Ukrainian-born woman marries her American fiancé in backyard of their Chicago home before flying to Europe to fight for her country
- Maria and her fiancé, David, married Saturday before about 20 people in the backyard of their Chicago home
- On Monday, Maria plans to fly to Poland before traveling to the Ukrainian border
- Her newly-wed husband will eventually join her once he receives his passport
- Ukrainians have been lining up to return from other countries in Europe and the U.S. in recent days
- They are answering to President Volodymyr Zelensky's call for volunteers to come assist the Ukraine's military
By ASSOCIATED PRESS and ALASTAIR TALBOT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 08:23 AEDT, 6 March 2022 | UPDATED: 07:57 AEDT, 7 March 2022
When Russia invaded her home country of Ukraine, Maria decided she had to get there and help defend it - even if it meant leaving her fiancé behind in Chicago days after getting married.
Maria and her fiancé, David, married Saturday before about 20 people in the backyard of an Oak Park home - the venue offered last minute after Maria asked for advice in a neighborhood Facebook group.
The couple met last year and got engaged in October.
On Monday, she plans to fly to Poland, then make her way to the Ukrainian border, ultimately aiming to volunteer to fight for her home country.
'People are running out of there and she is running in,' said a friend at the wedding, Pamela Chinchilla of Lombard.
Seven guests at the wedding brought medical supplies, masks and other items for Maria to take to Ukraine. People hugged each other, and Maria at one point spoke with family members in Odesa.
Maria, who asked that her last name not be published because she fears for her family's safety in Ukraine and the U.S., said she lived with her parents in Kyiv until 1991 when the family moved to Poland.
Newlyweds Maria and David during their ceremony at a home, Saturday, March 5, 2022, in Oak Park, Ill. Maria, whom is from Ukraine, is headed back there to volunteer, a few days after she was married
Maria and David, with her children Sasha, and Kira, during their ceremony at a home, Saturday, March 5, 2022, in Oak Park, Illinois. On Monday, Maria plans to fly to Poland, then make her way to the Ukrainian border, ultimately aiming to volunteer to fight for her home country
Maria and David finally kissed after being officially married. The couple met last year and got engaged in October
For Maria, a previous marriage ended in divorce. She met her ex-husband while studying music in Austria and more than 20 years ago they moved to his hometown of Chicago - which has the second-largest Ukrainian-born population among U.S. cities.
Since the war began, she used messages and calls through Facebook to keep in touch with her parents, who have been sheltering in a parking garage during attacks on Ukraine´s largest port city of Odesa. But she said she has been unable to reach cousins in Kyiv in recent days.
Three days into the invasion, Maria made up her mind to return to Ukraine, determined to find some way to be useful. She said she doesn't have medical or military training but worries that a Russian takeover of Ukraine will embolden the country to threaten more places around the world.
'I have to go,' Maria, 44, said. 'I can't do protests or fundraising or wave flags. We've done this since 2015, Ukrainians, and I just can't do it anymore.'
Her fiancé refused to stay behind despite Maria's resistance to him accompanying her. But since David first needs to apply for a passport, she plans to leave Monday and wait in Poland before crossing the border.
'He knows how stubborn I am and knew he´d have no chance to convince me otherwise,' Maria said.
David, 42, said he feels a responsibility to do what he can to keep her safe.
'Because complacency and compliance are pretty much the same thing,' he said. 'And you can only turn a blind eye to people being bullied for so long. And if it happens to them, it might be you next.'
He also asked that his last name not be published to avoid endangering Maria's family.
Since the start of the crisis in Ukraine, Marian and David have been asking people to purchase items needed by Ukrainian troops through an Amazon list that includes rain ponchos, medical supplies and boots rather than wedding gifts
A wedding guest going through donations being made towards Ukraine. Many Ukrainians living outside of the country have been finding ways to assist those at war, whether through donations or voluntarily enrolling themselves into the military
Maria and her fiancé, David, pose for a photograph near their Chicago home on March 4, 2022. Maria plans to board a flight to Poland and find a way to cross into Ukraine. Both asked that their full names not be published out of concern for Maria's parents, who are in Ukraine
Ukraine's forces are outnumbered and outgunned, but their resistance did prevent a swift Russian victory. Ukrainian leaders called on citizens to join in guerrilla war this week as Russian forces gained ground on the coast and took over one major port city.
Associated Press reporters at the border checkpoint in Medyka in southeastern Poland found Ukrainians lining up to return from other countries in Europe in recent days in response to President Volodymyr Zelensky's call for volunteers to come assist the country´s military.
The White House has since urged Americans not to travel to Ukraine, but Maria and David said that didn't change their plans.
The couple had planned to be married at a courthouse on March 5, a nod to Maria's grandmother's birthday.
After deciding they would try to reach Ukraine, they accepted the offer to hold a backyard celebration. They also asked people to purchase items needed by Ukrainian troops through an Amazon list that includes rain ponchos, medical supplies and boots rather than wedding gifts.
Big explosions were heard before dawn in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa last week as world leaders decried the start of Russian invasion that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraine's democratically elected governmen5
Ukrainian forces were defending Odesa, Ukraine's biggest port city, from repeated attempts by Russian ships, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich said. Pictured: Volunteers filling sandbags to build barricades in Odesa, Ukraine, on Saturday March 5, 2022
Maria said she's not certain what she will have to do after arriving at the Polish border with Ukraine; friends who live near border crossings have told her it's taking days to get through. Her parents also questioned her decision to volunteer, she said, because they don't want to be worried about her safety on top of their own.
'If the army doesn't take us, we´ll be as close as possible,' Maria said Wednesday. 'There's always a need for volunteers. I'm pretty strong, I'm not afraid of blood, I'm good under pressure.'
Natalia Blauvelt, a Chicago immigration attorney who has assisted dozens of clients trying to help family leave Ukraine and Russia in recent weeks, said she hasn't heard of others seeking to get into Ukraine in order to join the country's defense.
But she advised that anyone considering it contact the Ukrainian embassy in the U.S. and speak with an immigration attorney to talk through plans for returning to the U.S.
Newlyweds Maria and David during their ceremony at a home, Saturday, March 5, 2022, in Oak Park, Ill. Maria, whom is from Ukraine, is headed back there to volunteer, a few days after she was married
Newlyweds Maria and David, with her children Sasha, and Kira, during their ceremony at a home, Saturday, March 5, 2022, in Oak Park, Ill. On Monday, she plans to fly to Poland, then make her way to the Ukrainian border, ultimately aiming to volunteer to fight for her home country
Newlyweds Maria and David, with her children Sasha and Kira, during their ceremony at a home, Saturday, March 5, 2022, in Oak Park, Ill. Maria, who is from Ukraine, is headed back there to volunteer, a few days after she was married
Newlywed Maria toast with friends during her wedding ceremony at a home, Saturday, March 5, 2022, in Oak Park, Ill. On Monday, Maria plans to fly to Poland, then make her way to the Ukrainian border, ultimately aiming to volunteer to fight for her home country
Newlywed Maria hugs David during their ceremony at a home, Saturday, March 5, 2022, in Oak Park, Ill. Maria, whom is from Ukraine, is headed back there to volunteer, a few days after she was married
Newlywed Maria, right, greets a friend before she married her husband David during their ceremony at a home, Saturday, March 5, 2022, in Oak Park, Ill. Maria, who is from Ukraine, is headed back there to volunteer, a few days after she was married
Newlywed Maria, back to camera, hugs a friend before she married her husband David during their ceremony at a home, Saturday, March 5, 2022, in Oak Park, Ill. Maria, who is from Ukraine, is headed back there to volunteer, a few days after she was married
Newlywed Maria kisses David during their ceremony at a home, Saturday, March 5, 2022, in Oak Park, Ill. On Monday, she plans to fly to Poland, then make her way to the Ukrainian border, ultimately aiming to volunteer for her home country
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Ukrainian woman gets married in Chicago to fiancé ahead of return home
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