Ames’ Ukrainian community celebrated their home country’s 34th year of independence from the Soviet Union on Sunday at Inis Grove Park.
Ukrainian Independence Day is celebrated every Aug. 24 since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union, which was dissolved in 1991.
Ames is home to a robust Ukrainian population. Through Lutheran Services in Iowa and its community partners like the Ames Interfaith Refugee Alliance, dozens of Ukrainian refugees and their families have settled in Ames in recent years.
“Support for Ukrainians has been amazing,” said Katya Anderson, an Ames resident of over 20 years who immigrated from Kyiv, Ukraine. “I have seen Ukrainian flags throughout Ames … I just felt like, you know, they were for us, which is very much appreciated.”
Anderson said the Ukrainian community in Ames first centered around Iowa State University, but since the Ukrainian-Russian War began three years ago, refugees have begun coming to Ames to flee the conflict. She estimates the community has grown to around 100 Ukrainians since then.
In 2024, Iowa’s first and only Ukrainian bakery, Piece & Freedom, opened in downtown Ames, beginning as an effort to raise money to support Ukraine amid the Ukraine and Russian conflict that began in 2014 and continues today.
The conflict escalated in 2022 when Russia began to invade Ukraine.
“We do thank the American government and American people for the support of Ukraine, and we surely hope that it continues as it is,” Anderson said. “Ukraine has been in the war for the fourth year now, trying to remain a nation.”
Celebration brings welcoming space for Ukrainian refugees
Tables of Ukrainian dishes and baked goods — potluck style — fed this year’s event attendees, while a shelter at the park offered space for reunion and community.
“We’re trying to show them (Ukranians) that support exists, and we’re here to support them,” said Illia Yamchuk, a Ukrainian caseworker with Lutheran Services in Iowa. “They have a safe space to come if they’re newcomers or they’ve been here already for a while. We welcome all to come and share their stories.”
Yamchuk, who is also from Ukraine, noted sometimes just speaking their native tongue brings the community together.
“Sometimes, you just need to speak the language together,” he said. “So that’s where we come together, sing the song, just speak the language, and that’s all you need. Sometimes, emotionally, it’s really hard to handle what’s going on, especially right now.”
Ukrainian refugees fear for legality under Trump Administration
To Ames’ Ukrainian community, this year’s anniversary is particularly important to celebrate in the midst of the current Russian conflict.
Starting in 2022, under the Biden Administration, the Department of Homeland Security began the “Uniting for Ukraine” program, which created a pathway for Ukrainians to become legal residents of the U.S. in the midst of heightened Russian aggression.
The program has since been put on pause by the Trump Administration, and Ukrainian residents were required to apply for “parole” to be considered on a case-by-case basis to legally stay in the U.S., according to a February 2024 release from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Parolees previously approved by the program had to begin the process to become re-parolled beginning in June of this year.
Fear of being deported because of the halt of the Uniting for Ukraine program and a strenuous parole program have become a reality for Ukrainians in Ames and across the country.
“We just want to come together and to show some love and support,” Yamchuk said. “Ukrainians exist in Iowa, and we want to strengthen our communities.”
