SEATTLE — People gathered at Seattle Center on Saturday afternoon calling for more aid to be sent to Ukraine.
“We have our families in Ukraine, and we are going through this every single day,” said Liliya Kovalenko, President of the Ukrainian Association of Washington State.
Saturday marked two years since Russia invaded Ukraine.
“We wanted to get together everybody to show to our politicians that we are united,” said Kovalenko.
They are asking for support in the form of weapons and money to be sent to Ukraine.
“If Russia will stop fighting, it will stop the war. If Ukraine will stop fighting, it will be no Ukraine,” said Kovalenko.
She said it is not just Ukraine at risk.
“We are in the beginning of World War III, and everybody should understand that, because Russia is not going to stop in Ukraine,” said Kovalenko.
Others said although they are grateful for the people who came out to the rally, they wish they were not there to mark another year of war.
“It's really challenging because it feels like, you know, we're coming back here once a year just to get America to recommit to the same initial commitments that it had made at the start of the war,” said Vladyslav Bobrovnyk, who is also with the Ukrainian Association of Washington State.
Next year they hope they will not mark a third anniversary of the invasion. They hope to be gathering for a much different reason.
“We're hoping to have the next year, like a big victory celebration,” said Kovalenko.