Candle-lit vigil for Ukraine in Bridgwater

The event took place yesterday evening (March 3) at 6.30pm at the King Square Memorial in Bridgwater.

Around 100 people attended the vigil, including some Ukrainian speakers, and Mayor Cllr Leigh Redman.

Olga told of her family who are near Kharkiv, which has been heavily bombed by Russian missiles ‘living in hell’.

She said she was in daily contact with them and had been “surprised and overwhelmed” by the love shown to Ukrainians by so many people. 

She also said: “They told me the shelling is horrendous and they are living in hell. In the last text I received from my mother, she said ‘we survived another night, thank God for that’.
“My family has to go up and down to the cellar and my university friend living in Kharkiv city centre said there’s nothing left.” 

Bridgwater Town Council leader Brian Smedley (Westover) said: “So many people want to know what to do confronted with the awful reality of events in Ukraine.

"The vigil in King Square was a way of focusing on that, on showing solidarity with the people of that beleaguered country and admiration for their courage and resolve.

"It was very moving to hear from Ukrainian people living in our town and other representatives of the international community in Bridgwater, and to see so many people there, united in their support of the people of Ukraine.
"Unity, dignity, and determination, as we see exemplified by the government and residents of Ukraine, and by the Russian peace activists risking everything at home to protest this war, is what we must all practice now.

"We must stand with Ukraine, and the vigil helped us, in a small way, to do that."

Below is a selection of images from the event.




















Mayor Cllr Leigh Redman