March 18 (UPI) -- Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush together visited a Ukrainian church in Chicago on Friday in a bipartisan show of support for the country amid the Russian invasion.
Clinton and Bush each laid a bouquet of sunflowers outside of the Saints Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church in the city's Ukrainian Village neighborhood, according to a video message shared by each of the former presidents to social media.
"America stands united with the people of Ukraine in their fight for freedom and against oppression," Bush and Clinton wrote in identical statements after the visit.
A member of the church, who was not identified in the video, said that the yellow flowers wrapped in blue ribbon -- matching the colors of the Ukrainian flag -- represent "the struggle for freedom."
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"Blue for sky, yellow for wheat, as Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe and now Ukraine is the citadel of fighting for freedom," the man said.
The former presidents also each wore yellow ribbons on the lapels of their jackets as another show of support, the video shows.
"Two former presidents of the United States arrived to our cathedral to express support for Ukraine," the church said in a statement. "Thank you, President Bush and President Clinton."
Beyond the Ukrainian Village neighborhood, Chicago has numerous ties to the European country. The city is home to more than 54,000 people with Ukrainian ancestry and houses one of the country's consulates in the United States. It is also a sister city o Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
Both Clinton and Bush built ties with Ukraine after the country's independence from the Soviet Union was recognized by former President George H.W. Bush in 1991.
"Russia's attack on Ukraine constitutes the gravest security crisis on the European continent since World War II," George W. Bush said in a statement last month.
"I join the international community in condemning Vladimir Putin's unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. The American government and people must stand in solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people as they seek freedom and the right to choose their own future. We cannot tolerate the authoritarian bullying and danger that Putin poses."
