A “Freedom Rally” in support of Ukraine was put together by an exchange student from Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, on March 9 in the UW Agriculture building.
Anastasiia Pereverten, an exchange student from Kyiv, started off the rally by speaking to those gathered about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
“On the 21st of February the whole scale war started in my country. Russia has attacked Ukraine in a criminally terrible way,” Pereverten said.
Pereverten’s family is currently remaining in Kyiv, as the active conflict encloses the capital.
“Today they lost internet connection, but my mom, two hours ago, managed to send me a message saying ‘please tell them how thankful we are for the support we are feeling.’”
Pereverten spent her time speaking to those attending the rally explaining how to further support Ukraine beyond holding signs and spreading the news.
Russia has faced many unexpected roadblocks in its paths across Ukraine, causing them to take increasingly violent action.
“What they decided to do now is genocide,” Pereverten said. “Our army is powerful enough to win a war, we cannot win a genocide.”
“Russian troops are dropping bombs on maternity houses, on neighborhoods, on schools.”
The rally took place only hours after an airstrike occurred on a maternity hospital in the city Mariupol, in Southern Ukraine, killing 3 people and injuring 17 others.
Russia has since said that the hospital was a Ukrainian militia base.
“That is something that is not going on in one city, but in dozens of Ukrainian cities right now,” Pereverten said. “The only thing that can help is protecting Ukrainian skies.”
As the war has progressed, citizens across the world have been increasingly pressing NATO to protect Ukrainian airways.
“For NATO, protecting the skies over Ukraine is like interfering in a war, starting a war with Russia,” Perverten said. “For the last 10 days, they [Russia] are not going to a war, they are killing Ukrainian civilians.”
Pereverten, along with the help of Katherine Fitch, a graduate student and ASUW member, prepared a template to hand out to all attendees of the meeting guiding them on how they could contact their local representatives and what to say when they are speaking to them.
“That is something that can cause substantive difference in terms of the war going on, and protecting civilians and children.”
Helping to protect Ukrainian skies can come in many different ways Pereverten said.
“Firstly, it can be to supply aircrafts to Ukraine, secondly it might be protecting Ukrainian skies with NATO aircrafts. Both options are feasible for our army.”
Pereverten highlighted the urgency in which action from foreign governing bodies, such as NATO, is needed to be taken.
“With the manner of Russian terrorism, they are killing thousands of people in one day.”
“I am very thankful to you, for the support you are providing us right now, and I would be even more grateful for advising your local representatives,” Pereverten said.
Up to this point, NATO has rejected Ukraine’s calls to enact a no-fly zone in the country.
