LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Many walking the streets of Downtown Las Vegas have done whatever they could to avoid thinking about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but a missile landing in Poland — NATO territory — shattered that bliss for many this week with the potential of global war.
The missile strike motivated Polish and Ukrainian Las Vegans to rally in front of Las Vegas City Hall Wednesday calling for an end to Russia's war.
"It's unreal in this century we have a situation when we have a war and everyone is trying to debate how we can handle it, try to be diplomatic about it," said Edyta Jankowski, a Polish immigrant to the US and Las Vegas resident.
The fact that people draped in both Ukrainian and Polish flags stood unified against Russia on U.S. soil was emblematic of the delicate situation facing global leaders.
Many Las Vegans said they knew that if NATO is drawn too deeply into the conflict it could spark global disaster and nuclear war.
"When anyone starts thinking, like, maybe there will be a World War 3, of course that's going to be very alarming," said Alexis Olive, "especially with nuclear weapons involved here."
Lakiesha Oliver, clinical program manager at Solutions of Change, a non-profit connecting under-served communities to mental health services, said moments like these, where people don't control the potentially disastrous outcome, can be incredibly stressful.
"It can be very overwhelming," she said. "There's a place where we can make the decision where we're going to focus on the things that we can control."
Oliver said focusing on family, reading, biking, exercising, really anything that can foster a sense of normalcy, can help reduce anxiety.
She said if the feeling becomes too paralyzing, it could be time to seek help.
"It's important for us to say, if it's something that's so out of control that we can't manage those feelings, to understand there's people out there that can provide help and assistance," she said.
