Unrest in Ukraine has anxious New Yorkers worried about friends and loved ones.
“I hope this is the end of the revolution,” said Miroslava Stefaniv, a parishioner at Calvary-St. George’s Parish in Gramercy Park, which was holding a memorial Mass on Sunday for people killed in the violence.
“Russians think that Ukraine is fighting against Russia, and it’s not true. Ukrainians just want freedom. Russia calls Ukraine ‘younger brother.’ This year it is 23 years independent. We are old enough to be considered an adult, not a younger brother.”
Another parishioner, Boggan Ivasink, mirrored his fellow worshipper’s optimism.
“The president has left the country, which I think he is right to do,”
he said. “I do not think there will be a war. Other political groups are present. There will be the election and I think people will be happy.”
Local Ukrainians were doing something not allowed back home — expressing their opinions about the dire situation.
“We support the cessation of this violence,” said Tamara Olexy, president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.
“Crimes against humanity have been committed. We want the upcoming elections to be held to international standards. We pledge our support however we can.”
Later, at a Manhattan rally supporting the Ukrainian freedom movement, coffin-carrying demonstrators wore flags and candles, and held up pictures of people who died for the cause.
“The president is an animal,” a demonstrator said of ousted leader Viktor Yanukovych. “He has gone to the extreme to kill innocent protestors. The people that died are our heroes. They are heroes because they gave their lives for freedom and for the future of our country.”
While protesters spoke, Ukraine’s parliament named Speaker Oleksandr Turchynov — an ally of freed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko — as interim president.
Yanukovych’s whereabouts remain unknown.
“I say glory to Ukraine,” said Sam Piatka at the Manhattan demonstration. “It is the best nation in the world. People have died, and it is sad, but glory to the country.”