UConn Ukrainian Student Association marks two years since invasion began by honoring lives lost

The UConn Ukrainian Student Association hosted a flag memorial Friday, a day ahead of the two-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Some of the students within the association braved the cold and fog to commemorate and remember those who have been lost. One hundred flags were placed on the grass area in front of UConn’s student union.

“We wrote prayers and we wrote some of the cities that got attacked over the last few years. We just wrote their names,” Katae Koval, president of the Ukrainian Student Association, said. “So, people will be able to see and they can also just stop by and think about the people who have died.”

This act of commemoration comes days after ribbons with the colors of Ukraine's flag were vandalized around campus.

“It’s honestly very shocking because we’ve had those ribbons up for two years now so we’ve renewed them multiple times and everything was fine, she explained. “It’s offensive to see and it’s very heartbreaking to cut down your own flag off a tree."

UConn is a home away from home for Koval.

She came to the United States from Ukraine five years ago. For the past three years she’s been at UConn, where she is now a junior.

Since the invasion was happening back home, she’s found solace in seeing ribbons and flags around campus as she deals with the sadness of what’s happening there.

Koval said about 40 ribbons were tied around trees. She said most of them were vandalized with the letter “Z” or “ZOV,” which are Russian military symbols.

“We started seeing them on Monday and everyday it just became more and more and more. It was very heartbreaking and shocking to see it, especially this far in,” Koval added.

UConn condemned the acts in a statement released to NBC Connecticut:

“The University strives to create a community of inclusivity and respect, and condemns all acts of bias.

“UConn was made aware of the incident on Monday, and recorded it as part of its bias incident response protocol. That process identifying and providing support to impacted parties, and can be found in its entirety here.

“The Dean of Students Office has invited the Ukrainian Student Organization and its members to meet for further discussions, and extends that support to any other community members who wish to talk with us about this or other concerns.”

Koval said the 100 flags displayed will stay up throughout the weekend until Monday. She added the group does plan to replace the ribbons that were defaced.