Half a world away, Renton celebrates Ukrainian independence

Aug. 24 is Ukrainian Independence Day. This week is the 31st anniversary of the country's holiday. It’s also been six months since Russia began its invasion.

Local Ukrainians will still be celebrating the holiday.

On Saturday, Aug. 27, Renton’s Liberty Park will be full of Ukrainian music, dancing, and food. There will also be a parade to show off traditional Ukrainian clothing. The celebration is open to all from noon to 8 p.m.

“We can feel the pain, we can feel the horrible tragic [tragedy] that our Ukrainian fellows and friends and family, struggling right now," said Liliya Kovalenko, organizer of the event in Renton. "We'll have the sadness inside; you have this feeling that we're still in the middle of the war, will still have to do plenty of work before... we'll be free and we can rebuild our country and live a peaceful life."

Kovalenko has family in Western Ukraine. On Aug. 24, Independence Day, loud sirens wailed amid attacks as her family repeatedly went into a bomb shelter. They were forced to shelter 17 times that day.

Kovalenko suspects Russia attacked the area near her family, which is normally safer, because of the national anniversary. That’s why, even if she’s far from her home country, she still plans to celebrate.

“This Independence Day of Ukraine, it's still showing that we are the fighters," she said, adding that honoring Ukraine's independence is a form of fighting, too. “Ukraine is fighting for their human rights, in general, just to exist, to live on their land, to be able to talk in their language."