Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began before dawn on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russian forces launched airstrikes and missiles across the country and sent troops in from multiple directions, igniting the largest European conflict since World War II. Four years later, Riverhead’s St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church will mark the grim anniversary with two public memorial observances, inviting the wider community to pray for the victims and for peace.

St. John’s pastor, the Rev. Bohdan Hedz said the church will hold Stations of the Cross at Our Lady of the Island Shrine in Manorville on Sunday beginning at 3 p.m., commemorating victims of the war.

On Tuesday, Feb. 24, the anniversary of the invasion, the church will hold a memorial service at the church beginning at 7 p.m. “All are welcome to attend,” Hedz wrote in an email.

For the church’s Ukrainian-American parishioners, the anniversary is both geopolitical and intensely personal. In the days before the 2022 invasion, as Russia massed troops near Ukraine’s borders, Hedz told RiverheadLOCAL the community’s prayer was simple: “We want to live in peace. That’s the bottom line.”  Parishioners gathered at St. John the Baptist, many with families in harm’s way and a growing fear that the escalating crisis would turn into a full-scale war. 

The war did come — and quickly produced massive suffering and displacement. The U.N. refugee agency reported that one million people fled Ukraine in the first week of the invasion alone, one measure of how fast the humanitarian crisis exploded.

The church, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2025, has always been a spiritual and social hub of the tight-knit Ukrainian-American community in the region. The invasion and the grinding war that followed brought the community even closer together, as parishioners donated and collected nonperishable food and supplies to ship to the war-torn country — thousands of pounds of humanitarian aid since their work began — and raised funds to help the victims of war.

Last year, marking the third anniversary of the invasion, Hedz led a candlelight prayer service in the small Riverhead church, chanting and praying in both Ukrainian and English. In remarks afterward, he framed the Feb. 24, 2022 invasion as an escalation of a conflict that began with Russia’s 2014 seizure of Crimea and continued fighting in eastern Ukraine. He also urged community members not to look away from what he described as aggression and injustice. 

This year’s anniversary observances will again blend remembrance with public witness — bringing prayers for those killed and for those still living with the war’s consequences, while also offering Riverhead residents a way to stand in solidarity with Ukrainian neighbors.

• Sunday, Feb. 22: Stations of the Cross, 3 p.m., Our Lady of the Island Shrine, commemorating victims of the war (all welcome).

• Tuesday, Feb. 24: Memorial service, 7 p.m., St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, Riverhead (all welcome).

Source: RiverheadLOCAL