Vigils held across Connecticut as Russia-Ukraine war enters third year
The two countries have been at war since 2014. Vigils and calls for peace happened across Connecticut.
'The time to speak out is now,' U.S. Army Veteran Myron Melnyk said.
Prayer service in New Haven marks 3 years of war in Ukraine
St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church lead a somber prayer Monday to honor the tens of thousands of Ukrainian lives lost since Russia's invasion three years ago.
Ties in Connecticut are deeply personal as many do what they can from here including the Ukrainian American Veterans Post 33 in New Haven working with revive soldiers Ukraine to get the injured medical treatment.
'Hopefully be getting two soldiers in New Haven with Senator Blumenthal's help,' Carl Harvey with Post 33 said.
Others pushing on their local delegation to continue support.
'The time to speak out is now,' Melnyk said. 'It would be a sign of weakness for the United States to abandon Ukraine.'
The Trump Administration said Monday they are trying to end the war.
'It's time to end this bloodletting and restore peace and I think we're going to do it. When I got here, one of the first calls I made was to President Putin, and we were treated with great respect. And they want to, they want to end this war.'
The U.S.-Ukrainian relationship has strained since inauguration day.
Russia-Ukraine war enters third year
President Trump blamed Ukraine for the war and called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator.
Zelenskyy asked for continued U.S. support and a seat at the negotiating table.
'We believe that real and lasting peace is possible if we stand together,' Zelenskyy said.
After visiting Ukraine six times in the last few years, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn) agrees and wants to unite to defend democracy.
'Their fight is our fight. The fight for freedom,' Blumenthal said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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The Hill
3 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump talks tough on Putin ahead of summit
PRESIDENT TRUMP took a hardline with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ahead of their high-stakes summit in Alaska at the end of the week. Speaking to reporters at the Kennedy Center, Trump promised there would be 'severe consequences' if Russia fails to reach a ceasefire deal with Ukraine after the summit. 'There will be consequences,' Trump said. 'I don't have to say. There will be very severe consequences.' Asked if he believed Putin will stop targeting civilians in Ukraine, Trump responded: 'I've had that conversation with him. I've had a lot of good conversations with him. Then I go home and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home, or a rocket hit an apartment building, and people are laying dead in the street. So I guess the answer to that is no, because I've had this conversation.' Trump and Vice President Vance met virtually with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders Wednesday to strategize ahead of the summit. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz organized the meeting, as European leaders seek a united front to stand against Putin's land demands and to ensure Ukraine's future security. ' We have had a very good call,' European Commission President Urusula von der Leyen posted on X. 'Today Europe, the US and NATO have strengthened the common ground for Ukraine,' she continued. 'We will remain in close coordination. Nobody wants peace more than us, a just and lasting peace.' Trump said that after his Friday summit, he hopes to arrange a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelensky 'almost immediately.' RUSSIAN INCURSION CONTINUES The Russian military broke through Ukraine's frontlines in the eastern Donetsk region this week, pushing forward with the new offensive only days before Putin's meeting with Trump. 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NBC News
4 minutes ago
- NBC News
Zelenskyy warns Trump: ‘Putin definitely does not want peace'
Ahead of the U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had warned President Trump and European leaders that President Putin wants to occupy all of Ukraine.
Politico
6 minutes ago
- Politico
Moscow and Washington lean on allies for support
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He previously was National Security Council senior director for Europe in the Biden administration and U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. — BILYANA LILLY has joined the Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation as an adjunct fellow. — DAVID FRASH, the former director for state and local government external affairs at NetJets, has joined Anduril as director of state and local government affairs. He will be based at the company's Arsenal-1 hyperscale manufacturing facility in Ohio. What to Read — Souad Mekhennet, Ellen Nakashima, Joanna Slater and Aaron Schaffer, The Washington Post: Inside the 13-year search for Austin Tice, the journalist who disappeared — Marcus Walker and Ian Lovett, The Wall Street Journal: Ukraine's Once Nimble Army Is Mired in Soviet Decision-Making — Liam Scott, Columbia Journalism Review: Stars and Stripes Keeps Its Head Down Tomorrow Today — Center for a New American Security, 10 a.m.: Policy Options on Afghanistan Four Years After the U.S. Withdrawal — U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, 10:30 a.m.: Freedom of Religion or Belief in Turkey — Foreign Policy, 11 a.m.: The Future of European Defense — Arab Center Washington, D.C., 12 p.m.: A book discussion on 'Understanding Palestine & Israel' — Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 12 p.m.: The Future of UNIFIL and Hezbollah Disarmament Thanks to our editors, Rosie Perper and Emily Lussier, who are never united against us.
