Not long ago, Southport’s Paul Zalucky missed his 35th wedding anniversary.

For most of the senior set, that would be a mortal sin. But Carole, his long-suffering bride, forgave him, and was more than glad when he walked back into the door of their cove side home. Paul admitted she was on pins and needles while he was away.

It is an understandable reaction, for the retired American intelligence agency senior executive spent a couple of weeks in Kyiv, Ukraine, where he was consulting on defense and humanitarian projects.

On Saturday morning, as a cool mist peppered the canvas over a picnic table at Southport General Store, we sat down and chatted about his journey.

No, he did not disclose business details, or any insider, behind-the-scenes skinny on the war. Instead, he told what it is like to live and work in a faraway city engulfed in a major war with Russia. For example, how do you get there? Well, first you fly into Warsaw, Poland, then take another 40-minute flight to a town named Rzeszów pronounced Zezow, and board a train. You have to wait until the trainload of passengers gets off before you can get on. This takes several hours.

It was the same train that President Joe Biden and his aides once rode to visit Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. They say the railroad’s president stayed awake for 48 hours when President Biden rode the same train, said Paul.

After a 10-hour ride, Paul arrived in Kyiv and registered at a hotel in the middle of a war zone  offering pure relaxation in a bomb shelter where you can relax on bunks, water and other amenities.

It was safe. But, on some days, between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., they were awakened when Russians sent missiles and drones to the Ukrainian capital. After spending a few sleepless nights, Paul claimed he got used to the distraction.

Ukrainians, using American Patriot missiles, shot down most of the deadly rockets, but the spent missile parts still fell out of the sky, damaging buildings.

Paul said when sensors detect a Russian missile attack is on the way, officials warn the public in a cell phone app in both Ukrainian and English.

It is spoken by American actor Mark Hamill, AKA Luke Skywalker. It goes like this: Please proceed to the nearest shelter. Don’t be careless. Overconfidence is your weakness.

After the raid, the voice of Luke Skywalker tells you when it is safe to leave the shelter.

In both languages, he closes with: May The Force Be With You.

This strange anecdote seems to illuminate a war that has its feet in ancient history and its head in drones and crypto attacks that would be at home in the latest Star Wars movie.

For Paul, helping the Ukrainian resistance is second nature for a retired intelligence pro who spent much of his career immersed in the politics and counter-politics of that corner of the world. He still has deep family roots in that land. His parents, now deceased, were born there and found a home in Chicago after World War II. Paul grew up multilingual. Ukrainian was spoken at home, and English elsewhere. For an intelligence executive, language skills, especially those featuring native accents, are more than valuable.

Paul still has relatives there. He said some cousins told him that Russian rockets landed just a couple blocks from their home.

While Ukraine is known for massive agricultural production earning the nickname the bread basket of Europe, its citizens are praised worldwide for their sophisticated computer and software skills.

For instance, Paul says the Ukrainian military quickly mastered the Patriot missile systems to destroy Russian drones. Then engineers upgraded the software allowing it to shoot down Russians' top hypersonic rocket that was supposed to be unhittable.

As for the Ukrainian people, Paul says they would stop him on the street to thank Americans for not forgetting their fight.

“After learning of atrocities the Russians inflicted on civilians in towns like Bucha, the public vowed not to give up. They don’t want their children and grandchildren to experience things like that,” he said.

After Paul returned home from a war zone, Carole arranged for the couple to celebrate their anniversary with quiet walks on Monhegan Island, where there is no cell phone service.