Iowa City community members gathered at the Pentacrest on Sunday for a vigil in honor of Ukraine. The vigil was organized by University of Iowa sophomores Xianghend Li, who is a part of Undergraduate Student Government, and Yunseo Ki, who met during the University of Iowa Honors Diversity Equity and Inclusion Council.

The vigil included a moment of silence in honor of those who have lost their lives to the invasion and flowers and candles were handed out to attendees.

Xenya Mucha, 66-year-old Ukrainian-American woman, was one of the several attendees that chose to speak.

“I see people on the news who look like me, eat the same foods, and celebrate the same holidays as me,” Mucha said. “They could be me, and that hurts deeply.”

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Dimia Burrell

Undergraduate Student Government member Xiangheng Li speaks at a vigil for Ukraine outside of The Pentacrest in Iowa City on Sunday, April 3, 2022.