Philadelphia’s Ukrainian American community rebukes proposed Russia-Ukraine peace plan
Rallygoers outside a North Philadelphia Ukrainian American club condemned Sunday a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. The plan has been criticized for capitulating to Russia's demands.
About 60 people gathered at a North Philadelphia Ukrainian American club on Sunday afternoon to condemn a U.S.-brokered proposal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Waving Ukrainian flags and hoisting signs that read, “Appeasement Isn’t Peace,” demonstrators outside the Ukrainian American Citizens’ Association described the plan as a laughable, “copy-and-paste” of Russia’s demands, signaling America’s willingness to capitulate to the Kremlin.
The peace deal put together by Washington and Moscow calls for Ukraine to cede territory, reduce its military, and give up on NATO membership — stipulations that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has categorically rejected in the past.
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“Nobody in their right mind would ask a country to give up its territory, its military, its freedoms,” said Ulana Mazurkevich, president of the Philadelphia-based Ukrainian Human Rights Committee. “They do not know Ukrainians. … We will not give up — we fight, we fight, we fight.”
The 28-point blueprint to end the nearly four-year war may force Ukraine to choose between standing up for its sovereignty and preserving American allyship, Zelensky said last week when the proposal was leaked. Simultaneously on Sunday, world leaders convened in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss the contentious plan. (Trump has pushed Ukrainian officials to accept the plan by Thanksgiving.)
“We will rebuild but it won’t be the same, and I just feel such pain and anger at how much they have taken from us over and over and over again,” the rally’s co-organizer Mary Kalyna said. “It’s not just dirt, there are people there.”
Kalyna added: “It’s like a reward for the aggression, which we will not stand for. We cannot stand for it.”
While Russia would make almost no concessions, the plan would severely weaken an already decimated Ukraine; in return, Kyiv — which has said it was not involved in the drafting of the peace proposal — would receive international security guarantees and reconstruction assistance.
» READ MORE: Zelensky says Ukraine faces a stark choice and risks losing American support over U.S. peace plan
Bucks County U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a longtime defender of Ukraine and member of the Ukraine Caucus, called the plan “Russian-drafted propaganda” on social media.
“This moment requires Peace Through Strength, not appeasement,” the Republican congressman wrote on X.
Between renditions of the Ukrainian national anthem and “Glory to Ukraine” salutes, protesters on Sunday also rebuked the plan’s amnesty agreement, which would likely mean Russian officials and soldiers could not be prosecuted for war crimes. “The rapists, the murderers, the genocidal maniacs … are all supposed to be forgiven — absolutely no prosecutions,” said Ukrainian American Eugene Luciw.
“That’s what America stands for? Does America stand for justice?”
This article contains information from the Associated Press.