The majority of the Low German Mennonites in Volhynia lived near the town of Ostrog. During the 20th century, this area was no stranger to the presence of the military, and it drew (and continues to draw) its share of strategic attention.
· After 1921, the map of the area was redrawn and Karolswalde found itself located directly on the Polish-Soviet border. At this time, the village was re-name Prykordonne, a term roughly equivalent to “border”. Much smuggling across the border into Poland occurred here.
· Pluzhnyansky District, to which the Mennonite village of Fürstendorf (Lilewa) belonged, was home to much violence. In the early 1920s, anti-Bolshevik insurgents operated in the area and carried out attacks on numerous villages. In 1930, a peasant uprising centered at Pluzhne included 22 local villages.
· During the build-up to World War II, the Stalin Line was built and this passed right through the Ostrog area. This was a line of concrete bunkers designed to provide fortification against German invasion. Deserted bunkers of the Stalin Line are located in the Mennonite villages of Fürstendorf (Lilewa) and Jadwanin. During World War II, several battles were fought in this very area.
· In 1959, the USSR established a military base at nearby Slavuta. This base would become a home to the Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces which controlled the USSR’s land based inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). R-5M missiles, and later RSD-10 Pioneer-UTTKh missiles, all equipped with nuclear warheads, were stationed here until 1991. Tens of thousands of tons of ammunition were kept here.
· While no longer a major home to military, the Ostrog area is still today the site of one of Ukraine’s four nuclear power plants. Nearby Netishyn is home to the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant which houses two nuclear reactors.
The fiercest battles of this week’s invasion are near Kyiv and in the Donbas but there is action in Volhynia too. I have a lot of good friends in the Ostrog area. These friends have been called to bomb shelters several times already. Russian forces have arrived in Shepetivka, about 25 miles se from Ostrog, and explosions have racked the airport at Rivne, about 25 miles nw from Ostrog. Folks are volunteering computers, suitcases, first aid kits, automobiles, etc., to the local military units. Others are already seeking transportation to the Polish border. Police are advising people to be on the lookout for Russians, masquerading as locals, who are scouting for the Russian military. The locals are to report any suspicious people or vehicles. These saboteurs have left marks - painted spots on the ground or bits of ribbon tied to trees - identifying places for Russian military to rendezvous. Every Ukrainian is vowing to fight for their homeland and for their freedom. I’m praying right now specifically for Alex, Sergey, Yuri, Marina, Alyona, Natasha, Alexander, Ludmila, Tetiana, Natalia, and their families. At the same time I'll admit that I'm cursing feckless western politicians and bureaucrats. Слава Україні!
