Ukrainians in Greater Lafayette mark 500th day of resistance, loss in Russian invasion

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UKRAINIANS LIVING IN GREATER LAFAYETTE MARK 500^TH DAY OF RUSSIAN INVASION

On Saturday, the 500th day since Russia invaded Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video from Snake Island, a spot where a soldier told a Russian warship, in blunt and crude fashion in the opening days of fighting, what it could do with orders to surrender.

The location – a “place of victory” in the middle of the Black Sea, Zelensky called it – was a symbol that Ukraine had no intention to back down and the country would “regain every bit of its territory” taken by Russia.

The moment wasn’t lost on a handful of Ukrainians and friends gathered near the steps of the Tippecanoe County Courthouse that same morning, sharing personal stories about the war’s impact and encouraging people here to push for the U.S. to remain a solid ally for those fighting to save their homeland.

“It’s right for us to see Zelensky was at Snake Island,” Larysa Kuznietsova said, standing among easels displaying histories of Ukraine, maps of the invasion’s toll and posters advocating ahead of this week’s NATO summit for Ukraine’s request to join.

“What they said to the Russian warship then, we remember,” Kuznietsova said. (What they said was: “Russian warship, go f--- yourself.”) “Even in 500 days, we cannot forget.”

Larysa Kuznietsova, a Ukrainian living in Greater Lafayette, discusses war in her country on the 500th day since the Russian invasion. (Photo: Dave Bangert)