Hundreds rally for Ukraine on war’s 2nd anniversary
Attendees on Common call on US for more aid
Hundreds gathered Saturday afternoon on Boston Common to rally in support of Ukraine on the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of that country.
“Two years later and what do we have to show for it?” asked Oksana Chapman, rabbi and cantor at the Temple Emmanuel of Chelsea, while addressing the crowd. “Many thousands are killed and cities destroyed. And yet here we are still fighting, still struggling, still crying for the world to hear our plea.”
Dozens of blue-and-yellow flags fluttered in a cold wind outside the Parkman Bandstand. Some brandished signs. “Return our kidnapped children,” read one. “Crimea is Ukraine,” read another. A third: “I miss home.”
After singing the American and Ukrainian national anthems, Valeriia Vovk, who grew up in Odessa, Ukraine, and moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music, said Saturday’s demonstration was important to remind the world that “we still very much need help.”
“We just hope that it’s not going to be another two years, three years, four years,” she said. “We need it to resolve as soon as possible with as little losses as possible.”
The Rev. Yaroslav Nalysnyk, of Christ the King Ukrainian Catholic Church in Jamaica Plain, led the crowd in a prayer for a speedy victory for Ukraine and referred to Russia as an evil empire and a “Moscow barbarian horde.”
“Help the Ukrainian Army to win the battle in this just war against this vicious enemy,” he said.
Among the talking points during the rally was Ukraine’s need for more aid from the United States in its fight against Russia. Help worth $60 billion teeters in Congress, delayed due to political differences on Capitol Hill. The Senate has passed an aid package, but House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has not put forward a plan for passing it in the House.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said delays in weapon deliveries from Western allies are making the fight “very difficult” along parts of the front line.
In speaking to the crowd on the Common on Saturday, US Representative Stephen Lynch, a Democrat from South Boston,
‘Many thousands are killed . . . . And yet here we are still fighting, still struggling, still crying for the world to hear our plea.’
RABBI OKSANA CHAPMAN
said he hoped his GOP colleagues would “wake up to what’s happening to Ukraine.”
Yards away, a demonstrator held aloft a sign imploring Congress to stand up to Russian
President Vladimir Putin. And posters tacked to the Parkman Bandstand broke down the cost of Russia’s invasion to Ukraine, as well as statistics that contextualized the US government’s monetary support to Ukraine so far.
Lynch railed against what he called Russia’s “craven and illegal and unprovoked invasion of its peaceful neighbor.”
“Russia’s campaign has been relentless and the people of Ukraine have paid a heavy price,” he said.
Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn said it was important for Americans to stand in solidarity with Ukrainians.
“If we don’t stand up to bullies and dictators like Putin, what country is next?” he asked.
Statements of solidarity from various politicians, including Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, were read aloud to the crowd.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.