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City of New Haven Connecticut Stands with the  people of UKraine

We watched in horror as Russian troops invaded Ukraine, killing civilians and displacing hundreds of thousands. Cities not unlike our own became centers of violence and war. For all Ukrainian-Americans within New Haven, I know that you fear for your families and the future for your homeland. We mourn with you and stand beside you.

This morning I ordered the Ukrainian flag, once banned in the Soviet Union, raised above our city. It will wave alongside the American flag as a reminder to all of the struggle of the Ukrainian people, and our solidarity in their fight for independence and peace. These events are a reminder that freedom and democracy are not slogans but essential tenants of our society. Citizens deserve to choose their leaders, their government, their future. Government by and for the people is what Ukraine is fighting for and what Russia’s authoritarian regime so far cannot accept.

Ukrainians have chosen for themselves that their destiny does not lie with the empires of the past. They have chosen, time and again, to remain a free, open, democratic society where its leaders are selected by the people, not Vladimir Putin. Russia’s failed attempts to force Ukraine back under its control have now led to the most extreme and desperate attempts to subjugate people who just want to live in peace. But this illegal invasion has not been defined by the brutality of Putin’s regime but in the triumph of ordinary people across the world to resist tyranny:

Ukrainian citizens have taken up arms and pushed back harder than Russia ever anticipated.

President Zelensky, while offered the chance to flee, stands and fights with his people.

After five days, outmatched and outgunned, Kyiv still stands.

Tens of thousands of Russians, risking their own lives, have taken to the streets in protest.

Western allies have stood united, imposing the most significant economic sanctions in history against the Russian regime.

Thursday, shortly after the fighting began, I Mayor Elicker was fortunate to attend service at St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church. Fear and uncertainty were palpable. Would Ukraine fall swiftly into Russian hands? Would the world shrug at the plight of their people? By Sunday I attended service once again to a much different feeling. Fear for loved ones and grief for so much needless suffering still remained, but we had seen the resilience and courage of countless Ukrainians. Their fight has been a beacon of hope to the world, and a unifier of western nations.

So many New Haveners come to our city from across the world, many from places that have faced their own conflicts. While no two stories are the same, so many New Haveners have experienced a common struggle to determine their futures for themselves and their people. So many see echoes of their own history and their own story in the plight of the Ukrainian people today. We are united by that shared experience, and the hope for a better, freer, and more just world for Ukraine and for all.

Ми з Україною
We Stand with Ukraine
New Haven City Hall