Rally to help Ukraine will be held Wednesday at Ala Moana park
Honolulu resident Yaryna “Rainy” Volynska was born and lived in Ukraine until her family emigrated to Nebraska when she was 10.
Like many separated from the besieged country since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, she has been in contact with loved ones throughout the crisis to express concern and support but wants to do something more tangible.
“I try to call as much as I can to family members. It’s tragic to hear their reality right now,” said Volynska, 28, a U.S. citizen and anthropology major at the University of Hawaii at Manoa who has lived on Oahu for 11 years.
“I have aunts in Kyiv, other family more in the western part of the country where I’m from,” she said. “When sirens go off, they have to seek safety in basements, and there are a lot of fires happening as well.”
Inspired by demonstrations of solidarity with the Ukrainian people and demands for peace that have been erupting worldwide, including at the Hawaii state Capitol on Friday and along the Kakaako waterfront walkway Sunday, Volynska will hold a public meeting Wednesday at Ala Moana Regional Park “to bring together people who are moved by this cause and wish to voice their concerns for this injustice and show support for the people of Ukraine.”
Volynska said she will discuss a petition that’s circulating asking NATO to close the airspace above Ukraine, which is not a NATO member.
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“Right now Ukraine is not in the alliance, so NATO cannot send troops to the country,” she said, but if the country’s airspace were closed, “NATO would be authorized to defend” against any Russian air attacks.
But President Joe Biden appeared to rule that out in his White House press briefing Thursday when he said, “Our forces are not and will not be engaged in the conflict with Russia in Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, the European Union, Great Britain and Canada have closed their airspaces to all Russian aircraft.
More than 700,000 people out of a goal of 1 million have signed the Ukraine no-fly petition to NATO, which can be viewed at openpetition.eu/petition.
At Wednesday’s event from 2 to 6:30 p.m., Volynska will hand out flyers with QR codes people can scan to send the petition to their contacts. She will be at the tables closest to the parking lot near the lagoon.
Look for signs and balloons in yellow and blue, the colors of the Ukrainian flag, Volynska said.
