Hundreds of Ukraine supporters gathered at a rally at the Colorado state Capitol in Denver on Saturday to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the U.S. ally.

“Today, we are asking members of U.S. Congress to step up and vote for help to Ukraine,” said Marina Dubrova, president of Ukrainians of Colorado, which organized the rally.

The crowd, many wearing the blue and gold Ukrainian flag draped on their shoulders, applauded and nodded in agreement.

“We do have to remind them about what we need,” Dubrova said. “We don’t need American troops in Ukraine. Ukrainian army is professional, is very much able to defend Ukraine. Today, we ask U.S. Congress to put the vote on the floor, and we ask for them to vote to help Ukraine.”

A member of Colorado’s congressional delegation echoed her plea, urging the crowd to “stand up and push” their representatives to back stalled legislation that includes billions in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

“Tell them the vote matters,” said U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, an Aurora Democrat. “Tell them that Ukrainians are fighting for their own freedom and survival, but they’re also fighting for all of us.”

“Ukraine has shown us what bravery, courage, resilience and fortitude can accomplish in the face of overwhelming odds,” Crow added.

Noting that he has met twice this month with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — as part of a bipartisan congressional visit to Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital city, and at last week’s Munich Security Conference — Crow said he relayed a message to the leader of the war-torn country.

“I delivered a very simple message, and that is the Ukrainians of Colorado — and Colorado overall — stands with Ukraine,” Crow said.

But words, Crow said, aren’t enough.

“I know that saying ‘Stand with Ukraine’ rings hollow unless you also vote with Ukraine. Because you cannot fight Russian soldiers on the front with words. They need weapons, they need equipment, they need our support, and they need it now,” Crow said as the crowd cheered, adding that it’s important to understand that the U.S. helping Ukraine repel Russian aggression isn’t charity.

“This is a fight we are all in together. If Ukraine fails, then America is at risk, Europe is at risk, our food supply is at risk, our economy is at risk,” Crow said. “This is in the best interest of America, too. Our economy relies on it, our national security relies on it, our 100,000 service members who are in Europe and their families rely on it. This is in all of our self-interest.”

After he spoke to the crowd, Crow told Colorado Politics that congressional supporters of Ukraine aid are “pursuing every mechanism” to bring the bipartisan package that passed the Senate to a vote in the House.

Those mechanisms include possible use of a maneuver known as a discharge petition, which involves getting a majority of House members to sign a petition demanding a vote on legislation that House leadership — in this case, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson — won’t put on the floor.

“There are other paths,” Crow said. “There is still an opportunity to get a floor vote. We have to make sure we aren’t limiting our avenues and we pursue all of them.”

Crow said that it’s up to Johnson whether he bucks the House Republicans who have been pressuring the speaker from scheduling a vote on the Senate legislation.

“The issue is not support for Ukraine in Congress, because if a vote were put on the floor today, it would pass overwhelmingly, without any trouble whatsoever,” Crow said, estimating that more than 300 House members would vote for the package, since that’s how many voted for previous Ukrainian aid.

Said Crow: “The issue is this dynamic with Speaker Johnson and the hostage-taking of the far right Freedom Caucus and how it’s prevented a vote from actually coming to the floor, and the risk that Speaker Johnson perceives to his speakership. So, he’s got to decide how to move forward here. There’s more than enough support for a floor vote.”

Crow declined to speculate whether Democrats would agree to come to Johnson’s aid if — as happened to his predecessor, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — a handful of Republicans moved to oust him as speaker in the narrowly divided chamber.

Organizers at the rally also read statements of support from Colorado’s two U.S. senators, Democrats Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper.

Before the rally, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis released a statement acknowledging the anniversary and reiterating his support for Ukraine.

“Colorado stands with Ukraine today, just as we did two years ago when dictator Vladimir Putin’s war began,” Polis said. “Putin’s aggressive and globally destabilizing actions pose a risk to safety and security around the world, and I encourage Congress to pass additional support to help Ukraine defend itself from Russian aggression. Today is a reminder of our critical role in supporting our international allies and protecting democracy abroad. Here in Colorado, our thoughts are with the brave Ukrainian people as they stand up against this attack.”

At the rally, Fred Gurkov said he holds out hope but is skeptical that American aid will arrive in time.

“Arm Ukraine like you mean it,” read a sign held by the Westminster resident.

“We count on the support of the United States, and without it, Ukraine is not going to last long,” Gurkov said. “We’ve got allies in this. Ukraine wouldn’t have started the defense if it didn’t count the United States support, and so, unfortunately, it feels like it’s dwindling a little bit in the past months, especially. And so we would like to see it come back and be stronger.”

Ave Marie Stone, a volunteer with Colorado-based Sunflower Seeds Ukraine, a charitable organization that sends medical assistance and protective gear to Ukraine’s defenders, said she is encouraged that Saturday’s rally appeared to be larger than the one held a year ago at the same spot to commemorate one year since the war began.

“I’ve been supporting Ukraine from the beginning of the full-scale invasion,” she said. “I was here last year and am here at this critical time to show that people have not forgotten Ukraine, that support is still needed more than ever, especially the aid that is stuck in Congress now and needs to move.”

Andriy Zakutayev, the founder of Sunflower Seeds Ukraine, said the organization is still going strong as the war enters its third year.

“We wish we didn’t have to be in this situation, but doing it over and over, month after month, week after week, day after day, we learn how to do better, how to be more efficient, how to raise funds better, how to deliver and buy things in a cheaper way and how to distribute in a more equitable way,” the Boulder resident said.

“The interest is there, lots of people,” he said, looking over the crowd as musicians played Ukrainian songs. “People have definitely not given up. I think there’s a very strong community in Colorado, and having organizations like us, like Ukrainians of Colorado, it really makes for a great local community with strong support.

Anna Smolyan of Golden said she would rather be celebrating Ukraine winning than commemorating another year of the war.

“I hope maybe next year, I really hope that day is coming and we will all be here for that,” she said. “But the important thing is not to back down, and I really hope that the government of this country, the United States, gets their stuff together and supports Ukraine.”

Smolyan, who said her father is from Ukraine and she is from Russia — “that’s a hard thing to say right now, I wish that Russia was different,” added it’s important to keep in mind that Ukraine has been under siege for more than two years and that Russia first seized territory from Ukraine 10 years ago.

“It’s tough. It’s hard to keep up your hope when it’s two years — two years of a big war, 10 years of the war,” she said. “Today is a great day, but just in general, February is hard. But hoping for the best, hoping for a brighter future.”