Dozens of people rallied in downtown Rochester on Sunday afternoon because of the conflict in Ukraine. They wanted to emphasize that many people in that region just want peace.
The demonstrators gathered at Washington Square Park in support of what they hope will be a peaceful solution to the Crimean conflict. Although many of those at the rally are Ukrainian Americans, an ethnic group which has a large presence in the Rochester area, they wanted to emphasize that the rally also included Russian-speaking immigrants as well.
One of those at the rally, Tanya Dashkevich, told WXXI News that despite the impression you may get from some media reports, there is not a deep divide among the people in Ukraine.
"It's not brother against brother, people definitely want the Ukraine to be independent country, to be truly democratic country, to live up to the country just like any developed countries in the world. "
Yuri Pochtovyk is from Crimea, where Russian forces have been gathering. He is an exchange student at Nazareth College and plans to go back to his country in May...and he is worried.
"It's not safe to be pro-Ukrainian, it's not safe to have such protests with the Ukrainian stuff, like flag or something, I'm kind of worried about freedom of speech."
A number of those at Sunday's rally say they also have heard from friends and relatives in Ukraine who are very concerned about the potential for violence in that country.