In the week since the contentious Oval Office meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the United States has halted military assistance and paused intelligence-sharing with its war-torn ally. These moves are part of an overall shift under the new administration to normalize its relationship with Russia – a decision made clear last month when America voted with Moscow and against a U.N. resolution condemning Russia's war against Ukraine.
For Ukrainian Americans, this about-face of U.S. support and the public spat between the leaders has brought about feelings of fear, grief and anger.
"It's like a 180-degree turn, and it's been very disorienting for Ukrainian Americans," said Mark Andryczyk, 55, of Philadelphia, an associate research scholar in Ukrainian studies at Columbia University's Harriman Institute. "Several people, myself included, have actually experienced this … not only has this been disorienting, but people have physical sickness – like people have been nauseous."
Amid the mixed emotions during this tumultuous time, the tensions have also been a call to action.
"We alternate between grieving and organizing – at least that's my daily schedule," said Mary Kalyna, 70, a Ukrainian activist and community organizer who's lived in Mount Airy for 40 years. "I think there's also determination that we're going to keep fighting. Ukraine has survived many things, and it will survive this in one form or another."
It's been three years since Russia's full-scale invasion and 11 years since the Kremlin seized and annexed Crimea in what's become the latest chapter in Ukraine's long history of fighting for its independence.
Many Ukrainian Americans, including the parents of Andryczyk and Kalyna, came to the United States after being displaced during World War II when Ukraine was occupied by Nazi Germany. In 1991, the country declared its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union. That was followed by a transition period marked by political turmoil and economic struggles. Then there was an Orange Revolution in 2004 to protest alleged election fraud and the pro-democratic Maidan Revolution in 2014.
"It's a really terrible, tragic history, but for Ukrainian families, it's very common," Kalyna said. "We all have these tragic stories. So the current invasion is not just about what's happened in the last three years – or even the last 11 years when Putin invaded and illegally occupied Crimea and then southern and eastern Ukraine – but it goes back generations and generations. So when Ukrainians … say they're going to fight to the last Ukrainians, that's what they're fighting for. It's not some piece of land, or just about the last three years, which is bad enough. It's really generations and generations."
Kalyna has been organizing demonstrations to support justice and democracy in Ukraine for more than decade. Last year, she received the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations' Social Justice Award for Community Service.
Since the dramatic shift under the Trump administration, Kalyna has noticed a new wave of public support – and not just from the more than 100,000 Ukrainian Americans in Pennsylvania.
"People are calling me, (asking) where can I get a Ukrainian flag?" she said. "I'm getting all kinds of requests to speak. People in my social circles are calling me expressing their support. … All of us are carrying so much grief, and it's really nice when non-Ukrainians reach out and show their support."
Over the past three years, there have been protests, benefit concerts and fundraisers in the Philly area to support Ukraine. People have sent humanitarian packages and written letters to their representatives to push for more aid.
More recently, there was a rally at City Hall on Tuesday, and a vigil is taking place outside the Unitarian Society of Germantown in Northwest Philadelphia from 5-6 p.m. on Friday to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine. On Saturday, a bus is being chartered to Washington, D.C., for a protest outside the White House.
"I think the public, in a certain way, is once again kind of ready to hear what Ukrainians have to say and kind of rekindling the support that has been there the last three years," Andryczyk said.
