the frontlines to English. She said that two translations will be published in the Yale Journal of Literary Translation. 

“This is such a valuable addition to our curriculum that our students can contribute to something, to very meaningful initiatives spreading the voices of the soldiers that are on the front line,” said Tytarenko. 

The Ukraine House at Yale was formed after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.