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A rally to get Congress’ attention on the plight of Ukraine was held on the sidewalk of the Russell Senate Office Building Tuesday, coming a day after the U.S. announced it is withholding military aid as Ukraine continues to stave off Russian invasion.
Flying yellow and blue Ukrainian flags and holding mostly anti-Putin signs, protesters chanted, “stand with Ukraine” and “peace through strength” as they marched up and down the sidewalk at 2nd Street and Delaware Avenue in Northeast D.C.
The event was co-organized by a number of groups supporting the Ukrainian community.
“The local community is deeply disappointed in the new administration,” said Robert Harvey, coordinator of the group Ukraine Rally D.C., a collection of activist groups that lobby Congress and hold events to drum up awareness. “Our goal is to bring as many people to support Ukraine before the State of the Union address to tell Congress … to keep supporting Ukraine.”
About 70 people gathered in two locations near the office building, waving Ukrainian and American flags and chanting.
“We’re here for support Ukraine, for our defenders, for our people to save life,” said Natalie, a former Ukraine resident who now lives in D.C. and participates in several groups supporting protests.
“People are very upset and concerned that there’s, frankly, an avalanche of Russian disinformation that’s being spread,” said Jim McBride, one of the event’s organizers.
McBride said President Donald Trump was helping spread that disinformation by insisting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a dictator and that Ukraine was the aggressor in the war.
‘A desperate situation’
“People of the U.S. demand support for Ukraine,” said Maryna Baydyuk, president and founder of the United Help Ukraine nonprofit group. “I am outraged to see that our biggest ally and leader of the free world is turning their back on Ukraine.”
Baydyuk, who immigrated from Ukraine and settled in the Washington area in the late ’90s, organizes events designed to bring attention to the situation in her home country.
“I came from Ukraine in 1997, and I still have my father and sister, and my family and friends are still in Ukraine,” she said.
She helps organize public protests, but she also engages with other groups to help raise money and awareness for what she calls “a desperate situation.”
She said the largest part of the groups she works with aren’t Ukrainians, they’re Americans who want to get involved and stop the Russian aggression.
She criticized President Trump, accusing him of spreading Russian propaganda, including when he said Ukrainian President Zelenskyy was a dictator and that Ukraine started the war. Both statements are not true.
She asks that everyone who wants to participate in her cause volunteer their time and talent, donate resources, but most importantly, she wants volunteers to call on Congress.
Now that the U.S. is withholding military aid to Ukraine, Baydyuk said it is a critical time to get involved.
“We, as Ukrainians, know more than anyone else on this planet, want peace,” she said. “The Ukrainian people are not just beggars. They’re not a charitable cause. They’re not just fighting for their freedom, they’re also fighting for American values.”
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