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As President Donald Trump continued to criticize Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via social media on Monday, Pittsburghers gathered to hear the stories of their neighbors with ties to Ukraine at a rally to show support for the war-torn country. Natalka Rymar, pictured above, who moved to the U.S. from a Ukrainian border town after Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, held tight to her blue-and-gold flag dripping with red paint as she remembered the family, friends, colleagues and childhood memories she left in her home country. “My biggest wish is that people do not listen to Russian propaganda,” said Rymar, of West View, from a Downtown sidewalk packed with fellow Ukraine supporters. “If Russia really wanted peace, Russia could stop war any minute, because Russia is the aggressor.” 

Over three years and one combative presidential meeting after the start of the war in Ukraine, a coalition of Pittsburgh organizations gathered outside U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick’s office and delivered letters demanding he hold a town hall and speak out in support of Ukraine. “We want support for Ukraine, support for NATO. We could not be more horrified by the capitulation to Putin,” said co-organizer Michele Feingold, of Squirrel Hill. Passing cars honked along Grant Street and some people joined on their lunch break, leaving their handmade signs with others as they dashed back to work. 

Zelenskyy concluded a tour through Europe to gather support after he left the White House on Friday without a signed minerals deal following a heated back and forth with Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance. On Monday, Trump suggested that a peace agreement to end the war with Russia “should not be that hard,” but suggested that if Zelenskyy “doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long.”

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The Glimpse: Pittsburghers rally for Ukraine amid Trump’s criticism of Zelenskyy

by Stephanie Strasburg, Pittsburgh's Public Source
March 3, 2025

<h1>The Glimpse: Pittsburghers rally for Ukraine amid Trump’s criticism of Zelenskyy</h1> <p class="byline">by Stephanie Strasburg, Pittsburgh's Public Source <br />March 3, 2025</p> <p>As President Donald Trump continued to criticize Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via social media on Monday, Pittsburghers gathered to hear the stories of their neighbors with ties to Ukraine at a rally to show support for the war-torn country. Natalka Rymar, pictured above, who moved to the U.S. from a Ukrainian border town after Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, held tight to her blue-and-gold flag dripping with red paint as she remembered the family, friends, colleagues and childhood memories she left in her home country. “My biggest wish is that people do not listen to Russian propaganda,” said Rymar, of West View, from a Downtown sidewalk packed with fellow Ukraine supporters. “If Russia really wanted peace, Russia could stop war any minute, because Russia is the aggressor.”&nbsp;</p> <div class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow aligncenter" data-autoplay="true" data-delay="3" data-effect="slide"> <div class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_container swiper-container"> <ul class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_swiper-wrapper swiper-wrapper"> <li class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide"> <figure><img alt="Person wearing a blue hat and gray coat holds a small Ukrainian flag at a gathering. A Ukraine sign is held up in the background, alongside Ukrainian flags." class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-1316370" data-id="1316370" src="https://www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/20250303-The-Glimpse-Ukraine-Rally-Downtown-Pittsburgh-02-819x1024.jpg" /></figure> </li> <li class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide"> <figure><img alt="People holding signs that read &quot;Support Ukraine&quot; and &quot;Slava Ukraini&quot; during a street demonstration. Participants are wearing winter clothing and carrying small Ukrainian flags." class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-1316371" data-id="1316371" src="https://www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/20250303-The-Glimpse-Ukraine-Rally-Downtown-Pittsburgh-03-819x1024.jpg" /></figure> </li> <li class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide"> <figure><img alt="A group of people stand in a line, holding small Ukrainian flags. One person in the middle looks forward intently. They are dressed in winter clothing." class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-1316373" data-id="1316373" src="https://www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/20250303-The-Glimpse-Ukraine-Rally-Downtown-Pittsburgh-05-819x1024.jpg" /></figure> </li> <li class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide"> <figure><img alt="A person with long brown hair holds a blue and yellow flag, looking upwards with a serious expression and a tear in their eye." class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-1316372" data-id="1316372" src="https://www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/20250303-The-Glimpse-Ukraine-Rally-Downtown-Pittsburgh-04-819x1024.jpg" /></figure> </li> <li class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide"> <figure><img alt="A man, draped in a Ukrainian flag, speaks into a microphone at a rally. People around hold signs supporting Ukraine." class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-1316374" data-id="1316374" src="https://www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/20250303-The-Glimpse-Ukraine-Rally-Downtown-Pittsburgh-06-819x1024.jpg" /><figcaption class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption">People rally to support Ukraine on March 3, in Downtown Pittsburgh. Between 200 and 250 people showed up outside of U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick’s office and delivered letters demanding he hold a town hall and speak out in support of Ukraine. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)</figcaption></figure> </li> </ul> <p><a class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-prev swiper-button-prev swiper-button-white" role="button"></a><a class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-next swiper-button-next swiper-button-white" role="button"></a><a aria-label="Pause Slideshow" class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-pause" role="button"></a></p> <div class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_pagination swiper-pagination swiper-pagination-white"></div> </div> </div> <p>Over three years and one combative presidential meeting after the start of the war in Ukraine, a coalition of Pittsburgh organizations gathered outside U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick’s office and delivered letters demanding he hold a town hall and speak out in support of Ukraine. “We want support for Ukraine, support for NATO. We could not be more horrified by the capitulation to Putin,” said co-organizer Michele Feingold, of Squirrel Hill. Passing cars honked along Grant Street and some people joined on their lunch break, leaving their handmade signs with others as they dashed back to work.&nbsp;</p> <p>Zelenskyy concluded a tour through Europe to gather support after he left the White House on Friday without a signed minerals deal following a heated back and forth with Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance. On Monday, Trump suggested that a peace agreement to end the war with Russia “should not be that hard,” but suggested that if Zelenskyy “doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long."</p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/the-glimpse-pittsburghers-rally-for-ukraine-amid-trumps-criticism-of-zelenskyy/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org&quot;&gt;Pittsburgh&#039;s Public Source&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-ps_circle_favicon_blue.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1316375&amp;amp;ga4=G-CCLXQK5C14&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://www.publicsource.org/the-glimpse-pittsburghers-rally-for-ukraine-amid-trumps-criticism-of-zelenskyy/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/publicsource.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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