PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Hundreds of people gathered on the north side of City Hall on Tuesday evening to rally for Ukraine, and condemn the Trump administration’s decision to rescind military aid to the war-torn ally.
Demonstrators gathered at 6 p.m., formed a ring around speakers to loudly affirm their solidarity with Ukraine, chanting, holding flags and signs, and bashing the Kremlin and the White House alike.
Philadelphia Archbishop for Ukrainian Catholics Borys Gudziak spoke to the crowd. He says the Trump administration pausing military aid for Ukraine makes it imperative for others to be clear about their allyship and to identify Russia as the aggressor.
“It’s very important to be clear, to know who started this war, to know who the victim is, to know that this is something that threatens freedom globally,” Gudziak said.
Gudziak puts the war against Russia in stark terms: “Ukrainians are today defending western democracy.”
While he’s concerned about Washington’s wavering support, Gudziak believes there’s solidarity among citizens.
“Issues at hand are so clear, are so black and white, that it will continue to motivate Americans and also people in many countries.
Protest groups gathered all over the country at parks, statehouses and other public grounds to assail Donald Trump's presidency as dangerous and un-American ahead of his Tuesday night address to a joint session of Congress. In this, his first major speech in his second term,Trump is expected to outline his domestic and foreign agenda,
The rallies and marches — set in motion by the fledgling 50501 Movement, a volunteer-driven group organized in the weeks after Trump's inauguration — mark the latest attempt at national resistance to the hardened support of Trump's "Make America Great Again" base and the success it has had in reshaping the Republican Party in the president's populist image.
Andrew Fylypovych volunteers to help wounded Ukrainian soldiers and has demonstrated for Ukrainian rights for decades.
“It is just inconceivable that somebody who calls themself a mediator throws one of the parties under the bus,” Fylypovych said. “We’re playing with humanity, we’re playing with history, and we need to be on the right side of history.”
Fylypovych noted that many of the people who showed up to City Hall on Tuesday night were not Ukrainian themselves; they came in solidarity.
“This is an incredible show of support from a hugely diverse group of people. We’re all Americans, but some people just realize that this is the right thing to do. We can’t have a situation where everything is transactional.”
'It is time to make things right'
President Trump and Vice President Vance demanded gratitude and compensation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week Friday in a heated exchange in the Oval Office.
Zelensky called the incident “regrettable”—stopping short of an outright apology—on Tuesday. In a social media post on X, Zelenskyy said the White House meeting “did not go the way it was supposed to be,” adding that he stands ready to work under Trump's "strong leadership" to get a lasting peace.
He added that "it is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive.” He says Ukraine is ready to sign a deal on its rare-earth minerals deal in exchange for security from Washington.
French President Emmanuel Macron's office confirmed he spoke by phone to both Zelenskyy and Trump on Tuesday. Macron said he "welcomes" Zelenskyy's "willingness to re-engage in dialogue with the U.S." and "reiterates France's determination to work with all the parties to achieve a solid and lasting peace in Ukraine."
No details were disclosed about the discussion with Trump, but the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, says he hopes lawmakers can "take a deep breath" in U.S.-Ukraine relations and that "the excellent, hopeful signs that come from this statement by President Zelenskyy” can come to fruition quickly.
Wicker was among the senators who met with Zelenskyy ahead of his disastrous meeting with Trump. Friends can argue and move on, he said. "And I think we're seeing that process today. I hope to heaven that that is the case."
Key Pentagon nominee admits Russia is a threat
Meanwhile, Trump's nominee for the top policy job at the Pentagon told senators—after persistent questioning—that Russia presents a significant military threat to Europe and the U.S. homeland and that Moscow's forces did invade Ukraine.
On multiple occasions Tuesday, Elbridge Colby declined to answer directly whether Russia invaded Ukraine, saying it's a sensitive topic and he didn't want to say anything that might hurt the chances for peace.
In only one instance — when Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, pressed him, asking, "In February 2022, did Russian forces cross the border and invade Ukraine? Yes or no?" — he told the Senate Armed Services Committee that she was "describing a factual reality" that is "demonstrably true."
When asked about Trump's decision to pause military aid to Kyiv, Colby said the president has a plan to end the war and ensure a secure and sovereign Ukraine.