Seattle And Washington Condemn Russia, Support Ukraine

SEATTLE, WA —As Russia continues to carry out an invasion of Ukraine, the Seattle area and Washington state have been filled with signs of condemnation for the aggressors and support for the country being attacked.

On Monday, Gov. Jay Inslee ordered state agencies to review their current contracts to determine if they have any business with Russia and Russian-backed companies that can be canceled, according to KOMO.

"This cannot stand," Inslee said. "And the entire world needs to be united in this regard."

Inslee added: "Simply put, the people of Washington stand with the people of Ukraine. We stand with them against this outrageous foreign invasion."

Inslee and many other politicians in the state condemned the invasion when it began last week.

Nearly 1,000 protestors stood in the rain Saturday afternoon beneath the Space Needle in Seattle protesting the Russian invasion. The crowd included many Ukrainians, Ukrainian-Americans and immigrants from other Eastern European nations, according to the Seattle Times.

Monuments around Seattle and Washington were lit up in Ukrainian colors of blue and yellow, including:

• The Space Needle
• The Pacific Science Center arches
• The roof at T-Mobile Park
• The Seattle Great Wheel Ferris Wheel
• The Evergreen Point Floating Bridge in Medina

At Sunday night's Major League Soccer season-opener between Seattle Sounders FC and Nashville SC, the Sounders players warmed up wearing shirts that read "No War" and featured a picture of the Ukraine flag.

Even Washington's own Rick Steves, the Edmonds-based travel writer, tour guide and television personality, announced he had canceled this year's tours that include a stop in Russia.

"Russia's aggressive action is heartbreaking for the death, suffering, and economic turmoil it will cause in Ukraine and, indirectly at least, beyond," Steves wrote in a blog post under the headline "Comrades No More: Thoughts on Russia's Invasion of Ukraine."

Steves added: "Our mission at (Rick Steves' Europe) is to help Americans better know and understand our neighbors through travel. But when we bring travelers to another country, we also bring their dollars — dollars that would support Putin's aggression. Therefore, as of today, we have canceled all 2022 tours that include a stop in Russia."

According to Travel and Leisure, Steve's company was scheduled to lead trips to St. Petersburg, Russia as part of the "Best of St. Petersburg, Tallinn and Helsinki in 9 Days Tour," which was scheduled to start in May with departures sold out through September.