As Russia attacked the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, an Arkansas man’s dreams of raising his family in his wife’s home nation burst into flames.
It also led Mark Luther to activate a large-scale humanitarian effort with roots to his home state as he continues to move in and out of the war-torn nation.
Mark Luther and his family moved to Ukraine in 2017 and remained there despite warnings for U.S. citizens to evacuate as Russian troops invaded.
“We all have our U.S. citizenship,” Luther said about his family during a phone call in late March. “Why didn’t we leave before it started? We drew our own line on when to get our boys out.”
That line came when Russia attacked the nuclear plant in early March.
“I didn’t think that would ever happen,” Luther said. “I said to my wife, ‘We need to get you all out of here, and I’ll stay back here and keep doing what I am doing for now.”
Luther’s wife, Kateryna Multan, and her mother are Ukrainian born and received their U.S. citizenship after moving to the States.
On a morning shortly after the plant attack, the two women again left their home nation. This time with Luther and Multan’s two young sons, and hours before any of their neighbors had awoke.
Multan, her mother and children — ages 5 and 7 — made their way to the Polish border with suitcases carrying two days worth of clothes. They were made the first part of the journey by car but had to walk the final leg, Luther said.
Luther stayed behind. He kept it quiet that the family had left. He didn’t want to cause more fear for his neighbors who remained.
Unlike Ukrainian men in the nation, he wasn’t required to stay. He was raised in Sherwood and attended the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
Luther met Multan while living in Richmond, Va. She’d moved to the states with her mother while still in high school.
The couple started a relationship about eight years ago. They remained in the states for a time but fell in love with Ukraine during a trip to visit Multan’s relatives.
“We moved back here after a vacation and our kids have been in the schools ever since,” Luther said. “They go to Ukrainian public schools.”
Luther, who previously worked in the insurance industry, opened his own company consulting with a focus on growing blockchain technology.
“I have been building connections with tech companies in Ukraine,” he said. “I was building those slowly over time as we were locating our family back.”
As his family fled, Luther stayed behind partly to maintain the responsibilities and commitments he’d made through his business.
“I was on the phone with the embassy and they were asking, ‘What are you doing?'” Luther said.
Like others still in Ukraine, he began looking for ways to help. He sent out encrypted threads to every person he knew in the states.
He hasn’t been alone in his actions.
“Every day is different,” Luther said. “For some [people in Ukraine], they go work at the shelter for four hours while they try to keep their clients from another country happy so they can feed themselves.”
Luther said most of his neighbors are trying to work part time while also helping in different ways. That includes taking medical training classes, delivering donated items or working in security in some way.
“If they are not currently picking up a gun full time, maybe they are picking up a gun half the time and pulling security at a checkpoint and still trying to run their IT company,” Luther said.
Everyone has found their niche.
“That is a part of the heart and mind that Ukrainians have,” Luther said. “They have this ‘whatever it takes’ mentality, but they also live on faith-filled foundations that you just do the right thing.”
Luther has military experience but didn’t want to pick up a gun.
“I do have a 5- and 7-year-old who will ask me one day, ‘What did you do?”https://www.nwaonline.com/” Luther said. “I also have a wife I have to report to.”
The encrypted thread went to the top 100 people Luther knew and thought could make a difference. Most of the people on the list were from Arkansas.
Neil Denman, Luther’s accountant, was the first to help.
“He is one of the last people I would have guessed,” Luther said. “He’s my accountant.”
Neither Denman nor Luther knew exactly what to do next, but they started creating a plan. Denman put the word out that medical supplies and other necessities were needed. The first donation came March 7.
Luther let Denman lead the collections, and he started to focus on distribution. He connected with a group called Solve Care Foundation, a global health care association that was putting shelters together.
“They had moved all their employees to the western side of Ukraine,” Luther said. “I picked up the phone and said let’s partner.”
Warehouses were pinpointed for the shipments.
In Arkansas, Denman was receiving donations from pharmacies, nonprofits and people from across the nation. Medical items such as gauze, bandages, Advil, disinfectants, iodine, eyeglasses and diabetic syringes began to pill up.
Groups also started donating items such as baby formula, shampoos, soaps and laundry detergent.
With the help of Denman’s father and a couple friends, the packages started to move to the post office on West Markham.
“We went to the post office the first day to ship and the guy goes, ‘Do you have a customs form?'” Denman said. “We responded, ‘Do you have any?'”
“We have filled out a lot of customs forms since then,” Denman said.
The items are shipped to warehouses on the Polish border.
“We have shipments coming in,” Luther said. “Some are clearing customs, some are on their way, and some are being sent through different entities.”
Denman had sent 73 boxes of supplies at about 1,157 pounds as of late March.
The supplies help those in the area keep up hope, Luther said.
“Money is taking a while to get to its place,” Luther said. “[The supplies] means everything. It means there is still hope. If that supply is still coming in, it means other supplies are going to show up to.”
Some of the supplies could save a life, Luther said.
Multan saw firsthand what humanitarian relief looks like when she crossed the Polish border.
“When she finally got across the border, there were hundreds of people waiting with food and snacks,” Luther said. “People were asking them what they needed and how they could help.”
Multan was having a difficult time leaving her family behind.
“She knew she could get on a plane and get a flight back to the United States,” Multan said.
“Seeing that warmed her, knowing people were there to help the women without husbands and family and nowhere to go.”
Luther said other groups who responded to his call for help include First Assembly of North Little Rock, which raised $300,000, and CityServe International, which sent people to help feed refuges at the border within days of the conflict starting.
“There are people doing things,” Luther said. “This is going to be an ongoing effort.”
Luther said he plans to serve the people of Ukraine for the remainder of his life in some capacity.
“My purpose and my wife’s purpose have been given to us, whether we wanted it or not, but we are thankful to make a difference,” he said.
Anyone wanting to make a donation via Neil Denman can drop it off at the Denman, Hamilton & Associates CPA office, 310 Natural Resources Drive, in Little Rock. Calls also can be made to Denman at 501-312-9491.
