SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KGTV) — From immigration to the economy, President Biden covered a lot of ground in his State of the Union address. But one topic at the forefront was Ukraine.
“If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you he will not,” said President Biden, as he vowed to continue to provide weaponry and support for Ukraine.
His words offered hope to Ukrainians around the world — including those here in San Diego.
“Maybe the viewers don’t know this…but in the last few weeks we had many civilians and children killed by Russian rockets,” said Mira Rubin, President of Shield of Freedom, a local non-profit. “It gives them hope that their relatives, their loved ones will be safe.”
Rubin said Biden’s decision to draw parallels between Franklin Roosevelt during World War II and this moment now resonated with Ukrainians.
“To me, it signifies that Congress will act. But we need to move faster and speed this up,” said Rubin.
“The last thing we want to have happen is for U.S. troops to go and shed blood over in Ukraine,” said Josh Levine, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Afghanistan. Levine got involved with the Ukrainian cause two years ago when he donated his old military gear to help those fighting overseas.
“We have to learn from the lessons from World War II, when you see evil dictators, more often than not, they don’t stop, they are stopped. And right now the people that are stopping them…are the Ukrainians. And they're just asking for the resources to do it,” said Levine.
Levine called aid to Ukraine a critical investment, not only for protecting Ukrainians, but also for Americans.
“I feel like that could end up preventing a World War or something really terrible where my brothers in the U.S. Marine Corps and other armed forces would be in harm's way.”
The local Ukrainian community is hosting a "Believe in Ukraine" auction online — auctioning off several unique war relics. People can bid online until Saturday March 9th at 8 p.m. PST. You can find a list of items and more information here.
An "Auto Rally for Ukraine" will be hosted on Sunday March 10th at 2 p.m. Participants are invited to decorate their cars and drive in a caravan to raise awareness and support. You can find more information here.
