Songs rang out across theCapitol grounds, including the Ukrainian National Anthem and spiritual anthem. A moment of silence was held, along with an interfaith prayer. The California National Guard presented the colors of the United States and Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Dmytro Kushneruk, Consul General of Ukraine in San Francisco was among the night\u2019s many speakers. He said the vigil was a demonstration of Ukrainians\u2019 \u201cunbreakable resolve,\u201d and thanked the community for their donations and continued advocacy. \u201cYou have kept Ukraine visible, and you kept Ukraine strong,\u201d Kushneruk said, adding that for Ukrainians \u201cthere is no pause button, no distance from consequences, no luxury of forgetting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToday we remember the fallen, we honor our defenders, we stand with those who suffer,\u201d he continued. \u201cBut we also want to speak about the future. A future where Ukraine is free, where justice is restored, where peace is dignified and secure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Almost every speech was punctuated with Ukraine\u2019s national salute, \u201cSlava Ukraini!\u201d (Glory to Ukraine!) Attendees roared in response, \u201cHeroiam slava!\u201d (Glory to the heroes!)<\/p>\n
For the visitors it was a time to remember, mourn, and take action. Here are some of their stories.<\/p>\n
Oleh Kernytskyy\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/022526_oleh.jpg\")
Oleh Kernytskyy came to the United States from Ukraine in 1999. Now living in the East Bay, he called the war a struggle between “light and dark forces.”Sarit Laschinsky\/CapRadio<\/p>\n
Oleh Kernytskyy lives in the East Bay. He came to the U.S. in 1999 from the Western Ukrainian city of Ternopil. He said he was at home when the war broke out, and learned about it online and through social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody expected this, this was [a] shock for everybody\u2026 this was a big surprise for the whole world, not just for Ukraine,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Kernytskyy said he has done a lot of intensive volunteer work over the last year to support his countrymen. \u201cI took care [of] a Ukrainian boy, 16 years old, because [a] Russian tank attack him, crush his leg,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI work as an interpreter in a school. I met a girl, seven years old, and she spent four months in the basement without electricity, without water. Parents melted snow to make water\u2026 it\u2019s horrible stories, but we need to help those people.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the United States has a lot of resources to help Ukraine, and that it is in the country\u2019s best interests to fight for freedom in a \u201cwar between light and dark forces.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think everybody needs to understand, result of this war will impact everybody,\u201d Kernytskyy said. \u201cIt seems far away from America, but depending from the war, people will live happy\u2026 and if war ended another way, then [it] will be very bad for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wrapped in the Ukrainian flag, he said it was important for others to see the colors. \u201cThey will understand about Ukraine, how brave those people [are],\u201d Kernytskyy said.<\/p>\n
Arina Bugera<\/p>\n
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Fifteen-year-old Arina Bugera fled Ukraine at the beginning of the 2022 Russian invasion. She volunteers with the Sunflower Society, and hopes to return to her home country one day.Sarit Laschinsky\/CapRadio<\/p>\n
Arina Bugera vividly remembers the first days of the war. Born and raised in Ukraine\u2019s capital Kyiv, the 15-year-old described the call her mother received at 4 a.m., and the mad scramble for passports and other necessities as the bombing started.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe run outside, it\u2019s still dark. Then we see an entire fleet of Russian warplanes\u2026 they were flying very low,\u201d Bugera explained. \u201cIt was the moment I realized the explosions that were at the beginning\u2026 there are enemies all over us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bugera\u2019s family escaped to Poland, then traveled to Qatar before arriving in Sacramento on March 1, 2022. She eventually became a volunteer with the Sunflower Society.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always felt patriotic toward my country, toward my heritage. I came to the rallies here in the capital. I found community. I found people who like me escaped the war, who came here earlier,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As she collected donations, Bugera said she is doing her part for the war effort. \u201cThis means one less drop of blood spilled, one less body of a Ukrainian soldier or civilian going into the tomb for a war that we did not start,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Bugera said support for Ukraine has declined over the years, especially as media attention turned elsewhere. But she believes the U.S. government can push Russia to end the war, and said being surrounded by supporters gives her the strength to fight on.<\/p>\n
And she wants to go back home one day. \u201cI cannot imagine my life without my country,\u201d Bugera said. \u201cMy priority is to help Ukraine rebuild itself, and I want to be there when this happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oleg Korovyanko<\/p>\n
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Oleg Korovyanko is a state employee, and has been raising donations since the war began to help Ukrainian soldiers.Sarit Laschinsky\/CapRadio<\/p>\n
Oleg Korovyanko works for the California Department of Healthcare Services. Originally born in Ukraine, he became a U.S. citizen in 2009. In his hands he held a sign with a picture of two Ukrainian servicemen, their faces obscured with emojis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The text above the image reads \u201cprove that American Ukrainians stand together with our country. Your help is not just donations. It is equipment delivered on time. It is to save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Korovyanko, the war began with phone calls. \u201cI called my mom, and also I got [a] call from my Russian friend; he was apologizing that this was happening,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Korovyanko said his mother has since passed away, but before she did, \u201cshe wanted me to give all money to [the] Ukrainian military to keep fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it comes to ongoing support, Korovyanko is proud that California continues to stand by Ukraine. He expressed gratitude for Governor Gavin Newsom and congressional members on both sides of the aisle, but added more needs to be done.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing that we try to say is that Russia actually uses our equipment. Russia uses our skills, Russia uses our economic might to kill people in Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Korovyanko said Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians share common goals, and called on people to \u201cstand for reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWatch the difference between us and the other world, with Russia\u2026 we are looking ahead for a future. Other people together with Putin, they look backwards,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that Ukraine stands. Ukraine is alive, Ukraine is praying, and Ukraine is fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tetiana Markova<\/p>\n
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Tetiana Markova of San Jose poses with the flags of two Ukrainian brigades, signed by soldiers who benefitted from her donations.Sarit Laschinsky\/CapRadio<\/p>\n
Tetiana Markova traveled from San Jose to Sacramento for the vigil, and stood at a booth filled with flower crowns, keychains, knitted animals and other gifts. Behind her hung the flags of the Ukrainian 38th Marine Brigade and 72nd Mechanized Brigade, bearing the signatures of multiple soldiers.<\/p>\n
Her husband, Mykola Markov, stood nearby wearing a cap emblazoned with an angry green tractor \u2014 the badge of the \u201cUkrainian Tractor Brigade,\u201d referring to viral videos from early in the war of Ukrainian farmers salvaging abandoned Russian military equipment.<\/p>\n
Markova began making and selling trinkets four years ago with friends as a way to support her country and its defenders.<\/p>\n
We didn\u2019t know what to do, how we can help, so we started to make some stuff,\u201d\u00a0 Markova said, adding that the work kept her mind occupied.<\/p>\n
The money she raises will be used to buy cars for military transport. \u201cWe can feel that it\u2019s our part in our victory,\u201d she continued, pointing to the signatures on the flags. \u201cWhen we get the \u2018thank you\u2019 from our warriors, [it] is really appreciated by us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Markova thanked Americans for their help, but acknowledged the country is facing a lot of problems, economically and politically. Regardless, Markova asked people to not lose sight of the ongoing conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened now in the U.S. and also in Ukraine, and in Europe, everything is related. Please [don\u2019t] forget.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vladimir Fedorov<\/p>\n
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Vladimir Fedorov was charged with extremism in Russia for his support of Ukraine. He said it was important to stand alongside Ukrainians and other supporters, and that it lit a fire in his heart.Sarit Laschinsky\/CapRadio<\/p>\n
Vladimir Fedorov arrived at the Capitol draped in the blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag, but he\u2019s not Ukrainian.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019s Russian.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see the war start in [2022], I live[d] in Russia\u2026 that was my last year in college. I was 18 years old,\u201d Fedorov explained. \u201cAll people in my circle support war, support Russia. It\u2019s not normal, it\u2019s very crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThese people support not just Putin, [they] support the president who start the war, is very aggressive, very fascist, very Nazi.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fedorov said he was charged with extremism in Russia because of his support for Ukraine, and left the country two years ago to come to Sacramento. \u201cIt\u2019s okay in the United States, it\u2019s normal, I support Ukraine. But in Russia it\u2019s criminal,\u201c he said.<\/p>\n
Fedorov didn\u2019t mince words when it came to supporters of the war. \u201cI don\u2019t want to talk with them,\u201d he said bluntly.<\/p>\n
Amid a sea of flags, signs and photographs, Fedorov said it was important to stand in solidarity with Ukrainians and their supporters, including other Russians. \u201cWe can feel this fire in the heart. You just want to cry, and the same moment you just smile a little bit because you\u2019re together with the same people,\u201d Fedorov said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe it\u2019s not from your country, from Ukraine, but you are together.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n