Odessa man joins Ukraine relief effort

ODESSA – Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24 and continues to produce massive destruction in major cities within the country, has been described by Russian officials as targeting only Ukrainian military facilities.

Meanwhile, independent reporting continues to show bombardment of civilian targets such as hospitals and residential neighborhoods.

For one Odessa resident, the unfairness of it all prompted him and several of his Western Washington friends to stock up on supplies to donate to the resistance in that war-torn country and ultimately to serve as first responders, members of search and rescue missions in bombed areas and wherever else they might be needed.

Jeremy Smith, owner/operator of the 1902 Coffee House in Odessa, told The Record-Times that he and his friends are not out to find glory on a foreign battlefield. Even though some of those friends are former military personnel or members of the French Foreign Legion, others have no military background or training whatsoever.

On the contrary, they see their role as helping the people of Ukraine to fight their own battles by providing logistical assistance in the form of medical care, food service, humanitarian aid and morale building, "because it is the right thing to do," he says.

Smith leaves for Warsaw, Poland on March 17, where his group will be met by others already there who will accompany them to the Poland/Ukraine border for further assignment elsewhere.

He said that as his departure date draws closer, he is becoming more and more anxious. He worries about leaving his fiancé and business partner Amanda Wallace to run the coffee shop on her own.

Wallace, however, says she is comforted because she is surrounded by family and friends who have welcomed them to the Odessa community. Smith's time abroad will also be relatively short, as he and Amanda are to be wed this coming June.

Smith says reactions to his decision to go to Ukraine have been mixed. But whether folks agreed with his decision or not, he said he was gratified to see that people were engaging in debate and becoming involved in the broader discussion of what this aggression by Russia might mean for the rest of the world.