PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Despite low temperatures from the weekend's snow storm, dozens of people crowded the Philadelphia Museum of Art's front steps on Sunday with a message about potential Russian aggression in Ukraine.
"Stop Putin now! Stop Putin now! Stop Putin now!" they shouted.
A diplomatic push at the United Nations Security Council on Monday comes after 100,000 Russian troops were positioned near Ukraine’s border and the Biden administration began worrying publicly about the threat of Russian President Vladimir Putin mounting some sort of invasion in the coming weeks.
Russia, a veto-wielding member of the Security Council, denies that they are planning an invasion and dismisses the meeting as a “PR stunt.”
Demonstrators from different countries, backgrounds and religions stood in unity with Ukraine on Sunday afternoon with flags, banners and chants on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum. Several with ties to the Eastern European region took the mic to address the crowd.
"I am proud to represent Ukraine in Pennsylvania, not simply because I was born there, but because Ukraine is a country of freedom and dignity," said Iryna Mazur, honorary consul of Ukraine. "We're here in our unity to show that we stand for Ukraine. Because we stand for peace, for justice, and for what is right."
Krista Bard, honorary consul of Lithuania, said, "Independence will prevail. Not only in Ukraine, in Lithuania, the Baltics, but in all countries where there are freedom-loving people."
Elected officials also joined in support.
"No one person can be free without the other person next to them. And no nation can be free without other nations standing up for that very important principle,” said Philadelphia City Councilmember David Oh. “It's a matter of life and death, is it not?"
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Oh says he is planning to propose a resolution in Council to ask Congress to push the United States to join in standing with Ukraine.
Fear of war is growing among people in Ukraine. According to the Associated Press, Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, says if Russia attacks the country, she doesn't think they will stop in Ukraine.
President Joe Biden said in a statement that the U.N. diplomacy is “a critical step in rallying the world to speak out in one voice” to reject the use of force, seek military de-escalation and demand accountability from every member “to refrain from military aggression against its neighbors.”
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Criticizing the Biden administration on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “hysteria promoted by Washington triggers hysteria in Ukraine, where people are almost starting to pack their bags for the front line.”
