Shocked Ukrainians gather in capital
DEJECTED, shocked, angry, numb, broken-hearted.
All these words and more described the feelings on display as Ukrainians in Wellington gathered to speak, sing, share, and comfort one another.
On a good day, the Ukrainian national anthem is a triumphant, rousing song. In 2014, it was the anthem of the Euromaidan revolution that toppled Viktor Yanukovych. As it was sung in Wellington yesterday, it resembled a funeral dirge.
Ukrainians of all ages were there, some with families, some students, some young professionals. Alongside them were many New Zealanders in solidarity, as well as Europeans from Poland, Germany, and the UK. All in solidarity and mourning the beginning of a war none of their countrymen asked for.
The presence of a Russian holding a poster saying ‘‘I am Russian and I am against war’’, sparked a furious reaction in a young Ukrainian man who shouted at him with tears in his eyes. It didn’t matter whether he was pro-war or anti-war, only that he was Russian. The young man was eventually pulled away by his brothers to calm down.
Ernest Shatilov lives in Wellington and is married to a New Zealander. Two years ago, the couple left Kharkiv to move back to Wellington. Kharkiv was a peaceful city about 250 kilometres from the fighting when he was there. Now it’s the frontline.
‘‘I just feel very emotional. My mother still lives in Kharkiv. I told her to get out because she’s in an apartment very high up. It’s hard to leave the city. There’s no flights, the roads are blocked, there’s only a few buses.
‘‘Thankfully my mother managed to get a train out of Kharkiv. I know there’s rockets and bombs flying everywhere, but I pray that nothing happens to that train’’.
Tetiana Zhurba was among the leaders of the protest. With tears in her eyes, she told us what she’s heard from the ordinary people suffering through this.
‘‘I heard Russian troops are starting to circle the cities. They take territory by putting their [Russian] flag up but it’s our land, our home.
‘‘We haven’t invaded anyone, we are on the side of peace, truth, freedom’’.