PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Biden administration is putting some pressure on Congress to provide more than $6 billion to pay for an initial United States response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Members of the Ukrainian-American community in the Lehigh Valley contributed in their own way to that pressure over the weekend.
About 100 people, many with relatives back in Ukraine, met for a public discussion on Sunday at St. Mary’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Allentown. They peppered Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., U.S. Rep. Susan Wilde, D-Lehigh/Northampton, and former Republican Congressman Charlie Dent with questions about the U.S. response.
Many, including the pastor, expressed their belief, their hope, that the U.S. could be more forceful — by blocking oil from Russia or imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine, for example.. They were not pleased when Casey and Wild expressed their own concerns at the consequences of those actions.
Casey said he wasn’t aware of such plans. He talked about the audience’s reaction to NBC 10.
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“Not gonna contest the argument they’re making, but I think we’ve got to consider steps we haven’t taken before,” he said.
NATO would have to enforce a no-fly zone, but many experts say such a move could lead to direct conflict between Russia and NATO countries, including the U.S. But Wild said she agrees more support is needed.
“We have to do more to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses and their ability to intercept Russian air strikes both in the short term and in the long term,” she said.
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Wild and Casey said they would take their concerns to Washington when they get back there this week.
Russians and Russian-Americans are also reacting to the crisis. A Russian-born Philadelphia woman told NBC 10 that it is important for people to realize that the Russian people had no say in the invasion; it was Vladimir Putin who made the decision.
Many people have been protesting in Russia, too, which is a life-threatening proposition there. And the UN refugee agency now says more than 500,000 people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded.
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