AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — Gov. Jared Polis shared strong remarks about Russia’s president during a visit to a Ukrainian-owned business in Aurora Tuesday.

The governor joined members of the Ukrainian Colorado community for a roundtable discussion at Wake and Take Coffee in Aurora. Owner Dmytro Soluskyi moved to Colorado from Ukraine five years ago and sells products from Ukraine inside of his shop.

The governor shared plans to gather excess body armor and bulletproof vests from Colorado police forces over the next few days to send them to Ukraine.

Community members told the governor about the biggest needs for their families and friends both locally and overseas. 

“We are asking for help to at least bring to our kids who have cancer, who have severe illnesses, to bring them to American or Coloradan children’s hospitals and help them,” Ukrainian community member Marina Dubrova said. “We asked the office of Senator Hickenlooper to help us to see how we can streamline the visa application and visa process for kids and their moms.”

A member of Hickenlooper’s staff attended the meeting and handed out forms explaining the expediting process.

The Ukrainians of Colorado group organized a fundraiser to collect donations to buy medical supplies to send to Ukraine.

While the federal government oversees immigration policies, not the state, Polis pledged his support for welcoming refugees if they are not able to return home safely. 

“Of course, Colorado stands ready if our country admits more refugees and I hope we do, but the real answer is we need to end this Russian invasion,” Polis said. “These are families who want to return home. These are children who left their dolls and their toys at home. That’s why the world is united around this message of Vladimir Putin and saying, you cannot do this in this day and age, we will not stand for this.”