I first spoke with Peter Charchalis shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and found him knowledgeable of Ukraine’s history and its modern political and cultural life. Peter was born in Baltimore to parents who had fled Ukraine at the end of World War II, when it was part of the Soviet Union. He lived and worked in Ukraine for 13 years after its independence.
A Maryland real estate agent, Peter is deeply engaged in Ukrainian-American activities. That is him, on the right, in the photo that appears atop this post. (The photo is from a Baltimore Sun story about a Ukrainian family given domicile in Harford County.)
I recently asked Peter about regional support for Ukraine in its existential fight against Russia. Here’s some information he provided, with links to organizations helping his ancestral nation and those who have fled the war:
The various Ukrainian churches in Baltimore help displaced persons find housing and work. They also offer them a place to meet other members of the community, including other displaced persons. St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church on Eastern Avenue has about 75 families of displaced persons as parishioners. St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Orthodox Church on Gough Street and other congregations also have a good number. They all come to the annual Ukrainian Festival as well as rallies in support of Ukraine.
Ukrainian Selfreliance Federal Credit Union issues them credit cards and auto loans. The default rate on these loans is less than 1%, well below the national average. Some of these people have fallen prey to various scams and predatory lenders. We help them unravel that and refinance their loans from sometimes 30 to 40% down into the single digits.
We also provide financial literacy classes and basic ‘how to’ sessions on life in the U.S.
We work with other Ukrainian organizations, such as United Help Ukraine and United Ukrainian American Relief Committee in helping people injured in the war to find medical treatment, host various fundraisers and contribute to charitable organizations that organize shipments of humanitarian aid.
For children, we subsidize the Ukrainian school in Bethesda. This is important because children receive instruction in their native language and get to socialize with other children of similar backgrounds. There are over 100 families of new arrivals attending that school.
The Ukrainian Institute of America provides a platform for Ukrainian artists, filmmakers, writers and military and diplomatic personnel to confer with others about helping Ukraine.
The Ukrainian National Women’s League of America does a lot under the radar.
Razom for Ukraine does everything from aid work to government advocacy.
Thank you for not forgetting about Ukraine!
Peter Charchalis comments on Trump’s betrayl of Ukraine
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Dan Rodricks 
Hi Dan, thank you for all this info to assist Ukraine. A few friends have asked me if United24 was legit for sending money directly to Ukraine. Do you have any info on this? Thank you!
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I remember yesterday perfectly the same way I remember what I was doing on 9/11/2001, for similar reasons. It was a grotesque, audacious attack on what I understood to be America. In 2001 they said the whole geopolitical order would change; that turns out to have been a bit overstated and I hope the same turns out to be true of the break across the Atlantic, but I doubt it.
One cannot say, after the cozying up to the AfD, after children kept in the jungles of Panama, after the brutalization of prisoners ar Guantanamo about whom one can learn almost nothing, that yesterday was the day America went Nazi. But it is the day we publicly, openly joined the coalition.
Note that yesterday also, Hegseth fired the three-star overseeing the Defense Health Agency, a black woman and I think the last minority over an organization directly reporting to SecDef.
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