Russian invasion hits close to home

Lana Mosser never dreamed she would be calling her friends and her sister asking, "Is everybody alive?" Yet she is. Mosser was born and spent her early childhood in Sumy, Ukraine. She lived in the neighboring country of Belarus for several years, returning to Ukraine for high school. Now 33, Mosser has lived in the United States since age 19. The Findlay woman will speak at St. Marks United Methodist Church's 10 a.m. Sunday service about the war in Ukraine. Mosser first studied, then worked for Macy's, in Washington, D.C. A friend she met there was from Findlay, and invited Mosser to come home with her. "She introduced me to Drew," she said. It wasn't love at first sight when Lana met her now-husband, Drew Mosser. Their relationship grew after she returned to Washington, and they continued to visit each other. Eventually Drew proposed, and Lana moved to Findlay. The pair married in December 2016 at St. Marks, which Drew's family has attended for generations. Their two sons were born in 2018 and 2021. The couple also shares custody of Drew's daughters, ages 13 and 14, with their mother. Lana has continued her retail career, working as an area supervisor at Kohl's department store. Lana said Sumy is much bigger than Findlay, with around 260,000 residents. But in both cities, everyone knows each other, she said. "Sumy is my city," she said. Her grandfather built a cottage garden where the family would grow vegetables. As a young child she ran around playing hide-and-seek with friends. They remain close, and they were the first people she contacted on Feb. 24, when Russia invaded Ukraine. "They are all hiding," she said. Friends and family defend Ukraine Even when living in Belarus, Mosser wanted to frequently visit her friends in Sumy, which has "just so many beautiful places." After her return, she and friends at her military-affiliated high school "had fun" as teenagers, and were excited upon graduation to head to universities. "I remember their faces, how smiley they are," she said. And right now, "they're defending Ukraine." They communicate over Facebook, "so I know who's alive, who is not, who is injured," Mosser said. A military academy near her sister's home was an immediate target. After initially taking shelter in a basement, her sister and brother-in-law went to his parents in another part of Sumy. The Russians had already burned the academy, Mosser said. Sumy's university educates international students from around the world. CNN reported Thursday that hundreds remain trapped in Sumy. On Twitter, people from Turkey to Zimbabwe are advocating for them with the hashtag #savesumystudents. Early Thursday afternoon EST, the English-language publication Kyiv Independent tweeted that after heavy shelling, Sumy was "at least partially left without electricity." Mosser said about 40% of the city has been destroyed. But residents are "fighting back" and "winning on the ground," but not in the sky. The Russians bombing from the air is why Ukrainians want other nations to close the sky, she said. People want their freedom of speech, and the freedom to speak Ukrainian, she said. That's why "a lot of brave people" are jumping in front of tanks. "They're united," she said. "They don't want to be Russians. They want to be Ukrainians." Her sister has been volunteering and helping soldiers. She has begged her to leave. "But it's her city," Mosser said. "It's her friends. It's her everything." Many of Mosser's Sumy friends did leave, and are now scattered from the U.S. and Canada to Germany. They are in contact every day. One friend's family is still in hiding in nearby Okhtyrka, Ukraine, a smaller city with a population close to Findlay's. "As of right now 90% of the buildings are destroyed," Mosser wrote in an email to The Courier shortly after being interviewed. (Multiple news outlets report that the Russian military is suspected of using a "vacuum bomb," or thermobaric weapon, in Okhtyrka.) Her 19-year-old nephew left Kyiv for the northern part of Ukraine, where he is trying to use his information technology skills to help. Mosser's mother remains in Belarus, where she has lived for years. Mosser is encouraging her to leave. (Belarus, ruled for 28 years by the authoritarian Alexander Lukashenko, is aiding Russia in the war.) Mosser, who can read five languages, and her mother scour online news from all over the world. She said in Russia — where her father and some friends live — there is no indication in the media that there is a war. (Mosser stressed that she is "not against Russian people," only the Russian government.) She said she wants people to realize this isn't just a Ukrainian problem, but one that affects people "all around the world, because no one knows who is going to be next." 'I have to do something' "The first day was shock," Mosser said. "The second was, like, devastation." On day three, "I realized I have to do something. ... The whole Ukrainian population is suffering." She said she feels helpless, and all she can do is get out information. "If my voice ... could save at least one person's life, I could scream," she said. Her American friends are asking how to help. "I just want people to pray," Mosser said. Mosser wasn't religious before, but her faith started to grow when she came to the U.S. She has found a sense of security at St. Marks, where she has become involved in Sunday school. "I feel closer to God when I pray here," she said of the church. The Rev. Dan Metzger, pastor at St. Marks, hopes his congregation learns Sunday what is happening, and how to support "not only Lana, but all of those who are hurting." "Christians are a worldwide community," he said. Mosser encouraged people to donate, particularly to help children, seniors and the soldiers — as well as hospitals and health care. "Please donate," she said. "Please save lives. Please help people in Ukraine to survive." Drew has never visited Ukraine. Lana had dreamed of showing her husband and four children her school, and that cottage garden. But the timing was never right. She woke up this morning to a blue sky in Findlay. "My kids are seeing this beautiful blue sky," she said. "But my heart is there." She said in Ukraine they say, "Slava Ukraini! Heroiam slava!" It means, she said, "Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!" Arthurs: 419-427-8494