Members of Lincoln’s Ukrainian community will gather Saturday at the Nebraska State Capitol to mark four years since Russia’s invasion and to pray for peace.
The event is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at the State Seal fountain adjacent to the Capitol on Centennial Mall. Organizers say the gathering will include prayer from Ukrainian and American pastors and remarks from community leaders.
Mykhailo Smyshliaiev, and event organizer and Ukraine-native Lincolnite, said the event has two goals: to remember those killed and raise awareness that the war continues.
“We just gather together to pray for peace, pray for the victory, pray for those who got affected by this war,” Smyshliaiev said. “And bring attention that the war is still going.”
Smyshliaiev, who immigrated to the United States through a religious resettlement program and became a citizen in 2013, said many in Lincoln’s Ukrainian community still have close family and friends in Ukraine.
“My father-in-law, he’s a pastor of the church that is right now on the front line,” he said. “The city gets hit every day with bombs and missiles and drone attacks.”
Organizers expect more than 500 people to attend Saturday’s gathering, including members of Omaha’s Ukrainian community. Former State Sen. Tom Brewer, who’s visited the war-torn country eight times, is also expected to attend.
Smyshliaiev said the event is open to anyone, including those who have questions about the war.
“We are open for questions,” he said. “We want Americans to know that the war is still going.”