300 People Rally at Ferry Building, March to Pier 39 for Ukraine

More than 300 people gathered in front of the Ferry Building on San Francisco’s Embarcadero Sunday and marched along the waterfront to Pier 39 to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, NBC Bay Area’s Candice Nguyen reported. Organizers described the event as a large-scale show of support that organisers said remains as important as ever for people here and overseas.

The Horbenko family traveled from San Ramon to attend the rally dressed in yellow and blue, bringing their 11-year-old dog Rich, donned in traditional Ukrainian clothing, Nguyen reported. The family spoke of personal ties to Ukraine; NBC Bay Area included a reported line that read, “I was just talking to my father. It was a short conversation because no electricity, no heat, and he is hiding in a basement with no light, with no connection, with no water,” and the piece later identifies Oleksander Horbenko as a father of two who is in contact with his father in Ukraine. The report also quoted the family directly: “We just here to say thank you to the U.S. and please support us. Our nation is in danger,” Horbenko said.

Dmytro Kushneruk, with the Ukrainian consulate in San Francisco, addressed the crowd and warned that local attention has tapered since the war began, saying, “The support is not as sharp as it was at the beginning of the war. It’s incredibly important for us to remind San Francisco and California that the war is still going on.” Kushneruk’s presence tied the waterfront demonstration to formal consular outreach in the Bay Area.

Organizers told NBC Bay Area they were relieved that recent Bay Area storms did not stop people from turning out for the march; the report noted that the weather in the days leading up to the event had been a concern for planners. The march followed the Embarcadero route from the Ferry Building to Pier 39, a visible path past tourist piers and waterfront businesses where demonstrators carried flags and wore national colors.

International coverage summarized the stakes behind the local gathering: Russia began its large-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, and after four years “hundreds of thousands of people have died, millions have been displaced, much of eastern Ukraine has been destroyed, and the country's energy infrastructure [has been] severely battered,” Euronews and syndicated outlets reported. Euronews cited the Institute for the Study of War in noting that Russia captured just 0.79% of Ukraine’s territory in the past year and that Russia now holds nearly 20% of Ukraine, details that organizers and consular staff said underpinned the need for continued public attention.

The San Francisco event came two days before the calendar anniversary on Feb. 24 and reflected a local turn toward sustained solidarity rather than momentary attention. Organizers and attendees who spoke at the Ferry Building said the march was intended to keep that attention visible in San Francisco and California as the conflict enters its fifth year.