Downtown Vancouver was awash in blue and yellow on Sunday afternoon as more than 100 people showed up to Esther Short Park in support of Ukraine and its fight against the Russian invasion.
The demonstration was organized to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people as the country fights to repel a coordinated attack by Russia that began late last month. The event was put on by Odyssey World International Education Services, Indivisible Greater Vancouver, MoveOn Clark County and Vancouver for Peace.
Among those gathered was Paul Demyanik, the pastor of the Ukrainian Baptist Church and an immigrant from Ukraine. He and his sons Vitaly and Sasha spoke to the crowd, as they said a prayer and spoke about the importance of freedom.
Sasha Demyanik said his father came to the U.S. in 1991, only months prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He said prior to immigrating, his family didn’t expect the Soviet Union to fall due to the lack of free information in the country.
The current conflict’s roots span to the prior decade when after the ousting of pro-Russia Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych in 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and stoked separatist movements in eastern Ukraine.
Sasha Demyanik said it felt like an inevitability that Russian President Vladimir Putin would invade the county.
“It was more of when and under what form that war would start,” he said.
He said the brashness of the attack came as a shock, as Ukraine didn’t give the Russian president any pretext for the invasion. The decision to conduct strikes on multiple cities across the nation was also surprising.
Sasha Demyanik said relatives in Ukraine give firsthand information to the family in Vancouver on what is happening in the country. Combined with the freedom of information in U.S. media, Sasha Demyanik said he has been able to piece together an accurate picture of what’s going on as the conflict unfolds.
He said what he’s seen in U.S. media has been surprisingly accurate when comparing with what he hears from relatives. He said U.S. intelligence has been good at providing the most accurate information on what is happening in the country.
The demonstration was indicative of the stateside response to the invasion, which has led to an outpouring of support.
“To see Americans who have no real connection at all to Ukraine so unwavering for their support is just so heartwarming. It’s so incredible to see,” Sasha Demyanik said.
In Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee has been direct in his condemnation of Russia’s “outrageous foreign invasion” of Ukraine. During a press conference on Feb. 28, he directed state agencies to identify ties with significant Russian businesses or state-controlled entities, and cancel those contracts. The state Legislature also set aside $19 million to aid Ukrainian refugees.
Sasha Demyanik said the invasion has put some of what Americans have taken for granted back in the forefront. He said in the decades following the ostensible end of the Cold War, there has been a “forgetfulness” of the freedoms present in the U.S., which appears to be remembered in the country’s reaction to the Ukrainian conflict.
“That’s exactly why my parents came to the U.S., is they recognized that (freedom),” he said.
Noting the economic impacts the U.S. is seeing as a result of the conflict, Sasha Demyanik said America should be aware of any unrest occurring across the world.
“Any type of war that occurs, any destabilization in the world affects us here, and we feel that,” he said.
One of the demonstration’s organizers, Odyssey World International Education Services Karen Morrison, said her organization became immediately aware of the conflict as one of its programs focuses on immigrant and refugee justice. Putting on a visible event fit with the organization’s message, Morrison said.
“I do believe show is always better than tell, and when we can do something, do something,” Morrison said.
She said supporting a country halfway around the world in their own struggle is indicative of the principles of the U.S.
“We care about the marginalized. We care about human suffering. We’re the most giving, kindest country ever,” Morrison said. “That’s what makes America great, is that we all do stand together.”
