Supported by some Russian opponents of President Vladimir Putin, they arrived at Times Square, from where the march started, after being summoned through social networks.
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Hundreds of protesters were recorded this Thursday expressing their support for Ukraine.EFE
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Hundreds of Ukrainians, carrying the flag of their country, dressed in it or with their faces painted, mostly young people, walked the streets of New York on Thursday in repudiation of Russia’s aggression against their country and the beginning of the bombing.
“Stop Putin now”, “Save Ukraine” and “Russia, take your hands off Ukraine” were some of the phrases that were shouted with gloomy faces, indignant, and some crying, while they made the journey to denounce the military intervention in their country, which ended in front of the United Nations headquarters.
Little by little and under the intense cold that was in New York, the Ukrainians, supported by some Russians opposed to President Vladimir Putin, began arriving in Times Square, from where the march started, after being summoned through social networks.
Gathering around a gigantic Ukrainian flag held by about 40 people as they waved it, the protesters sang their national anthem and called for stronger support for their country.
“Stop the war” and “Help Ukraine now” were shouted loudly, sometimes in their language; Among them were Ukrainian-Americans like Tanya Priatka, who traveled from Connecticut because “it was important to be here today.”
Priatka, whose grandparents emigrated to the US during World War II, told Efe that she was worried about her cousins in Ukraine with whom she communicated yesterday when “everything was calm.”
“Today I woke up with the war,” she said, and regretted with anguish that she had not been able to communicate with her relatives. “I’m here to be her voice,” she stated.
Belarusian Mikhail Charanko came to support “Ukrainian friends and brothers” and described Putin’s military action as “a disaster”, who with his “regime wants to divide brothers and nations like Ukraine and Belarus”.
Russian Hannah dedicated her day off to march alongside the Ukrainians. “There are many Russians who support Ukraine, it is a lie that the Russians want war,” he told Efe, noting that it seemed “surreal” and “complete madness” when he heard about the beginning of the bombing of the neighboring country.
After the demonstration in Times Square, they marched to the headquarters of the Russian embassy in the United Nations, carrying their flags, including those of Belarus and Georgia, and banners with messages such as “No to genocide”, “Yes to NATO”, “No to the war” or “I am ashamed to be Russian”.
Many drivers honked their horns and raised their thumbs in support of the march, which included a puppet with Putin’s face, wearing a gold crown and a blue cape.
After shouting “Long live Ukraine” and asking to leave their country, the Ukrainians sang their anthem in front of the Russian embassy and from there they continued to the United Nations, where they asked for support and “peace for their country and peace for the world”.
Precisely the UN Security Council will meet tomorrow, Friday, to vote on a draft resolution that the United States has prepared to condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine, which has already cost the lives of at least 57 Ukrainians and the displacement of thousands of people.
It is estimated that at least 60,000 Ukrainians live in New York, many of whom fled to the United States during and after World War II, according to the Gothamist newspaper.
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