North Texas Ukrainians rally in support of their homeland still under siege by Russia

North Texas Ukrainians rally in support of their homeland still under siege by Russia
North Texas Ukrainians rally in support of their homeland still under siege by Russia Photo credit Alan Scaia, 1080 KRLD

Rallies were held across Texas over the weekend in support of Ukraine. According to the U.S. Census, 15,574 Ukrainian Americans live in Texas, including 5,223 in North Texas and 4,490 in Houston.

Sunday afternoon, a group marched from St. Sophia's Ukrainian Catholic Church in The Colony to City Hall.

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"This isn't an attack on just the sovereignty of Ukraine, this is an attack on humanity," said one man who emigrated from Ukraine and says he still has family there.

Demonstrators held signs reading, "Pray for Ukraine" and "Putin lies, democracy dies." They carried Ukrainian and American flags as they walked down Main Street.

Dee Dee Allen now lives in Texas, but she is from Ukraine and now works with the Ukrainian American Society of Texas. She still has family in Ukraine, saying her 45 year old cousin was called up to fight.

"The whole family is staying there because they're not going to abandon him," she says. "Having the president and all their key officials standing and being willing to fight, that is really inspiring to me."

Cars were honking their horns as they drove by, and some were yelling messages of support out the window.

"It's very encouraging as you look around, even in this crowd, and look at who's supporting us as they drive by. Today, everybody's a little Ukrainian," one demonstrator said. "The world is standing behind Ukraine."

One demonstrator lives in Texas and has no family in Ukraine, but he says he sees similarities in Ukrainians and native Texans.

"They've got their pride and their stubbornness like we do," he says, saying both Democrats and Republicans support Ukraine. "As a whole, there's a unified thing of, 'Hey, we can agree on this matter.'"

Allen says support from people passing the demonstration shows Texans can identify with her family.

"They don't want to leave because it is their land, and they're proud of their Ukrainian heritage," she says. "Ukraine wants to be independent, they want to have a democratic society. That fighting spirit, that nationalism, they don't go away."

Demonstrations also took place this weekend in Dallas, Fort Worth and outside the Texas Capitol in Austin.

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Featured Image Photo Credit: Yaraslau Mikheyeu/GettyImages