It’s not uncommon for Sarah Chadzynski of Lyndeborough to be in a meeting at 5 a.m. or 1 a.m. She’s working with people around the world and communication is constant. 

Chadzynski is the U.S. executive director of nongovernmental organization (NGO) Dattalion, an international team of volunteers working to create and share a database of photos, footage and eyewitness accounts from the war in Ukraine. The team is a women-led data battalion, and they’re fighting to convey the truth about the war.

“Everyone wants to help, but not everyone can be on the front lines,” Chadzynski said, “But you can be on the front lines of information.”

And that’s what Dattalion is doing. It has a database of more than 26,100 photos, more than 5,500 videos and more than 36,000 downloads. It has more than 140 witness accounts. Everything goes through a verification process, and Dattalion has provided continuous assistance to media outlets covering stories about the war.

“It’s an effort to bring what seems like a distant war home to you,” Chadzynski said.

When the Russian attacks on Ukraine started nearly a year ago, Chadzynski was awake for three days. It felt close to home. Less than 100 years ago, her great-grandparents and grandmother were living in Lodz Ghetto, a ghetto established by Nazis after they invaded Poland. They had even dug their own graves, expecting to be killed, but they ultimately survived.

Chadzynski and her family lived in Poland for a year in 2015, the year after Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, and she said it was a powerful experience to stand at the edge of the still-empty graves. Her grandmother remembers working at her father’s desk when the Nazis knocked on their door and told them they needed to leave the house.

“That reality of how quickly life can change because of war,” Chadzynski said. “That’s what Ukrainians are facing.”

Chadzynski still has family in Poland, and they asked if she wanted to help with Dattalion soon after it was founded. 

“I said, ‘Yes of course I want to help,’” Chadzynski said. “None of us thought we’d still be doing this a year later.”

Dattalion works collaboratively with organizations that help document evidence of Russian war crimes. Dattalion volunteers hold exhibitions and work with political leaders. Some members of the team are in Ukraine, where they are filming eyewitness accounts and adding information to the database.

In November, Dattalion held its second “Kyiv to Capitol” exhibition in Washington, D.C., hosted by New Hampshire U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and the Ukrainian Embassy. Chadzynski said they blew up photos and displayed them around the rotunda in the Russell Senate Office Building. They hoped to be able to virtually bring in live witnesses from Ukraine, but because of continuous blackouts due to the war, they put together a video for the event.

Chadzynski recognizes that political support is important, and especially “with new congressional members, it’s important that we keep sharing the truth and reality with them,” she said. 

She felt honored to introduce Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova to New Hampshire U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan. U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster also attended the exhibit.

“I felt very supported by New Hampshire,” Chadzynski said. 

Some of the images at the exhibition were taken by photojournalist Maks Levin, who was killed in the war in 2022, and journalist Hollie McKay, who had recently returned from Ukraine and spoke about her experiences. 

“As a country, we have a limited experience of war and not on our soil,” Chadzynski said. “The stakes are high for this conflict.” 

She explained that Dattalion is fighting for a “trusted truth” that accurately conveys Ukrainian people’s experience and Russian violence. She believes this war will impact the future of democracy, and creating a database of evidence is critical when Russia is feeding its people an alternate storyline.

Chadzynski said she spoke to a Russian individual who had been studying in Ukraine when the war started. She called her mother to tell her Russia was attacking Ukraine and her mother didn’t believe her.

“That’s why doing this work is so important,” Chadzynski said. “Ukrainian people are so strong and so resilient that it’s almost easy to think that they don’t need our help, but they so desperately do.”

She explained that “because the culture is founded on every little bit counts, every part matters and that collective strength can’t be broken. That collective togetherness is so powerful.”

Similarly, “every little bit counts” towards helping Ukraine as well. Chadzynski said donations and making calls to members of Congress makes a difference, “not only at the federal level, but at the state level and within our community.”

She spoke about The Common Man Ukraine Relief Fund,  which was founded in  New Hampshire and has raised more than $2 million for Ukraine. She said Ukrainian refugee Olga Necheporenko’s recent art show in Wilton was packed, and that spoke to strong support from the community. 

Chadzynski has hope for a world without war.

“I think we have the capability as people to be able to figure that out,” she said. “It will take a lot. It has deep roots in us. A lot of us expect this is always how it will be. To end war, we would have to get the entire world on board.”

Dattalion operates on donations and small grants. People can make donations through dattalion.com.

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