Page 29 - South Mississippi Living - April, 2023

story by Cherie Ward photos courtesy of Nadiya Copeland
Nadiya Copeland Fights for the Forgotten in Her Homeland
demonstrate an unparalleled ability to withstand the enemy but also to adapt to a new environment. These frontline bankers are developing solutions to support a banking network, even in blackout conditions, with backup electricity and sporadic connectivity. Nothing comparable has ever been implemented anywhere in the world.
“These are the things no one is talking about,” she said, adding she is incredibly proud of her brother and speaks to him as often as possible.
“He tries to find something good to say,” Copeland said. “He tells me he doesn’t want to always complain to me about the bad and he needs to talk about the good.”
Copeland called Myrnenko at 2 a.m. Ukrainian time the day the invasion began and woke him up.
He didn’t realize Russian troops had invaded and was even hesitant to believe the words coming through his cell phone. And then a missile flew by a window of his multilevel apartment.
“We were both so scared, but we knew at that moment Ukraine would unite in a way no one was expecting,” she said, choking back tears.
And as exasperated as Copeland
is over the invasion, she’s also sympathetic to her Russian friends, most of which are former college classmates with limited internet and cell phone services. Anytime she does reach a Russian friend, they don’t believe Ukraine is war-torn and try to convince her that news reports
are fabricated by the American government.
“It’s like they are brainwashed,” she said. “They just can’t get on the same page right now.”
Despite their negative claims, Copeland continues to reach out and moves forward daily with a group
of volunteers she gathered to send lifesaving supplies to Ukraine. Bishop Vitaliy Kryvytskyi of the Diocese
of Kyiv-Zhytomyr visited the Gulf Coast in February and attended a holy mass at Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church in Bay St. Louis. Afterward, Copeland hosted a dinner with Ukrainian families, volunteers, and the bishop.
“He came here to personally thank people from the Gulf Coast who raised and donated most of the funds,” she said. “He recognized that the people who experienced losing everything in Hurricane Katrina are always the first ones to help in a crisis and we will continue to do so until the war ends.”
Meeting the bishop was especially helpful to her parents, who have been experiencing survivor’s guilt. Even now Copeland’s mother watches news reports and asks, why did this happen? Copeland hugs her and tells her there is no answer and that all they can do is rebuild Ukraine when it’s finally over.
Reach out to Nadiya Copeland at nadiyacopeland@gmail.com to see how you can donate relief for Ukraine.
Nadiya Copeland speaking at the dinner with the Bishop and Ukrainian community.
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Dmitro Myrnenko, Nadiya and Todd Copeland and their daughters Arden and Alexandra.