POST FALLS, Idaho — One man stood in the rain Monday afternoon, holding an umbrella in one hand and the colors of Ukraine in the other.
A few drivers honked as they passed by on Mullan Avenue near Walmart, but most did not.
Douglas R. Wells didn’t expect cheers or a crowd of supporters to rally around him. But he hopes people rally about Ukraine.
“I think every country in society has a vested interest in not being militarily invaded and occupied by another country,” the Hayden man said. “There is no rationale. There's no demand to be ruled by another nation. It's unacceptable, but I think we have a stake in the independence and self direction of every country.”
Wells has friends in Ukraine, which is being attacked by Russia. And he knows Ukrainians who operate a business near where he stood in the rain Monday, as reported by our news partner the Coeur d'Alene Press.
He believes that what he does here, waving a small square board of yellow and blue, can make a different 5,500 miles away.
“It's just a way for the public to support the citizens of Ukraine, and to object to a military invasion of an independent country,” he said.
Wells has a decade of ties to Ukraine.
He is part of an informal network connecting people in Spain, Romania, France, England and other countries. He is also part of a network with Ukrainian participants in a spiritual group.
His support goes beyond words. He has written a check for refugee aid.
“There are about 400,000 refugees,” he said. “To have to leave your home, your livelihood and all you know, and escape through tanks and artillery shells, we just need to speak out."
Wells understands that many in North Idaho might not be too worried about what’s happening so far away, not with their own daily challenges at home or still shaking off the lingering effects of COVID-19.
But it does affect them, Wells said, not just in terms of rising energy costs, disruptions of supply chains and hits on the stock market.
“The alternative to our boots on the ground military escalation is far worse in terms of loss in life than having inflation or supply difficulties,” he said. “And it will hopefully discourage Putin. Economic measures are far superior. So I would hope you will be patient with our sanctions in support of Ukraine.”
Wells said Ukrainians he knows locally are “very tense” and “very concerned” for their loved ones back home.
“The tension between Russian leadership and Ukraine has been going on for years, which was the impetus for a number of them to immigrate here,” he said. “Their economy is poor. And they've come here for opportunity.”
He has found they work hard, abide by the laws and are good citizens.
“They’ve still got a heart for the relatives in their homeland,” he said
Wells encourages businesses and residents to post the colors of Ukraine in their windows to encourage those in a democratic country that is under attack by larger forces.
He believes North Idaho can be part of sending a message to Putin, Russia’s president who is being criticized roundly for orchestrating the war.
Wells plans to attach Ukraine’s colors to his car and return to his post in the days ahead, perhaps with Ukrainian friends.
For their sake, and others, he wants this war to end.
“I’m hoping that Putin will recognize that he's a bad neighbor, the world is disapproving,” he said.
The Coeur d'Alene Press is a KREM 2 news partner. For more from our news partner, click here.