Ukrainians in Pittsburgh rally in Gateway Center in support of country under siege

Paul Guggenheimer | Sunday, February 27, 2022 9:12 p.m.

Shane Dunlap | Tribune-Review

Constantine Milligan, 6, is held up by his grandfather, Mykola Tokar, a Ukrainian immigrant who lives in Pittsburgh, to watch the crowd, while siblings Natalia Rainville (left) and Roman Rainville (center) hoist the Ukrainian flag Sunday, Feb. 27 during a rally in support of Ukraine near Gateway Center in downtown Pittsburgh. Roman and Natalia Rainville immigrated to the Pittsburgh region when they were teenagers, but they have many siblings in Ukraine. “They are ready to fight. They are fearless,” Roman Rainville said. “We are not giving up.”

They came carrying Ukrainian and American flags. They sang the Ukrainian national anthem in Ukrainian, and they said prayers for the country that has been attacked by Vladimir Putin’s Russia — which doesn’t appear ready to cease until a complete takeover is accomplished.

In all, a little more than 500 people, including a substantial number of Ukrainian-Americans living in Pittsburgh, gathered in Gateway Center on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

They waved their sky blue and yellow Ukrainian flags and held signs that read, “Glory to Ukraine, Glory to Heroes,” “Support Ukraine,” “Stand With Ukraine” and “Stop Putin, Stop War.”

“It’s the least I can do,” said Yuri Limenko, 58, of Shaler, who is from Belarus. “We’re trying to find a way to give them support, not just with money but with resources and medical kits, and I would even say with weapons.”

Walt Sluzynsky, 67, of Monaca wore a Ukrainian flag with a holy trident on it and said his parents came to America after World War II.

“This is my heritage,” he said. “I hope this (rally) brings awareness that Ukrainians are good people. They just want to have their independence. They want their freedom. They’ve been under the yoke of so many different countries for so long.”

Sluzynsky said he’s worried about Ukraine’s future and the relatives he has there.

“My aunt and uncle are still in Ukraine, along with other relatives,” he said. “I’ve talked to them, and they’ve said they’re going to head for Poland, except for my uncle, who said he’s going to stay and fight.”

Alina Zhukogska, 23, moved to Pittsburgh a couple of years ago from the city of Dnipro in eastern Ukraine. She said some family members just went back to Ukraine to visit family and find themselves caught up in a war.

“It’s not safe to drive around Ukraine right now,” she said. “At the borders, they have very big lines. It’s not safe. We are in contact, and they say they’re scared. It’s quiet now in Dnipro, but they don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Zhukogska and her husband, Samyon, carried a sign that read “Stop War in Our Home.”