A sea of yellow and blue wrapped the outside of the house of Ukraine in Balboa Park.
“It feels empowering,” said Svitlana Radulovich, Ukrainian-American demonstrator. “It feels good to know that there are people like me that feel like me."
Dozens of people rallied to support their homeland and demand that Russia stop moving toward an invasion.
“We are not alone, what is going on is wrong and it needs to be stopped,” said a demonstrator.
Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters.
Russia has moved thousands of troops and large amounts of military equipment into the border regions. People here fear for the safety of their relatives in Ukraine.
“There's no reason for there to be any bloodshed on any side of the border,” said Viera Skope, Ukrainian-American demonstrator. “We pray for peace.”
At the event, speakers offered prayers for those who were killed in the country in recent years and for those who are living there now. Tensions between Russia and Ukraine aren’t new, they’ve been going on for years.
Local
“It's like you can never live in peace when you have a neighbor that continuously wants to chop a piece of you,” said a Ukranian-American demonstrator.
Perhaps for that reason, family members present said their Ukrainian relatives are facing Russia with confidence.
“We have some relatives we spoke to recently and they said, ‘we’re ready, and we’re calm but we’re ready,” said Skope. “So whatever happens they’ll be ready.”
Still, their families, living thousands of miles away here in the U.S., worry about their safety.
“The whole world should mobilize because like my previous college said, Russia isn't going to stop there, they are greedy, they're going to go further, as much as they can consume,” said Radulovich.
They plead with their friends and neighbors to stand up with them and help protect their home country.
