Ukrainian UC Berkeley student marks war anniversary with song
Ukrainian national anthem rings out at Cal campus — song of solidarity
Ukraines national anthem rang out at noon on Friday at Cals campus. The bells were a familiar tune for those in the know. It played as a gesture of support that was organized by a UC Berkeley student from Ukraine as the war rages on two years later.
BERKELEY, Calif. - This weekend marks the two-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 which started the war.
One student at UC Berkeley is working with universities across the nation to mark the moment, by asking them to play the Ukrainian national anthem from their bell towers in support of Ukraine.
"I'm from a small town nearby Odessa, which is Chornomorsk," said Maksym Zubkov who is a 5th year graduate student in mathematics.
As the war grinds on, his heart aches for his homeland, lost friends, and his brother fighting on the front lines.
"I have a couple of friends that died, and it's just one morning and that's it. The person is gone," Zubkov said.
Zubkov left school briefly at the start of the war and went back to Ukraine for six months to help with humanitarian aid.
"I was in Kyiv and one morning I woke up to explosions, and the feeling that I felt is like unbearable," Zubkov said.
So on this week's somber two-year anniversary of Russia's invasion, Zubkov wanted to replace the memory of those bombs with another sound.
He asked several universities to play the Ukrainian national anthem at noon on Saturday. UC Berkeley, Stanford, University of Texas, University of the South (Sewanee), and other universities said they would participate.
It's a clarion call, that Zubkov hopes will send a message through song to let freedom ring.
"Give Ukrainians the chance to defend themselves because Russia is not going to stop in Ukraine," Zubkov said. "I think about this as a call for freedom, a call for justice...so many bad things are happening, especially in the last two years."
In the fading light, Zubkov played the anthem which will resound over the Bay this weekend, in a proud and poignant plea for peace.
"I feel like this world is on the brink of just collapsing. So I think of this tower as some sort of candle," Zubkov said. "Sometimes, a small candle is enough when you enter a place of complete darkness, to light it up."
UC Berkeley Campanile
Those on campus who heard the bells ringing an unfamiliar tune, said they enjoyed it. Paul Fontaine of Kensington came down to the campus with his wife to hear the bells. He said, "It was great!"
Fontaine did share his concern about whether the Russian attacks would end, and the role of the U.S. He said, ‘It will affect us if we don’t get involved.’’
Zubrov was thrilled with the response from folks who heard it. He said, "A young woman told someone she heard it on the news. She goes to Berkeley High (school) and said, ‘thank you so much for doing this.’ Zubrov said, "I wanted to have just one person hear this national anthem, that makes me happy."
A rally will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 24 in front of the Campanile. The national anthem of Ukraine will be played at noon. Afterward, there will be an opportunity for the community to connect and share stories. There will also be cultural foods from the region and a meet and greet.
KTVU's Alice Wertz contributed to this report.