New York lawmakers visit Ukrainian consulate as protesters rally outside Russian consulate
NEW YORK -- A group of New York lawmakers visited the Ukrainian consulate on Friday as protesters rallied outside the Consulate General of Russia.
Members of the assembly presented an official proclamation condemning the Russian invasion.
Oleksii Holubov, the Ukrainian consulate general to New York City, says the briefings he gets from his home country show Russia is specifically targeting civilians.
"It is not indiscriminate. It is targeted shelling of residential areas ... shelling of hospitals, killing children, women, blocking all the services necessary for those who are in serious conditions," he said.
At Friday's visit, the group United Jewish Appeal Federation announced an additional $2 million to fund urgent relief efforts in Ukraine.
On the Upper East Side, dozens of people, including Russian Americans, rallied outside the Consulate General of Russia.
They held signs in yellow and blue, the colors of the Ukrainian flag, and chanted "freedom for Ukraine" and "stop the war."
Some say they have families in both Russia and Ukraine.
"All the men are fighting. Our brothers, our friends, manpower behind the Ukrainian army, and they will not stop fighting for their country until the last drop of their blood," one protester said.
Protesters say they are taking a stand against what they say is a brutal attempt to destroy democracy.