Hundreds gather to support Ukraine, condemn Russia invasion at Fort Worth protest
Wearing as capes, shawls and scarves the azure and yellow flag of an imperiled country, several hundred people demonstrated on Sunday outside the Tarrant County Courthouse in Fort Worth in opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The protesters held bunches of balloons. They chanted “Putin out! Save Ukraine!” and held signs. Their spirits were occasionally buoyed by the honks of passing vehicles on Weatherford Street.
At times, they sang.
Dmytro Gonchar, a 42-year-old software engineer who lives in Flower Mound and is originally from Ukraine, stood on the sidewalk with his wife and son nearby. He said that he was concerned about mounting civilian deaths.
“He may not stop in Ukraine,” Gonchar said of President Vladimir Putin of Russia.
Gonchar has been in touch with relatives in Ukraine whose access to information has been limited because they have lost the internet and electricity.
“They don’t know what’s going on,” he said.
There was scattered fighting in Kyiv on Sunday and battles broke out in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, the Associated Press reported. Strategic ports in the country’s south came under assault from Russian forces.
With Russian troops closing in around Kyiv, a city of almost 3 million people, the mayor of the capital expressed doubt civilians could be evacuated, the AP reported.
At the demonstration, Gwyneth Kemp said that a friend in Ukraine was unable to leave and travel to Poland, as had been her plan.
“It’s important that people don’t ignore this,” she said as she held a sign that read “Stand with Ukraine.”
Kemp, who is 25 and lives in Fort Worth, said that she and her friend have been exchanging messages via Discord, an app whose name describes the circumstance.
This story was originally published February 27, 2022 at 8:33 PM.
