A rally was held at Harbor Island Park Sunday evening to call for an end to the ongoing Russian assault on Ukraine.

Lena Howansky is a Ukrainian-American who attended the event.

“It's heartbreaking to see a people being attacked, a culture being annihilated,” she says. "It affects us all, not just the diaspora, not just family members there. It's mind-blowing and it needs to be stopped."

Participants of the rally displayed Ukrainian flags and carried homemade signs calling for peace.

Rally organizers say they are sending prayers to those suffering and stress that there is support and strength in numbers.

"When people gather together, they have the same mission and they pray together and it's the strongest weapon that exists in this world,” says organizer Vitaliya Popovych.

Alexander Kostek adds, "I think we all have to reach out to a divine being for assistance. I think now is the time for everyone to do that for Ukraine and for the rest of the world. It's impacting all of us."