'U.S.A. Supports Ukraine:' Protesters Gather Downtown In Support Of Ukraine, Against Russian Invasion
By Sabrina Franza
CHICAGO (CBS Chicago/CBS News) -- Protesters gathered downtown Friday evening to denounce the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A group of protesters gathered around the Cloud Gate sculpture in Millennium Park, waving Ukrainian flags and carrying signs.
"We are gathering today against aggression, against war, against people dying, against people suffering in Ukraine," said Karolina Plishka. "There's nothing much we can do, but at least we can come out here so we're just not standing alone – we're standing together – and we're not just sitting alone and watching news and talking to our friends and families. We are out here together to support people out there suffering; to support our army that is fighting out there – and we are with them, because no one else is with us."
Plishka said Russian President Vladimir Putin was attacking more than just Ukraine itself.
"It's not just us who is suffering from Putin's aggression. It's the whole world is suffering, because he started a war against democracy – not against Ukraine, against people in Europe, against humanity, and against us as people of the world. He cannot just do that and think he's invincible," she said.
Plishka said her mother lives in western Ukraine and has been sleeping with her clothes on in the basement for the last two nights, and has not been getting any sleep.
Protesters later marched north along the Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue, chanting, "U.S.A. supports Ukraine," singing, and crying out for help. They made their way to the Consulate General of Ukraine at 10 E. Huron St. in River North.
The group sang the Ukrainian national anthem outside the consulate before returning to Millennium Park.
"This is our national anthem, and in between, we're shouting out that we need to – if NATO cannot intervene, they can at least help us shutter our sky," one man said.
The national anthem was a rallying cry.
"Thoughts and prayers are not enough," the man said.
The protesters want NATO to patrol the sky over their hometowns.
"Cover our sky so my parents can sleep at night and not be hiding in a shelter," said Jenia Chernysh, whose family is in Ukraine.
Protest is one of the only ways they say they can ease the feeling of helplessness. But one thing is for certain, every Ukrainian who spoke with us as they turned out Friday night was solid in their support for their country.
They say they are confident their people will give all they have for this fight.
Late Friday Chicago time, the Ukrainian capita of Kyiv was on the verge of an all-out assault by Russian forces. Explosions from what Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called "horrific Russian rocket strikes" were heard in Ukraine's capital on amid unverified reports that the fighting had already reached the heart of Kyiv. Videos posted online showed what residents said were Russian tanks driving through their city, and gunfire and air raid sirens were heard in the capital.
In an address on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was going to try to "destroy our resistance" overnight.
"All of us should understand what is awaiting us this night," he said, according to Reuters. "We have to hold out. Ukraine's destiny is being decided right now."
Ukrainian officials say they're fighting on multiple fronts to repel a "full-scale invasion," and President Joe Biden has accused Putin of choosing to carry out "a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering."