Hundreds protest Russia invasion of Ukraine during rally at Utah Capitol

The Utah Capitol steps were a sea of blue and yellow on Saturday afternoon as hundreds of Utahns, Ukrainians, Russians and others protested Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

While cries of “Слава Україні! Героям слава!” rang out from the crowd — which translates to “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to heroes!” — one man stepped in front of the rally’s speakers. Dressed in a blue-and-yellow striped button-down, complete with a yellow tie and sunglasses, Jan Kubanek crouched down with the miniature tank he’d been carrying and pulled a bottle of lighter fluid from his pocket.

He sprayed the accelerant on the tank and had a small boy in the crowd “do the honors” — by lighting the tank on fire.

“I maybe got into trouble but it’s worth it,” said Kubanek, who is from the Czech Republic. “If I can get into trouble this way and raise awareness, that’s the least I can do, at least here.”

Supporters held Ukrainian flags, wore sunflower flower crowns and even waved toilet paper printed with Russian president Vladimir Putin’s face while they listened to speakers from the Ukrainian community.

“We cannot allow what happened in the 1940s to happen again today,” said Yulia Holko, a board member of the Utah Ukrainian Association. “Our brothers and sisters on the ground in Ukraine are fighting for their land. They’re very strong on the ground, they are pushing the Russian army back on the ground. ... We are asking the international community to continue providing support.”

Holko urged the international community to ban Russia from SWIFT — which according to CNN, is a secure network connecting financial institutions around the globe — in order to strangle the country’s economy.

She also called upon European countries to provide Ukraine with military resources, since although civilian militias are fighting the Russian army, the country remains vulnerable from the air.

“Europe, do you want to suffer some financial consequences today, or do you want to have Putin at your doorstep tomorrow?” Holko asked. “We must stop him.”

Honorary Consul of Spain Baldomero Lago said the presidency of the Utah Consular Corps, which represents 30 nations around the world, wrote a resolution in support of Ukraine — condemning Russia’s “unlawful” actions and demanding the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from the sovereign nation.

But Ukrainians are hoping for more action, not just words, from the international community.

“We’re just really asking the national community to not hesitate and to be to be very firm in their actions and to not delay, because every hour that we’re delaying, it’s causing Ukraine many, many lives,” Holko said. “We’re just asking for the world to be really strong in their stand against Putin. Ultimately, he should really be overthrown — he’s a threat to the entire world and Ukraine is trying to stop that threat.”