Ukrainian-American communities in the United States are protesting and calling for additional U.S. military aid for Ukraine and sanctions against entities that support Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
Multiple meetings and demonstrations were held in several cities over the weekend, as part of an ongoing and vociferous demand for U.S. action in response to Russia’s military build-up at Ukraine’s borders. During community demonstrations in Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington DC, that involved hundreds of individuals, Ukrainian-Americans told the Biden Administration not to buckle to Russia’s demands, but increase military assistance to Ukraine as the Kremlin continues a massive troop build-up on Ukraine’s eastern border. The Kremlin has demanded that Washington provide it with assurances that Ukraine would never join NATO and that NATO troops and military hardware be withdrawn from its eastern European members, Poland and the Baltic States.
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin
In Chicago, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and four members of the US House of Representatives joined Ukraine’s U.S. Ambassador Oksana Markarova and more than 300 Ukrainian Americans in voicing support for Ukraine at a January 23 event commemorating Ukraine’s Unity Day.
Ukraine’s U.S. Ambassador Oksana Markarova
While Amb. Markarova assured the audience that every Ukrainian is prepared to fully defend the country’s independence and sovereignty, Sen. Durbin, a Democrat, noted that he and Senator Rob Portman, a Republican, are working on new legislation for additional support to Ukraine and a renewed effort to sanction entities supporting Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline.
“When it comes to freedom and independence, there is only political bipartisanship,“
- Senator Durbin.
To honor Ukraine and the country’s Unity Day, celebrated on Jan. 22 in commemoration of Ukraine’s short-lived independence in 1919, Chicago’s City Hall was lit up in the blue and yellow colors of Ukraine’s flag the evening of Jan. 23. The event was followed up with a Monday meeting the next day between Ambassador Markarova and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Andriy Futey, president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the umbrella organization of the U.S. Ukrainian-American community, whose Illinois branch organized the Chicago event, told the Kyiv Post that the organized protests were part of a larger effort to bring attention to Putin’s aggressive actions and pressure the U.S. to provide sufficient military and diplomatic support to deter any potential plans for a Russian attack on Ukraine.
“We’ve been very engaged,” explained Futey.
“We are pushing for support for Ukraine: weapons for Ukraine and Nord Stream 2 sanctions.“
Futey said that demonstrations and community actions had previously taken place in December in New York City, Chicago, and Washington D.C. He noted that the UCCA has also organized an ongoing social media campaign under the hashtags #We Stand with Ukraine! and #Say No to Putin!, which has received considerable community response. The UCCA has encouraged its members to contact their elected officials via write-in and phone-in campaigns.
“We have asked our local branches to stay active, to remain in touch with their elected officials,” Futey explained.
Futey noted that the UCCA is working with various community organizations in the effort. “We are in touch with the Polish-American Congress, the American Jewish Committee and the Joint Baltic Committee in a coordinated fashion.”
In New York City, hundreds gathered in Union Square on Jan. 22, including Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Nations Serhii Kyslytsia, chanting the slogans, “We stand with Ukraine!” and “”Say No to Putin!” Similar demonstrations took place in Philadelphia and Washington DC.
