NORFOLK, Va. - They feel helpless and hurt, with some mourning loved ones lost in the war in Ukraine.
Friday, a "Stand With Ukraine" rally was held in Norfolk, a chance for about 400 Ukrainians living in Hampton Roads to support one another.
"Stop the war! Stop the war! No war!" they chanted.
Tania Skorohod stood with others, draped in her country's flag and eyes filled with tears, begging and pleading for the war to end.
"It's impossible. Civilians are dying," chanted another.
"The last thing I heard was that a jet was flying over, so my mom had to get to the basement; it's safer there," Skorohod said. "My cousin's husband just got killed yesterday. He went outside and a piece of bomb got into the backyard, and he and a friend got killed."
Thousands of miles away, she grieves a loved one lost in the war. She told us she receives videos daily that fill her with immense worry.
"It is a terrible feeling; I can't do anything," she said. "I want to help my family, but I feel powerless."
There were so many others like Skorohod at the rally, also filled with despair, distressed and frightened over the conflict.
Maryna Zubkova's family has been driving for days, trying to reach the border and get out.
"It's terrifying, it's really sad," Zubkova said. "I am so hopeless and feel helpless, too; I cannot do anything. My family is safe, but people die every day."
But in this moment, across the globe, Ukrainians are coming together with love for their home country, their people and their relatives, leaning on one another in hopes the war will end.
For ways to help those living in Ukraine, click here.
