SEATTLE — A plea was made on Seattle’s streets on Saturday for a no-fly zone over war-ravaged Ukraine.
Hundreds of people turned out for a rally and march through downtown Seattle, calling on NATO to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
They believe that is the only way to save lives in their homeland. They delivered that message to a congressional leader from Washington state.
They called it a “flash mob” of support for Ukraine, this raising of umbrellas in the colors of the besieged Eastern European country. It is a place that is dear to their hearts.
The pain that Juliya Maslova feels needs no translation. She and her children escaped Ukraine, leaving behind her military husband to fight.
“He protects Kharkiv,” said Maslova. “He’s doing well. He believes in victory like we all.”
A victory that, if it comes, will be at a very high cost.
“The third World War has kind of already started but not all, not everybody understands that,” said Yevhinii Krasnoborov, of South Seattle. “It doesn’t matter because people are dying.”
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So, they took to the streets of Seattle, calling on NATO to impose and enforce a no-fly zone to stop Russia’s bombing of Ukraine, threatening the lives of those they know and love.
“My mother-in-law lives there,” said Tanya Schmat, of Everett. “I have cousins. We have grandkids.”
But President Biden has said a no-fly zone would be tantamount to starting a global war. So, the U.S. has been sending loads of military support instead.
“Not enough,” yelled a man from the crowd at Seattle Center. “Not enough, Congressman!”
And they made no secret of what they want as Democratic Congressman Adam Smith spoke at this rally after the march.
“I’m not going to lie to you,” Rep. Smith, chair of the House Armed Services Committee, told the crowd. “We do not want NATO to go to war with Russia and start World War III.”
It is a message he knows is unlikely to satisfy anyone here.
“I can sincerely understand where these folks are coming from,” he said in an interview. “But we cannot afford to start World War III.”
The people here say that the rain that is falling are actually tears from their homeland — tears for a country that is under relentless assault.
They want that assault to end because this is personal to them. The people under assault are their family members and they say the only way to do that is to close the sky.
©2022 Cox Media Group
