Meet the Russians, Ukrainians protesting at the Texas Capitol this week
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- If you've driven past the Texas State Capitol over the past week, you've likely seen protesters caped in yellow and blue, flying the Ukrainian flag near 15th Street.
Some of those people are simply Austin-area residents who wish to stand in solidarity with Ukraine as Russia continues its bloody assault, but many others are from the now war-torn region and are protesting between frantic calls and texts to family members and friends who are hiding in bomb shelters near Kyiv.
Ilya Beskin, who was born in Russia and moved to the United States when he was young, was one of the people out at the capitol Saturday. He has family in Russia and close friends in Ukraine.
"The first thing I do is check the news, I check Russian news, I check Ukrainian news and I check U.S. news to see how it's being covered," Beskin said. "Every night I go to sleep to images of bloody bodies and every morning I wake up to images of bloody bodies and it doesn't seem to stop and then you just hope that the people who you know directly aren't among those bodies."
Standing in front of Beskin and other protesters Saturday was Darya Ledesma, who was born and raised in Ukraine and moved to the United States in 2011. She has taken off work to be at the capital every day since this war started.
“My heart is with my country,” Ledesma told KXAN earlier this week. “My mom, my sister, her daughter, her husband, his mom are hiding in the basement right outside of Kyiv.”
“Every time I pick up my phone, my sister doesn’t write to me, I don’t know what it means,” she said. “I’m scared.”
Ledesma says she has not been someone who has protested or spent much time in the public eye until recently. She is now spending most of her time draped in a Ukrainian flag, protesting at the Texas Capitol and sending her family photos and videos of the support Ukrainians are getting from the United States.
“I will not give away my country,” she said near tears.
Ledesma's husband, Vernon, showed up to the capital Thursday too. He has been watching the couple's kids so that his wife can be on 15th Street garnering support for peace, but was able to bring them later in the week.
"It's very difficult to see what it is doing to my wife," he said. "I've been over there a number of times, I know quite a few Ukrainians from my wife's family and I can tell you my experience they're a very peaceful people."