The East Village’s Little Ukraine features a large smattering of businesses and residents of Ukrainian descent who have carved out a life for themselves in the Big Apple.
More than three years after Russia invaded their ancestral homeland, Ukrainian New Yorkers remain supportive of the fight for freedom — and pulled no punches in the wake of the public verbal spat between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodomyr Zelenskyy, and Trump’s order to freeze all military aid to Ukraine.
“F*ck Russia” two men said as they left the East Village Meat Market on 139 2nd Ave.
Throughout the neighborhood, Ukrainian flags can be spotted plastered across glass and hanging from window sills with photos of Trump reading “No kings.” Other banners read: “abort Prez Musk,” referring to billionaire Elon Musk, who is heavily involved in Trump’s second administration.
During the infamous Feb. 28 clash at the White House, both Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy for being allegedly unappreciative of the aid America has provided over the years — even though Zelenskyy has repeatedly thanked the United States for its support during the Biden administration, including during an address to a joint session of Congress in 2022.
New Yorkers with deep roots in the Eastern European nation told amNewYork Metro that Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people are indeed grateful for America’s support — and fear that without it, defeating Russia might be impossible.
“It’s hard to explain to the American public what people really feel in Ukraine and how much this means to them. This means a lot, the help from the United States — We keep on fighting,” Sophia said. “It’s a terrible situation. But I just hope that there’s an agreement because right now, I think Ukraine needs all the help they can get, and the main country that can help is America.”
Sophia says her parents immigrated to the Big Apple from Ukraine half a century ago and settled in the East Village. She underscored the importance of fellow New Yorkers supporting Ukrainian businesses not just during this particularly hard time but also because of the hardships many of them went through to set up shop there.
“People here escaped World War II. When Ukraine became independent, there was what they called the fourth wave. They go to the Ukrainian church, they go to all these different organizations, they try to maintain their history and culture. They’ve been supporting their families for, I don’t know, 80 years, and the best way they could is they were separated after World War Two, where a lot of family members died,” Sophia said.
For local resident Joseph Kabin, the recent fallout between Zelensky and President Trump left him in complete shock that such an unprofessional debate could be made on national TV.
“I was speechless, surprised, but then I was not surprised, but I wasn’t expecting that from the president regardless,” Kabin said. “To treat him like that, even if it was my worse enemy, I wouldn’t have done that. I would take him to the private room. I would have translators, and I would go, let’s talk about it.”
Read More: https://www.amny.com/politics/
