Upwards of a thousand people gathered Monday at the Utah Capitol, where, for the first time in the state’s history, the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag flew alongside the U.S. and Utah flags.
The rally was a needed show of support for the embattled European nation, said Ivan Bagmet, a Ukrainian man who was forced to flee with his family to the U.S. nearly eight years ago.
As a Ukrainian nationalist living in Donetsk — one of the areas that Russian President Vladimir Putin recently declared independent as a pretext for invasion — Bagmet told The Salt Lake Tribune that he faced harsh persecution that culminated in an attempt on his life in 2014.
The next day, his young family of four fled to Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, and then flew to Utah.
“[The invasion] is not just Ukraine’s problem, it’s everyone else’s problem as well,” he said, referencing Putin’s ominous remarks about nuclear arms. “It’s not going to stop in Ukraine, and right now it’s a threat to the whole world, including [the] United States.”
Throughout the rally, Ukrainians in the crowd raised impassioned shouts in their native language, voicing support for their countrymen who are now fighting for their lives half a world away. For them, even the Ukrainians living in Utah, Russia’s invasion hits close to home.
Bagmet said he has family and friends still living in Donetsk and Kyiv, including his parents and in-laws.
“As soon as it started, basically, my brother called me. It was like 5:38 a.m. in the morning, Ukrainian time,” he said. “For me, it was, like, basically middle of the day. … He just woke up at 5:38 a.m. because the building was shaking from explosions. And he just called me and said, ‘Hey, it looks like it’s started.’”
What followed were days spent on the phone, checking in on loved ones, making sure that everyone was OK.
So far, Ukrainian forces have managed to stymie the Russian invasion.
“I know that nations [are] usually born in tears and blood, and I believe that is what’s going on with Ukrainian people right now,” Bagmet said. “Because Putin said he [was] going to take over Ukraine within 48 hours. As you know, it’s been five days … and Ukrainian people [are] fighting back.”
Despite the pride he has in his country, and his fellow nationalists, Bagmet said Ukraine alone will not be able to win this war. Russia is too experienced and is a far greater military power than its neighbor.
So Ukraine is relying on other countries to provide aid.
“Once, eight years ago, I live in a peaceful country,” Bagmet said, warning that the peaceful life enjoyed by many Americans is fragile. “So, please, don’t be detached. Please, try to support if you can.”
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Vlada Yaremenko, from Ukraine, joins hundreds of protesters gather at the Utah Capitol for a rally in support of Ukraine, on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and a few lawmakers spoke at the rally, held to show solidarity with Ukrainians in Europe and in Utah after a similar event at the Capitol on Saturday.
Attendees held yellow flowers, waved flags, and joined in chants of “Ukraine!” and “Zelensky!” — referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who the speakers often called a “hero.”
Rep. Jordan Teuscher, D-South Jordan, said Russia’s attack on Ukraine affects not only Ukrainians like his wife and her family, but also Utahns.
“This assault against Ukraine is not just an assault against Ukraine, but an assault against democracy and an assault against every single one of us,” he said.
The governor and lieutenant governor echoed that sentiment in their brief remarks.
“Our horror at what’s unfolding in Europe with our friends is heightened by the realization that freedom, democracy, justice and self-determination is under assault,” Henderson said. “We stand with Ukraine not just because of what’s happening to its people ... but also because the invasion into a sovereign country highlights the fragility of all that we hold dear.”
The lieutenant governor also quoted Sen. Mitt Romney, referring to Putin as a “small, evil, feral-eyed man” who she said, “deserves every bit of scorn and condemnation for his evil actions.”
Romney appeared on CNN on Sunday and said Republicans’ support of the Russian president was “almost treasonous.”
In his speech, Cox expressed love for the 1,500 Ukrainians living in the state, but he also spoke to Utah’s Russian population, saying, “We do not hold you responsible for the acts of a madman.”
Echoing his blog post published online Monday, Cox urged Utahns to put aside division, even though the U.S. is “flawed,” he said.
“Our Ukrainian friends are reminding us what it means to be American,” Cox said at the rally. “They need us. They need a united us. They need the best of us. And we need them.”
Mayor Erin Mendenhall, who spoke under a sky she described as “almost as blue as the stripe on the Ukrainian flag,” said Russia’s attack on Ukraine was personal for her.
Her family fled Russian-occupied Lithuania during World War II, she said, and they were never able to go back. “Our democracy is only as stable as our commitment to it,” she said.
Mendenhall also called on Utahns to send support to the Salt Lake City sister cities of Chernivtsi in Ukraine, and Izhevsk in Russia.
The rally was held on another busy day at the Utah Legislature, but Republican House Speaker Rep. Brad Wilson said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine warranted lawmakers hitting the “pause button.”
Just hours before the rally, the Utah Legislature unanimously passed a bill denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and urging the U.S. federal government to “restore peace in Europe.”
The rally closed with a prayer from Rabbi Samuel Spector of Congregation Kol Ami, as well as a prayer in Ukrainian from a woman wearing a blue shawl who was identified only as Anna.
The rally’s host, entrepreneur Owen Fuller, said that the Utah Capitol would be lit up in yellow and blue for Ukraine once the sky darkened Monday evening, as were the governor’s mansion, the University of Utah’s block U. and many businesses throughout Salt Lake City and the state.
Cox said that the only other time the Utah Capitol has been lit up was during the 2002 Winter Olympics.