Students gathered in front of the Student Union Monday night to hold a candlelight vigil commemorating the lives lost in the last three years of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Students arranged electric candles on the sidewalk and delivered speeches throughout the vigil.
The vigil comes following a meeting of Russian and U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia last week attempting to open peace talks that excluded the Ukrainian government, according to a New York Times article. President Donald Trump said Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “better move fast” to secure peace “or he is not going to have a country left” a day after the meeting according to the Times. Trump also called Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections” following a statement made by Zelenskyy saying the American president was “caught in a web of disinformation” of Russia’s design, according to the Times.
The service began with the Ukrainian national anthem, followed by remarks from Ukrainian Student Association President Kate Koval and Vice President Stephania Korenovsky. Both speakers held back tears while delivering their remarks.
“You’d think after three years it would be easier to talk about this. It’s not,” said Korenovsky in her opening remarks, her voice choked by tears.
In a statement to the Daily Campus, Koval explained the motivations behind the vigil.
“We are organizing a vigil to commemorate the last three years of the full-scale invasion [of Ukraine]. Today we have to think and pray for the lives that were lost, all the cities that were bombed and all the lives that were destroyed. It’s very important because it’s another chance for us to remind the UConn public that the war is still going on in Ukraine,” she said.
She further echoed Zelenskyy’s concerns over misinformation.
“This year there have been a lot of misinformed accusations that have been made by the U.S. government. The world really does feel upside down and it’s important to keep fighting for the truth and educating the UConn community,” Koval said.
Speeches from Koval and Korenovsky were followed by several students sharing their experiences and grief over the last three years of invasion. One student from Ukraine delivered her speech entirely in her native Ukrainian language.
Koval closed her statement to the Daily Campus with a rallying cry for students.
“We might be far away from Ukraine, but we are doing everything we can to help Ukraine achieve victory as soon as possible,” she said.