Two Years Later
Santa Barbara Ukrainian Community Grieves Ukraine's War with Russia
February 24, 2022, is recognized by every Ukrainian, including Ukrainians in the Santa Barbara community, as a horrific day that marked the beginning of an unjustified and unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine by neighboring Russia.
Bombs and rockets began to hit our cities, villages and lands. Children and adults were murdered, tortured, threatened, and displaced. Hospitals, schools, museum, historic sites, protected lands, animal farms, and numerous civilian dwellings were purposefully targeted for destruction. Entire cities, such as Mariupol, and their citizens were almost entirely wiped off the face of earth.
An active campaign of dehumanization and demonization of Ukrainians was on the way: The Kremlin pronounced all Ukrainians as “nazis” and declared that they were committing atrocities as part of their “peace-keeping special military operation.”
