Protestors from Former Soviet States Show Solidarity at #StandwithUkraine Rally

On the afternoon of Saturday, February 26th, hundreds gathered in Santa Monica near the offices of Senator Dianne Feinstein to raise awareness and protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The rally followed many other demonstrations organized by members of the Los Angeles Ukrainian community in Westwood, Studio City and Hollywood. California is home to roughly 112,000 people of Ukrainian descent and across the state, rallies in Los Angeles, San Francisco Sacramento expressed solidarity with Ukrainians under attack.

As traffic lights turned from red to green, people wearing vinoks, crowns of flowers, and vyshyvanka, traditional Ukrainian dress displaying stitched embroidery, crossed the streets waving banners and Ukrainian flags. Cars honked loudly in support. The event was advertised on Facebook to start at 1 P.M. and hundreds stayed well past sunset.

Alona Hansel, 26, who immigrated to the United States from Ukraine three years ago, attended the rally with her husband and their two-year-old daughter. Their family usually goes to Ukraine twice a year to visit relatives.

"I was so scared. I was shaking. I was crying," said Hansel, in response to the February 24th invasion. "You're watching cameras in Ukraine and I saw those bombs. I called my family to make sure they're okay and ask them to protect themselves."

There were many children at the rally. Hanna Husakova, 34, born in Donetsk, moved to the United States two and a half years ago, after her husband got a job in Woodland Hills. Her son, Sasha, six years old, was born in Kyiv, Ukraine but now speaks little Russian or Ukrainian. Husakova has shielded him from photos and videos of the war but tries to get him to call his grandparents everyday.

"We try to keep a connection while there’s still internet and electricity," she said. Husakova hopes that there will soon be more economic sanctions on Russia.

At a table on the corner of Sepulveda, Elena Kalish passed out petitions addressed to Senator Alex Padilla and President Joe Biden with a list of recommended actions for Congress to take. Requests included establishing a military no-fly zone, provision of essential defense weaponry, and provision of humanitarian aid as well as increased economic sanctions.

"We're trying to sign petitions and send them to different people to be heard," said Kalish. She added that the petition was organized by young people within the local Ukrainian community.

Taras Bohonok, a local Ukrainian American watercolor artist, stood raffling off his paintings to raise money for United Help Ukraine, a nonprofit focused on delivering food and medical supplies to Ukrainian refugees. Passerbys could scan a QR code and make a donation.

"I just couldn't sit at home. This is the best I can do," said Bohonok.

Many people at the march waved Latvian flags, Lithuanian flags, Belarusian opposition flags to show broader support for Ukraine from other former Soviet Union states. The national flag of Belarus is red and green, introduced under the Soviet Union; a different red and white flag, formerly flown by Belarusian nationalists in the early 20th century, has in recent years symbolized opposition to the current Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko. Lukashenko reintroduced the red and green flag in 1995 and has emphasized closer ties with Russia.

Aija Zeltina, 40, a Latvian immigrant, grew up in the former USSR when Latvia was under Russian occupation. She spoke of how her parents were not allowed to travel because of her grandfather’s resistance to Soviet rule.

The Red Army invaded Latvia in 1940 and the independent nation was incorporated into the Soviet Union. The country did not regain its independence until 1991.

"We felt everything under Russian occupation," Zeltina said with tears rolling down her face.

"So we have to fight. It doesn't matter if you're from Latvia, Ukraine or Belarus. Because there's this saying: if you give a devil the pinky finger, he’s going to take the whole hand. One by one, history repeats itself."

Russian and Ukrainian officials recently met at the Belarusian border, a staging area for Russian troops. Natalia Zhutavra, an immigrant from Belarus at the rally, pointed out how this conflict was going to affect people beyond Ukrainian and Russian borders.

"My sister’s husband is around 40 years old but he still has to join the Belarusian army if the government asks," said Zhutavra. "So they’re afraid." She also worried about some of her friends who had protested against Alexander Lukashenko’s regime in Belarus and fled to Ukraine for asylum.

"We'd like to show Ukrainians that they're not alone and that we have a common enemy right now, and it’s not the Russian people. It's Putin," said Yuri Liakh, another Belarusian at the demonstration. "As you know, there are many people in Russia protesting against the war and then being jailed."

Dasha Timbush, who has lived in the United States for ten years, spoke about why showing up at the demonstration as a Russian was important for her.

"We watched the same cartoons in our childhood. [Ukraine] is our neighbor. We stand here, to say that we, as Russians, are against the war as well." She pointed out how most of the signs at the rally were written about Putin, not Russia.

Protesters held a mix of opinions about which actions Ukraine and it’s global allies should take to de-escalate the war. Some advocated for "closing the sky" through no-fly zones that would block Russia from using airspace. Others argued for additional economic sanctions including a ban of Russia’s participation in SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. SWIFT is a secure messaging system that facilitates rapid cross-border payments and international trade. More than 11,000 financial institutions use the platform worldwide, including approximately 300 in Russia. Banning Russia from SWIFT would be the financial "nuclear option", since it would restrict Russian companies and individuals in their access to financial markets across the world.

Timbush worried that sanctions on Russia would punish the people for the government and military’s actions.

"The people of Russia do not deserve it. [Banning SWIFT] causes enormous harm to the peaceful citizens who just want to use their own money that they earned by working hard. I can't help my mom, I can't send her money to survive," noted Timbush.

One older protester stood holding a white banner that read "Veterans for Peace." Michael Lindley, the chapter president, noted that ordinary citizens would be the most affected in a war.

"I can tell you that more civilians die from war than people who are in actual combat," he said.

Lindley is a Vietnam War veteran who served in the United States Navy. He has been a peace activist for 45 years and has gone to many similar demonstrations. He echoed what many others in attendance pointed out: war, in their memory, has inflicted harm and can continue to inflict harm intergenerationally.

"A lot of people died for reasons that, you know, were not necessary. And that's what happens in war all the time. A lot of people are going to die. And it's sad."