Ukrainians from Long Island are praying for their family members and friends overseas following Russia's invasion.

At St. Vladimir’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Hempstead, Long Islanders gathered Thursday for a Mass to pray for their fellow Ukrainians and that peace will prevail.

Rev. Wasyl Hrynkiw, the pastor of the Saint Vladimir, has a mother, cousins and a sister living in Ukraine.

"When I talked to my sister this morning," Hrynkiw says. "She was crying, and she said, 'They are trying to destroy our lives.'"

Mary Sydor says she was able to speak with her cousins in Ukraine who had to run for cover as the Russian bombs dropped from the air.

"They were being hit with artillery and they just did not know where to go," Sydor says.

The church will continue their prayers for Ukraine at a Mass Sunday at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.