On February 22, 2025, two days before the third anniversary of the renewed aggression against Ukraine by the Russian Federation, United Help Ukraine (UHU) organized another mass rally at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., to express support for Ukraine’s fight for freedom. UHU is a registered 501(c)(3) charity formed by people who met in 2014 at Washington, D.C., rallies and events in support of Ukraine. See: unitedhelpukraine.org/… As before, the DC rally was one of many organized around the world by supporters of Ukraine.
I attended the rally last year. See www.dailykos.com/…
Here is my readout from my attendance at the rally this year.
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From the cover photo above, you can see it was a decently attended rally, especially given how cold it has been recently in the region. I would guess about 2,000 people, about the same as last year or perhaps a tiny bit less. In addition to US and Ukrainian flags, flags of the Baltic countries, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Canada were evident. Besides the anti-Putin signs, there were quite a few anti-Trump and anti-Musk signs. Several signs referred to Hitler and the Munich 1938 surrender. Some others to the 2004 Budapest Memorandum. A large number of signs talked about making sure any peace was a just peace, not a Ukrainian surrender. I did see a “Republican for Ukraine” sign. The crowd was all ages.
The mood was determined but seemed a bit downbeat from last year, unsurprising in the circumstances. The program was shorter. Unlike last year, when high level US officials attended, no one was present from the Trump Administration. It did strike me as unusual that no Democratic elected officials were there this time, but possibly this was intended so as to avoid the rally provoking Trump. I didn’t expect any GOP representatives and there were none.
After scene setting remarks by the lead organizer, the program began with the US and Ukrainian national anthems, invocations by Ukrainian Orthodox and Catholic officials, which then segued to the Ukrainian Ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova.
Ambassador Markarova gave uplifting remarks about Ukrainian determination. She — like all the other speakers — seemed to studiously avoid any mention of Trump or any criticism of the US, even implied. Instead, she repeatedly thanked the US and the American people for their support. She noted that she had spotted some cars with Russian diplomatic plates nearby and went out of her way to speak to any Russian diplomats present (meaning, of course, any Russian intelligence agents present) that justice would come, whether it was sooner or later.
Jovita Neliupšienė, the EU Ambassador to the US spoke next. She gave rousing remarks about EU support for Ukraine. She noted all the EU Ambassadors were there as well. I felt this was notable, given that unlike last year there was zero US government presence. It was as if the EU wanted to fill the gap. God bless them!
They were followed by a speaker from the US organization of Jews from Central and Eastern Europe, and a speaker from the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.
The most dramatic moment was introduction of a Ukrainian combat veteran, a man who had lost both his hands in combat and was at Walter Reed Hospital for rehabilitation. He was a member of the drone reconnaissance unit of the Ukrainian Army 47th Mechanized Brigade. For those afficionados of the Ukrainian order of battle, the 47th Mechanized Brigade would ring numerous bells — it is regarded as one of the toughest and most effective units in their military. This fellow spoke with incredible passion, and you could hear the combination of rage and defiance in his voice as he described the crimes and atrocities endured by Ukraine at Russian hands. You could also feel the determination of a nation that had its back to the wall but was far from in a mood to give up.
Another dramatic moment was when, as things started winding up, the organizer called for attendees to call their elected US representatives and remind them that Ukraine was not the aggressor, was a democratic state, and that Zelensky was no dictator. This seemed the closest the rally came to pushing back directly on Trump’s lies, although again, probably wisely, Trump wasn’t named. The moment the speaker made this call for action the sound of an air raid siren was played loudly over the speakers. Everyone froze and fell silent as it wailed, as if feeling a small taste of what it must be like to be in a country where this was a daily occurrence.
The rally ended with a song by a Ukrainian singer to kick off the march to the 16th Street residence of the Russian Ambassador (which I did not join this time around).
The rally was an even more sober affair than last year. The crowd gave off a determined air, however. I think everyone there realized how desperate things are right now for Ukraine. Again, I did think it notable that the EU Ambassador and all the EU Member State Ambassadors were in attendance. It was as if to promise Ukraine that, even if Trump abandoned them, the EU was not going to.
