Chicago’s Ukrainian Community Marks Independence Day Weekend With a Unity March, Flowers, Flags and Calls to Support Ukraine as the War With Russia Grinds On
CHICAGO, IL — Thousands marched along Chicago Avenue in Ukrainian Village on Sunday afternoon, gathering a day before Ukrainian Independence Day for a public show of identity and endurance. The street filled with flags, traditional clothing, flowers and music as the Ukraine Unity March moved through one of the city’s best-known Ukrainian neighborhoods.
For many in the crowd, the event was about more than celebration. Bogdan Muzyka said the march mattered because it let people show pride while also reminding neighbors what Ukrainians have been living through during years of war with Russia. He said being able to gather openly in the United States is meaningful because it brings attention to the community’s struggle and helps others understand it better.
A celebration shaped by war and memory
The mood on Chicago Avenue mixed joy with a heavy sense of loss. Anna Soroka, who fled Ukraine because of the war, said the conflict remains painfully real to her after a rocket hit her residential building in Kharkiv just one month ago. Her account underscored why the Independence Day gathering carried emotional weight even under a sunny Chicago sky.
Marchers and organizers framed the event as both a cultural celebration and a reminder that the war has not eased. The music, costumes and flowers gave the street a festival feeling, but the stories shared by participants kept the focus on the continuing strain felt by Ukrainians at home and abroad. The event also offered a rare chance for the diaspora to come together in public solidarity.
Organizers press for support from Washington
Marta Farion, vice president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee in Chicago and one of the march’s organizers, said the group came together to support Ukraine on Independence Day and to mark the fifth year of the war with Russia. She also said the community wants the United States Congress to back a sanctions bill against Russia, tying the local march to international pressure efforts.
Vera Eliashevsky, co-chair of the Chicago-Kiev sister cities program, said Ukraine is deeply woven into the city’s civic life. She pointed to schools, cultural centers, dance groups and churches as evidence of how large and visible the community is in Chicago. When asked whether she knew people in Ukraine who had been killed in the war, she paused briefly before answering yes.
Chicago’s Ukrainian Village keeps the tradition visible
The march showed how Ukrainian Village continues to serve as a center of cultural life for Chicago’s Ukrainian community. For participants, the streetside celebration was not just a holiday event but a chance to keep traditions visible while war continues overseas and families remain separated by it.
As the crowd moved through the neighborhood, the combination of banners, songs and traditional dress turned the march into a public reminder that the city’s Ukrainian institutions and residents are still connected to events far beyond Illinois. The day’s celebrations carried a message of resilience, but also of remembrance for those affected by the fighting and a desire for continued U.S. attention.
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