'The world, and especially social media, has become so hyperbolic it’s hard for a real serious threat to be seen as distinct from all the overblown rhetoric. But this is one.' | DeannaIsaacs interviews Chicagoans on Ukraine
There were two crowds in front of Saints Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church in Ukrainian Village on a frigid afternoon last week.
The other consisted of several hundred live and livid Chicagoans reacting to Russia’s attack on the Ukrainian nation just hours earlier. They waved Ukraine’s yellow-and-blue flag, sang its national anthem, called for sanctions and other help, and listened to supportive words from the likes of Congressman Mike Quigley.Ukrainian National MuseumMuseum volunteer Larissa Matusiak was among them.
Museum administrator Orysia Kourbatov said no one she talked to had expected this to happen, “even though they know Putin is a madman.” With family in the eastern part of Ukraine, Kourbatov said she’d gone from tearful to angry: “Ukrainians are so resilient. They will not give up. They will fight for their country.”
What about Putin’s claim that he’s attacking in part to protect Russian speakers and “denazify” Ukraine?