Myroslav Sypa brought a stroller to the latest Support for Ukraine rally at the state Capitol on Sunday, but it wasn’t for his children, who had outgrown it.
It and 10 others positioned on a landing along East Morgan Street symbolized the more than 100 children Ukrainian officials say have been killed since Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion on Russia’s democratic neighbor nearly a month ago. Some of the strollers held an illustration of a mother, lying with her child, arm raised to try to ward off incoming missiles.
Sypa moved to Wake Forest from Lviv, Ukraine, 15 years ago. He has two siblings still there — a brother training to fight the Russians and a sister harboring refugees hoping to make their way to Poland.
“It’s so sad for our country, what’s going on,” he said. “It’s unprovoked and unjust. My heart is bleeding every time I read the news.”
He was among roughly 400 people who turned out on a breezy Sunday afternoon in support of Ukraine, many draped in the country’s blue-and-yellow flag. Some held signs calling for a no-fly zone over the Eastern European nation; others equated Putin with Adolf Hitler. Many who showed up decried what they saw as targeted bombing of women and children.
It was the second rally organized at the state’s Capitol in support of Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It was organized by Ukrainians in the Carolinas, a group that is serving as a hub for humanitarian and political support, and seeking nonprofit status.
“Ukraine is standing up and not giving up, and we are standing up and not giving up,” said Olena Kozlova-Pates, one of the rally leaders.
Since the first rally in early March, the war has taken thousands more lives, as the Russian army has bombed hospitals, residential neighborhoods and a theater that was marked with large white letters as a refuge for children, according to media reports. Russia has said it used a hypersonic missile to strike an underground warehouse for missiles and aviation ammunition, the New York Times reported.
Roughly a quarter of Ukraine’s 44 million people have been displaced, the United Nations reported Friday. More than 6 million of them remained in the country, while 3.2 million have fled Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden has accused Putin of war crimes. Much of the world has joined in stiff economic sanctions against Russia that have caused the ruble’s value to plunge dramatically. The United States and other allies have supported Ukraine with weapons and supplies, but have not agreed to Zelensky’s urgent requests to set up a no-fly zone.
When state Sen. Wiley Nickel, a Cary Democrat and one of several elected officials at the rally, referenced $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid that Congress has approved to help Ukraine, a woman shouted: “Not enough!” Other speakers thanked the United States for its support.
The nearly three-hour rally also featured musical performances, including one from Marila Fedynskyj, who fled Ukraine with her four children. Her husband, Jurij, a Raleigh native and musician, remains in Ukraine to perform for those seeking safety in bomb shelters.
A recorded prayer in Ukrainian brought tears to many, including Evgenia Erickson, a Russian native who lives in Garner. She spoke near the end of the rally, apologizing for the invasion, aware that many in her home country are being fed propaganda by the Russian government-controlled media.
“It’s important for people to stand and say what they can,” she said after her remarks. “Maybe people will listen.”
Ukrainian native Halyna Balan moved to Raleigh 22 years ago. She has many relatives there, including her father, who is 78 and lives alone.
“I can not bring him here right now because we do not have a refugee law,” she said.
She spends her days trying to contact her relatives to find out if they are doing OK and what she could do to help, knowing that there is little she can do.
“It’s like a knife in your heart,” she said.
Events such as Sunday’s rally make a difference, Balan said.
“I think people right now see what’s going on,” she said. “Putin, he is dangerous for the entire world.”
