SALT LAKE CITY — Many Utahns say this weekend's military uprising in Russia is a good reminder that the war in Ukraine continues and that innocent lives are still being lost on both sides.
"It’s been a difficult time for everybody in the Ukrainian community here," said Yulio Holko.
Holko is from Ukraine and moved to the U.S. about 20 years ago and now lives in Salt Lake City.
"I have cousins who are in active military duty," she said. "I have friends who are involved in quite a lot of ways. We hope that they continue staying safe and that this will be quickly resolved."
Holko believes the Russian insurrection and march on Moscow by the Wagner group lead by Yevgeny Prigozhin shows a crack in Vladimir Putin's regime and gives her hope for her homeland.
"It was very short but significant in that it drew attention to the weakness of Putin’s regime, and basically it exposed how divided the system is on the inside," she explained.
On Monday, Prigozhin claimed to have called off his march to avoid Russian bloodshed and said it was a demonstration of protest and not an attempt to overturn power. In an address of his own, Putin said the armed rebellion would have been suppressed anyway.
"The capitol of Russia was on the verge of being taken by this internal terror machine that Putin himself created and then lost control over, and so it exposed the weakness of Putin and his regime to the world," Holko said, with hopes this weekend's chaos may eventually bring about some change and hopefully an end to the occupation in Ukraine.
Holko says this weekend's events have put the entire situation back in the news and it's the awareness of the ongoing war that she and fellow members of the Utah Ukrainian Association continue to try and spread locally, along with raising funds to support the effort in Ukraine.
Locals with Eastern European connections ultimately hope for a peaceful resolution to come about, and before another year of more bloodshed.
"The war continues and Ukraine is still very much fighting for its independence. We still very much need continued support from Western allies to drive the occupation from Ukraine," Holko said. "The more that it continues, the harder it will be for Ukraine to rebuild, and I really hope that it doesn’t extend itself much longer."
