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‘Protect us from the sky’ | Sacramento-area Ukrainians call for more from President Biden

Thousands of Ukrainians who call the greater Sacramento area home are anxiously watching the war unfold in their home country ― and want President Biden to do more.

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. — President Joe Biden opened his first State of the Union on Tuesday evening addressing the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The greater Sacramento area is home to one of the largest Ukrainian communities in the country, and many people closely following the war in Ukraine watched the President’s speech. Vlad Skots was one of them ― and his brothers in the Ukrainian capital have stayed specifically to defend Kyiv.

“My parents live in Ukraine. My five brothers live in Ukraine. Two of them stay in Kyiv, they refuse to relocate to western part, they refuse to leave,” Skots explained.

Skots is chairman and co-founder of Ukrainian American House, a non-profit organization based in Rancho Cordova focused on forming connections between Ukraine and the U.S. He had a mixed response to the President's words. On one hand, he believes the Biden Administration did a great job getting an early warning out to the world about Putin's intentions to invade Ukraine. He emphasized how crucial the United States’ and European Union’s help has been so far.

"If not support which is given, Ukraine already probably would be destroyed,” Skots said.

However, he said, more support is needed, and quickly. Skots added sanctions alone are not enough to stop Russia.

"The sanctions will bring their effect, but we do not have time because in the next few days, Kyiv can be totally destroyed by Russian missiles,” Skots said.

Skots is not asking for American troops to join the fight in Ukraine. Instead, he wants the U.S. and European Union to provide more equipment and protect his country's airspace.

"Help us," Skots said. "Protect us from the sky because the Russian rockets destroying our country."

Separately, ABC10 also joined Ruslan Gurzhiy — editor-in-chief of Slavic Sacramento, an online news site serving Sacramento's large Slavic community — watching the President's address. 

At Tuesday's speech, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle stood and applauded President Biden's praise of the strength of the Ukrainian people. Republicans and Democrats alike waved Ukrainian flags and wore the country's blue and gold colors as signs of support. 

Much like the rare bipartisan support shown there, Gurzhiy said Russia's invasion of Ukraine is also bringing together members of eastern European countries. He believes it is Putin's biggest mistake. 

“He unites those people, in Ukraine and overseas," Gurzhiy said, adding he hasn't seen that unity among Slavic people since he immigrated to the united states in the early 2000s.

Gurzhiy’s father is from Ukraine, while he is from Belarus and has lived and worked in Russia, so he knows many people involved in this war. He said it has been difficult covering prayer vigils and rallies from Sacramento to San Francisco, for Slavic Sacramento.

“As a journalist, I’ve been documenting all that with my camera, and I’ve been crying constantly because I feel those people. I feel Ukrainians,” Gurzhiy said. “Another side, I’m really sorry for Belarusian people, that they joined Russia. And I’m sorry for Russians, that they do such bad things for their neighbors, for Ukrainians.”

He explained the situation is nuanced and complicated, for various reasons. For example, he said, some Slavic immigrants in the Sacramento area do not speak much English and also continue to rely on Russian state-controlled news sources for information. That’s why, via Slavic Sacramento, he translates information from the free press and creates his own content, to help bring more accurate news to those who might not otherwise hear it.

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