PHILADELPHIA - Ukraine immigrants were among a crowd of Philadelphians who gathered near City Hall on Friday to rally support for Ukraine as it continues to fight a Russian invasion from Russia.
Russian troops bore down on Ukraine’s capital Friday while the president grimly predicted that the conflict would soon intensify, and fears of wider war in Europe triggered new international efforts to make Moscow stop, including direct sanctions on President Vladimir Putin.Amid reports of hundreds of casualties — including shelling that sliced through a Kyiv apartment building and pummeled bridges and schools — there also were growing signs that Russia may be seeking to overthrow Ukraine’s government, which U.S.
officials have described as Putin’s ultimate objective. It would be his boldest effort yet to redraw the world map and revive Moscow’s Cold War-era influence.An outpouring of support for Ukraine has been seen worldwide, with many American cities holding peace marches, vigils and prayer services.
Philadelphia, the birthplace of America's independence, continued its call for peace on Friday.Ukraine immigrants were among a crowd of Philadelphians who gathered near City Hall on Friday to rally support for Ukraine as it continues to fight a Russian invasion from Russia."Our Ukrainians, every person is going to stand up against Putin propaganda, Putin regime, nobody wants to be over there with Russians," Irina Shostak said. "We are our own country, our own nation, and we want to be free from Putin."Shostak, like others in the crowd at City Hall on Friday, is a Ukraine-American with friends and loved ones still overseas and in harms way. "My family and my friends over there are really scared," Shostak said. "Some of them.