The leading US umbrella organization of Ukrainian communities in the United States on Feb. 22 called for a general boycott of Russian goods and services. Other Ukrainian American leaders called on US President Joe Biden to institute strong economic and financial sanctions.
Andriy Futey, president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, which represents millions of Ukrainian Americans living in the US, said that the White House now needs to respond to the challenge that Russian President Vladimir Putin has presented in throwing down the gauntlet of war.
Futey said that while Putin had prepared Russia for sanctions, the US and Europe had a responsibility to show the Kremlin that its violations or international norms would not go unheeded.
“We are expecting that Biden will give support to our demands.” said Futey
Thousands of Ukrainian Americans rallied in many US cities on Feb. 20 in support of Ukraine as it prepares for a Russian invasion, a day before Putin expressed to the world during an address from the Kremlin that his view of history diverges from what most academics accept as fact. Marta Farion, a Ukrainian American community leader in Chicago, agreed that the US must take a strong stand against the Kremlin’s latest unprovoked moves. Quoting Dr. Mykola Riabchuk, a renowned Kyiv publicist, she said:
“Putin’s modus operandi is the four B’s – bullying, bribery, bluff, and blackmail. This approach did not work for him“
Farion wrote in a message to the Kyiv Post.
“That is why to sustain his image in Russia, he had to show a military victory by crossing the border into Donetsk. He was convinced that the U.S. and Western Europe would blink first, but they did not. He needs to hold on to power in Russia, and the use of military means is his last resort, Borys Potapenko, a long-time leading community activist in Detroit, said that the onus now lies with U.S. President Joe Biden.
“The long-awaited crippling comprehensive sanctions that Biden has warned of now need to begin.” Potapenko said.
