Pro-Ukraine rally in downtown Las Vegas calls for peace

Ukrainian flags blew in the wind and were wrapped around some of the more than 100 people on the steps of Las Vegas City Hall on Saturday afternoon.

The rally for peace started about 3 p.m. with a group picture, and a chant of “glory to Ukraine” broke out. Organizers led the crowd in the Ukrainian national anthem and traditional songs as well as chants calling for Russian President Vladimir Putin to leave Ukraine and for other world powers to “close the skies.”

Speakers at the rally included 1994 Olympic gold medalist Ukrainian figure skater Oksana Baiul-Farina, actor and Vegas Golden Knights in-arena announcer Mark Shunock and Las Vegas Councilman Stavros Anthony.

Baiul-Farina’s voice broke and she held back tears as she said “Glory to Ukraine!” followed by “United we stand!” When the crowd’s response was not loud enough, she repeated “United we stand!” The crowd’s much louder response prompted Baiul-Farina to raise both fists in the air.

She said her first stop in the United States in 1993 was in Las Vegas when she was 15.

“There is a time to cry, and there is a time to stand up and speak up,” she said after the rally. “And this is exactly what the community did, and I’m very proud of the community.”

After the planned speakers, several in attendance took to the microphone and told their own stories, many through tears about how the invasion has affected their families.

Kseniya Stone moved to the U.S. from Ukraine 10 years ago. Her sister lives in Kyiv, the capital, but was able to escape into Poland a few days ago. Stone’s friends from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia attended the rally with her.

“I’m so proud to be Ukrainian even though I live here,” said Stone, holding a sign with “Stop War” to shield herself from the sun. “I would hate to see our country be taken over by Russia like that in such a violent way.”

Stone said she knows people in Ukraine who haven’t been able to leave the country.

“My heart breaks every day for them,” she said.

Shunock said he met Baiul-Farina about 10 years ago when he was performing “Rock of Ages” in Las Vegas. Shunock was raised in Canada by a Lebanese mother and a Ukrainian father. He has stayed in touch with the former Olympian, and she called him a couple of days before the rally asking if he could attend.

“I get nervous and choked up about it because I’m normally speaking at thousands of people at sporting events or shows, and this is real life,” Shunock said. “People are losing lives, losing loved ones, and it shouldn’t be happening.”

He said he doesn’t like to wade into politics but that what is happening in Ukraine is unacceptable.

“Somebody needs to man up and just sit at a table and figure out a solution, and clearly leadership on the Russian side have no intention of doing that,” Shunock said. “There’s nothing manly about that at all. It’s kind of gross.”

Anthony said his parents immigrated to the U.S. from Cyprus, an island country in the Mediterranean Sea, in the 1950s. He had family in Cyprus when Turkey invaded in 1974, forcing some of his aunts and uncles to flee and live in refugee camps.

He said a similar situation is playing out in Ukraine.

“This is personal for them; this isn’t just a story on the news,” Anthony said. “This is their family members, and we need to rally around them.”

Las Vegas residents David and Kotoe Gardner came to the rally with their 8-year-old son, Leon. They don’t have a connection to Ukraine, but Kotoe Gardner is from Japan, and David Gardner said, “So obviously we understand the damages war can do to a country.”

Kotoe Gardner wiped tears from her eyes as her husband spoke.

“Democracy is just such a fragile thing, and it can be taken away instantly,” David Gardner said. “It’s important for all of us to join as a community, put our feet down and do our best to stop this before it spreads.”

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.