Ukrainians and Americans organized an emergency demonstration at Times Square demanding more US action against Russia following a massive Russian attack on Ukraine that killed more than two dozen people on 17 June.

The rally took place on the evening of 17 June, with demonstrators carrying Ukrainian flags and signs reading “Google Kyiv today,” “‘Ceasefire’ – they said,” and “Sanctions against Russia – now,” according to protest participants Vsevolod Myrnyi and Marichka Hlyten.

Myrnyi called on participants to contact their elected officials.

“Call your representatives and senators. Tell them: ‘We demand more sanctions against Russia. We demand air defense systems for Ukraine. We demand more military aid – weapons that help save lives,'” he wrote.

He emphasized that Ukraine is defending itself while Russia targets civilian buildings, and noted that while Congress already has many supporters for Ukraine, constituent voices help drive action.

The demonstration responded to a Russian assault on the night of 17 June that targeted Kyiv and multiple Ukrainian oblasts. Russian forces launched 440 drones and 32 missiles against Ukraine, striking Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, and Kyiv.

Ukrainian air defenses destroyed most of the incoming targets, but hits were recorded in 10 locations, with debris from downed objects falling in 34 locations. In Kyiv, 28 people died and 134 were injured, with the death toll from a missile strike on a 9-story residential building reaching 23 people.

In Odesa, a 60-year-old woman was killed and 17 people wounded, with damage to residential buildings, an inclusive center, a preschool, and garages.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told G7 leaders that Russia intensified its nightly drone attacks as “the only real change” since Trump returned to the White House, with Moscow now routinely deploying 100 drones per night compared to what would have been shocking levels a year ago.

The Ukrainian leader argued this escalation proves supporters of stronger sanctions are “absolutely right.” While Trump told reporters at the G7 summit he would not approve new sanctions against Russia, citing costs to the US, Zelenskyy called for a $30 per barrel price cap on Russian oil and $40 billion in annual budget support for Ukraine.

The US is currently blocking European efforts to lower the existing $60 per barrel price cap to $45, despite EU and UK pressure to reduce Moscow’s war funding, with Zelenskyy arguing that “Russia blocked all efforts” at ceasefire negotiations and continues military operations without adequate consequences.