NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — As threats of yet another Russian invasion of Ukraine loom, Ukrainian Americans and allies are showing their support in the U.S. and Canada. The Dnipro Ukrainian Cultural Center of Buffalo organized a rally Sunday in Niagara Falls to show their support for the Eastern European country while their counterparts on the other side of the border did the same.

“This is an international event,” Dnipro Ukrainian Cultural Center president Emil Bandriwsky said. ‘There are many Ukrainian Canadians on the other side of the river and we wanted to show our solidarity, our friendship, and our support because this threat to Europe is an international threat.”

What You Need To Know

  • The Dnipro Ukrainian Cultural Center of Buffalo and Canadian allies organized a rally Jan. 30 to support Ukraine amid more invasion threats from Russia

  • Advocates are urging Western New Yorkers to make pleas to local congressmen to send needed assistance and supplies to Ukraine

  • Members of Western New York's Polish community stand in solidarity, as Russian threats could impact Poland as well and the country has long been a Ukrainian ally

  • Buffalo's Ukrainan community first assembled in 2016 at the Peace Bridge with their Canadian counterparts to take action against Russia's first invasion of Ukraine

In recent months, Russia has dispatched over 100,000 troops to the Ukrainian border. The activity is reminiscent of the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which prompted Buffalo Ukrainians to take action back then at the Peace Bridge. Tensions have only escalated since then, with Ukraine vulnerable to Russian cyber and ground attacks.

“Now there’s a threat to invade possibly half or all of the country right up until the Polish border, and who knows? Maybe Poland or the Baltic countries are next,” Bandriwsky said.

This growing threat has forged stronger ties between Ukraine and Poland, as the country served as one of Ukraine’s earliest allies in Russia’s 2014 invasion. As evidenced even in Western New York, the support persists with members of Buffalo’s strong Polish community coming out to support Ukraine as well.

“I think it’s like in anything, what brings two parties together? A common enemy, but there’s a lot of heritage and traditions, culture that connects Poland and Ukraine together,” Polish American Congress Board vice president Joseph Mikolaj Rej Jr. said.

Although Ukrainian President Volodymor Zelenskyy urged world leaders Friday to avoid creating panic with talks of a Russian invasion, an attack seems near inevitable, which is why organizers in Western New York are urging residents to contact their local congressmen to emphasize the importance of the issue and help Ukraine get the resources needed to respond to a Russian attack. Most of all, supporters are calling for unity.

“We want people to stay together,” Bandriwsky said. “By staying together, the West defeated the Soviet Union. Now, that evil has resurrected itself and we have to do it again. It’s a policy of containment and concerted effort.”