(Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP) With their country's flag flowing in the breeze behind them, Yuliya and Myroslav Biley, leaders of the Slavic congregation at Nashua's Gate City Church, close their eyes in prayer during Tuesday evening's speaking and prayer program at City Hall Plaza.

NASHUA — Yuliya Biley, a doctor who practiced in her native Ukraine until moving to Nashua with her husband, Myroslav, to lead the Slavic congregation at the Gate City Church, choked up briefly while speaking about the impossible conditions under which her colleagues in the medical profession are working.

“We have a lot of family, fortunately most of our family is in western part of Ukraine so they’re relatively safe … but we know a lot of people from all over (the country) who are hiding in dungeons, bunkers, hiding from the bombs, as we speak,” Biley told the gathering, which encircled the plaza and numbered an estimated 150.

“I know many of my colleagues are working hard, saving lives, under the shelling … saving the wounded,” she said, wearing a somber expression as she gazed over the sea of bright blue and yellow flags of all sizes.

“Women, giving birth, right under the rockets … this is just heartbreaking.”

Myroslav and Yuliya Biley were among several speakers and a handful of fellow Ukrainians who volunteered to lead the gathering in prayer on behalf of their embattled nation — a nation, many of them emphasized, is in dire need not only of humanitarian aid but of military assistance to turn back the Putin-led Russian invasion.

Mayor Jim Donchess, who introduced the speakers and reinforced Nashuans’ desire to step up to help in whatever way they can, said the city “stands with members of our community who have friends and family in harm’s way in Ukraine.

“We hope this small show of support will comfort (local Ukrainians) and foster hope for peace and freedom in their homeland,” Donchess added.

A full story, including quotes from additional speakers and information on ways to support the Ukrainian people through donations both financial and otherwise, will appear in the next edition of The Sunday Telegraph.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.