Okanagan residents are being asked to cheer on or join a solidarity rally for Ukraine this weekend.
The rally, organized by Kelowna Stands With Ukraine, will take place on Saturday afternoon, March 12.
The rally will start in Kelowna, in front of city hall at 2 p.m., then journey to Polson Park in Vernon by 3 p.m.
Organizers say immediate help is needed to assist Ukrainian fighters as they continue to resist Russia’s invasion.
Spokesperson Denys Storozhuk, who says he was born in Kyiv, said, “I’m in direct contact with my friends fighting there on the front lines, and our goal is to supply them with anything they need to win this war.”
On Wednesday, the group told Global News that they have sent 19 bulletproof helmets and 53 sets of body armour to Ukraine.
Last weekend in Kelowna, scores of supporters gathered along Highway 97 at the overpass near Parkinson Rec Centre, waving Ukrainian flags or blue and yellow signs.
At a rally in front of Kelowna city hall on Feb. 27, local resident Shelley Adamson said, “I am not of Ukrainian descent, but I am feeling so helpless and horrified by it. And I thought at the very least I could donate and support this rally because it is just so hard.”
For more about Kelowna Stands With Ukraine, visit their Facebook page.