Ukrainian-Americans in the Bay Area celebrate the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the Embarcadero in San Francisco.

SAN FRANCISCO (CGO) — Hundreds of Ukrainian Americans and their allies marched and rallied on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the Russian invasion. Many Ukrainians hope that the fighting will stop.

Ukrainians and their allies stood shoulder to shoulder outside the Ferry Building in San Francisco to mark the start of a war that many didn’t even believe was still raging a year later.

“Three hundred and sixty-five days of Ukrainian resilience, because we turned out to be much stronger than the enemy thought, 365 days of anger and anger,” said Dmitry Kushneruk, Consul General of Ukraine in San Francisco.

“The Russians destroyed five houses in our area,” said Vlada Bisotskaya.

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Bisotskaya fled her hometown of Kyiv after the Russian invasion. She says that her father is fighting in the Ukrainian army.

“Of course I’m afraid. I’m worry. But I know that God gives him strength and power to fight. He is fighting for us and our country,” she said.

“You never expected this, but we held out for a year against such an evil, an evil that does nothing but genocide,” said Maria Chernepenko, president of the Ukrainian-American Coordinating Committee.

The consul general estimates that millions of people have fled Ukraine since the start of the war, and thousands have taken refuge on the West Coast and in the Bay Area.

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“I would say 30,000 to the West Coast – many more Ukrainians have come here to make it their new home,” Dmitry said.

Many are grateful for America’s support for Ukraine, including President Biden’s visit there this week, but some do not want a protracted conflict.

“She needs to end. We do not want America to support the war and drag it out,” said Vita Gailunaite from San Francisco.

Later, hundreds of people marched on the Embarcadero in solidarity, many praying for victory and peace in their homeland.

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