'Stand With Ukraine': Rally, march held in midtown Phoenix, uniting all walks of life to show solidarity

PHOENIX - A rally and march were held at the Ukrainian American Cultural Center in Phoenix on Feb. 27 to show support for Ukraine as the country continues to resist the Russian invasion.

According to organizers, the Sunday march is meant to show unity and support for the country's sovereignty and right to their freedom while also demanding an end to the war, along with ending the occupation of Crimea and the imprisonment of Ukrainian citizens.

The crowd met at the Ukrainian American Cultural Center in Phoenix before setting off toward Colter Park, and about 20 people were expected to show up.

Instead, hundreds showed up in solidarity.

Hundreds of Ukrainians, Ukrainian Americans, friends, family, and supporters came out to show their unity and support for the country and their right to freedom, while also demanding Russia end its invasion.

"People see that this is not a just war, that somebody is going in there unprovoked and killing innocent women, children the Ukrainian military for no reason," said Victor Szwez, president of St. Mary's Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The crowd chanting, singing, and standing united for the people of Ukraine.

'Right now, she is safe'

Anti-war protest brings together all walks of life in midtown Phoenix, supporting Ukraine

Ostap Grechanyuk moved to America when he was 11, and says, "The strength is in numbers. Look how far we are from home, and we are still together," Grechanyuk said.

Many in Sunday's march have family in the country, like Sofiia Zaitsuva.

"My mom, my dad, my grandma, all of them live in Ukraine," she said.

Yray Melnyk is also impacted. "My mom is in Ukraine right now, she’s in the city hit by Russian military, but she’s OK. She moved out to a small village and right now she is safe."

Some say their loved ones are trying to escape, while others are hunkering down.

"Right now they hear a lot of bombings around, people are hiding in shelters, so it’s a very, very scary situation. I never thought that they would have to experience something like that," said Igor Vorisevich.

Sunday's event not only brought attention to the crisis overseas but it united people from different cultures and backgrounds, to all fight for a common cause.

"We’ve got Buddhists who’ve come out, we’ve got people from the Mexican community who came out, we’ve got people from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russians came out. Even the Russian people, most of them don’t want the war," Szwez said.

Many in the Phoenix area have ties to the country. Gaston Jones from Tempe says his wife is trying to get back to Arizona from Ukraine.

Jones says she drove 20 hours to get to Moldova, then will get a bus to Romania, then he says she has a three-leg flight back to the states.

"I couldn’t sleep so I’m actually more calm now she’s away from Ukraine but I still am fearful for her whole family because they’re all there, and they don’t know what to do, and it’s difficult. It’s a difficult situation. I wish this never happened," Jones said.

Places to donate:

Ukrainian Women's League of America: Checks can be made payable to UNWLA. (Memo: Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine)
Paypal: @UNWLAPhoenix
Ukrainian Orthodox Church St. Mary's Protectress: Checks can be made payable to UOCSMP. (Memo: #Ukraine)
Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=9YFENQKJ4M952

Phoenix City Hall lights up blue and yellow in support of Ukraine

Phoenix city manager Jeff Barton tweeted a photo, saying, "Please help share this post on your pages to spread the love and support for those affected by the war happening there."