‘Stop Putin, stop war’: Pro-Ukraine protest held on Strip
A large crowd waving flags, holding signs and chanting gathered on the Strip on Saturday to protest Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Standing in a circle at the Linq Promenade on Saturday afternoon, the group of about 100 shouted chants including “Stop Putin, stop war,” “We stand with Ukraine” and “Hands off Ukraine.” As the chants continued, drivers along Las Vegas Boulevard honked their horns in support.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine that was criticized by President Joe Biden and other world leaders. Hundreds of civilian casualties had been reported by the United Nations as of Saturday.
Taras Motsnyy moved to the U.S. from Kherson, Ukraine, when he was 5. He said he has 30-40 family members still in the country. His grandparents, his aunt and a cousin are sheltering in their basement five minutes away from a bridge where Russian and Ukrainian forces have been fighting.
“Whenever there’s a bomb that goes off, their home is shaking,” Motsnyy said. “They cut off the gas at night just in case something hits it.”
Motsnyy’s uncle was in Germany for work when the invasion began and has not been able to get back to his family because of road closures and checkpoints. Motsnyy said his family members are trying to get out of Ukraine.
“They’re not able to get out because the roads are blocked, there’s no gas,” Motsnyy said.
He attended Saturday’s protest with his cousin and said that he was encouraged by the turnout and that he didn’t expect so many people.
“I hope we get more help, end the war quickly,” Motsnyy said. “That’s the only thing that we want is to stop it. There’s no reason for it to go on.”
Anna Ivaseva was raised in Russia and left the country in 2013. She described herself as “not a very political person” but said she has friends with family in Ukraine. Plus, Ivaseva lived in Ukraine for a year.
“I just think it’s sad and very unnecessary what’s happening,” Ivaseva said.
Ivaseva hugged Regina, who is also from Russia but was uncomfortable giving her last name. Regina held part of the big Ukrainian flag being waved in the middle of the crowd. Through tears, Regina described how she has been putting herself in the shoes of Ukrainians who have been forced to leave everything and flee.
“Russians don’t want war,” she said. “They don’t want to fight Ukrainians.”
Oleksandr Orlov held a small piece of paper that had the Ukrainian flag painted on it. He said his mother and many of his wife’s family members are in Ukraine.
“Everybody’s scared, everybody’s hiding in shelters,” Orlov said.
He moved to the U.S. four years ago and said when he arrived at the protest Saturday and started talking to those who had gathered, they all began to cry.
“Everybody has someone in Ukraine,” Orlov said.
He said he hopes the protest in Las Vegas and those around the world “keep the attention of people, and maybe together we can do something.”
“The world should know what happened in Ukraine,” Orlov said.
Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.
