(CNN)Demonstrators turned out across the United States on Saturday to rally in support of Ukraine as the invasion by Russian forces continues.
In downtown Atlanta, dozens of people gathered for a “Stand with Ukraine” rally. Some attendees wore blue and yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian flag, while others carried signs that read, “Pray for Ukraine” and “Ukranians Unite!” as they sang the Ukrainian national anthem.
Ukrainian Anton Kilpa was among them. He told CNN affiliate WGCL his parents live in the capital, Kyiv, which remained under Ukranian control Saturday after a night of fierce fighting. He learned the invasion had begun when a Canadian-Ukrainian friend called him earlier this week, just before bed, and told him to phone his parents immediately. “It was hard to believe,” Kilpa told WGCL. “It was (a) new reality.”
Saturday’s demonstrations came on the third day of the Russian assault, which began early Thursday. Ukraine has remained defiant, and President Volodymyr Zelensky echoed the resolve of his people, some of whom have taken up arms, in a video message Saturday.
“Each Ukrainian should keep one thing in mind: if you can stop and destroy the occupiers — do it,” Zelensky said. “Everyone who can come back to Ukraine — come back to defend Ukraine.”
A similar resolve was seen among Ukrainian-Americans and their allies at rallies in the US as they called for solidarity and more action to support Ukraine and its outgunned military. Western nations have imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia in response to the invasion, and the US, UK and EU on Friday sanctioned President Vladimir Putin himself.
But some Ukrainian supporters think more needs to be done. Joshua Hill, another attendee in Atlanta, doesn’t have a personal connection to Ukraine, but he told CNN via Twitter he joined because “Ukraine needs the support of the world.”
“Our leaders aren’t doing enough,” Hill said. “I’m here to show support for more action from the US government, NATO and all of Ukraine’s allies.”
‘The whole world right now needs to unite’
Olga Ladygima, who is from Kyiv, attended a rally in Times Square in New York Saturday, where she told CNN she hasn’t slept for the last three nights. Her friends in Ukraine have stayed up, too, Ladygima said. But they’re making homemade bombs to try to stop Russian tanks.
Ladygima has been up crying, watching the news and trying to call her loved ones who remain in Ukraine. It’s a stark contrast to what she sees in New York, she said. On Saturday, she saw people sitting and eating in restaurants who “don’t think that the war can come to their houses,” she told CNN.
But peace, she said, is fragile.
“I think that the whole world right now needs to unite,” Ladygima said, adding: “Now it the time to say no and stop one person who keeps in fear the whole world.”
Merrick Brown, whose great grandparents came to America from Ukraine, also showed up for the Times Square rally, describing it to CNN as peaceful and “more pro-Ukraine than anti-Russia.”
‘I just wanted to show my support and solidarity’
In Washington, DC, another crowd demonstrated in front of the White House.
Many attendees hoisted Ukrainian flags or had them draped around their shoulders as they chanted, “Stop Putin now.”
Other signs called for more robust consequences, like expelling Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a high security network that connect thousands of financial institutions around the world.
One demonstrator, JP Wheeler, told CNN he was “just a concerned citizen” with no personal ties to Ukraine. “No family or friends, just a human connection and a desire to support the Ukrainians and (their) struggle,” Wheeler said.
A couple miles away from the rally outside the White House, Eleanor Shiori Hughes, a graduate student at Georgetown University, left flowers on the steps of the Ukrainian embassy, where a sign read “Long Live Free Ukraine.”
She, too, had no connection to Ukraine.
“I just wanted to show my support and solidarity for the Ukrainian people,” Hughes said.
CNN’s Polo Sandoval and Sarah Jorgensen contributed to this report.
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