Local Ukrainian community rallies support for embattled homeland

Members of the local Ukrainian community expressed disappointment and resentment after the tense meeting Friday that unraveled between President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Supporters of Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in February 2022, gathered Friday afternoon for a rally in northeast Minneapolis, marching across the Hennepin Avenue bridge, waving the Ukrainian flag and hoisting signs reading “Stand with Ukraine.”

Up to 200 people participated, said Maria Doan, board director for the Ukrainian American Community Center in Minneapolis.

Trump invited Zelenskyy to the White House to sign a critical minerals deal that could strengthen ties between Ukraine and the U.S. Those hopes were dashed when a fractious exchange among Trump, Zelenskyy and Vice President JD Vance cut the meeting short.

Doan said she was heartbroken by the exchange but hopes the U.S. and Ukraine can move forward together.

“Everybody wants to have a sustainable and just peace,” Doan said. “At the same time, we as a community and the Ukrainian supporters here in Minnesota, we also stand by President Zelenskyy.

“And we understand that for him in his role, it’s essential to have the backing of the United States and to have a solid and robust security framework in order to deter any future Russian invasion.”

The war has killed tens of thousands of people in the last three years. According to the Minnesota Department of Human Services, at least 200,000 Ukrainians have been admitted to the U.S. since 2022. Dozens of Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Minnesota, and thousands of Minnesotans have applied to support Ukrainians through the state’s Uniting for Ukraine program.

Stephen Vitvitsky, strategy director at Stand With Ukraine MN, said he was shocked and frustrated by Friday’s meeting.

“If Russia stops fighting, as has been true this whole time, the war will be over immediately. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine will end,” Vitvitsky said.

“My hopes are that we sober up as a country, we look at the facts on the ground, and we treat this for what it is: a war of attempted destruction of Ukraine by Russia, somebody who is not a friend of the United States.”

Connor Carroll, who was at the rally, supported Ukrainian coworkers and checked on friends in Kyiv as the conflict deepened. He said the exchange between Trump and Zelenskyy left a bad taste in his mouth.

“The times in history that the United States has been greatest as a country has been when we were protecting human life and making the world a safer place. And I think by supporting Ukraine, we have the chance to do that again,” Carroll said.

For those who want to do more, Doan said that Minnesotans can contact their local officials.

“We would like to ensure that people are proactively contacting their elected officials, speaking up — ensuring that their support for Ukraine is still very loud and visible," Doan said.

“Here, [the] Ukrainian American Community Center, Ukrainian community, supporters of Ukraine, we are grateful for America’s support and we also want peace. But at the same time we want just and sustainable peace.”