{"id":73880,"date":"2024-05-24T21:11:11","date_gmt":"2024-05-24T21:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/05\/24\/american-vets-supporting-ukraine-launch-group-seeks-more-support\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:53:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:53:13","slug":"american-vets-supporting-ukraine-launch-group-seeks-more-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2024\/05\/24\/american-vets-supporting-ukraine-launch-group-seeks-more-support\/","title":{"rendered":"American vets for Ukraine launch group for sustained support"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Katherine Semenyuk gave birth to her fifth child in a bomb shelter in Lutsk, Ukraine, the day that Russia began its invasion of her country in February 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had six missiles flying approximately at 6 in the morning, flying and landing right like above our heads,\u201d Semenyuk, 39, told Military Times, adding that she went into labor and had her kid just hours later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was very cold \u2026 but I\u2019m not whining about anything because my child is alive, but I know that there are many mothers who lost their children having them in a bunker,\u201d said Semenyuk, who works on a tactical medical instructors team that trains soldiers and others in combat zones at least once a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the war between Ukraine and Russia drags on, leaders in the American veterans community are looking to ensure others do not have to endure similar hardships, announcing this week the formation of a new organization focused on supporting Kyiv in its ongoing war to defend itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That non-partisan, non-profit group, American Veterans for Ukraine, kickstarted its effort<\/a> with an event Thursday in Washington, D.C., ahead of Memorial Day weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are grounded in the understanding that there are men and women right now fighting and dying for Ukraine, for freedom, for American national security and for the values that we hold dear,\u201d Paul Rieckhoff, an Army veteran who helped found the group, said at the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\t