WASHINGTON, March 19, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Two former US presidents, Democrat
Bill Clinton and Republican George W. Bush, showed their support Friday for
Ukraine in the face of Russia's invasion by visiting a Ukrainian church in
Chicago.

  The two men, who wore blue and yellow ribbons in the colors of Ukraine's
flag, laid bouquets of sunflowers, the country's national emblem, in front of
the Catholic Church of Saints Volodymyr and Olha before taking a moment to
reflect.

  The initiative aimed to show their "solidarity with the people of Ukraine"
after Russia launched a war against its neighbor last month, according to a
video of the visit posted on Clinton's Twitter account.

  "America stands united with the people of Ukraine in their fight for
freedom and against oppression," the tweet said.

  That sets the 42nd and 43rd US presidents apart from Donald Trump, the 45th
president, who just before the invasion described Vladimir Putin's strategy
of amassing troops on Russia's border with Ukraine and then recognizing the
independence of two pro-Russian separatist territories as a stroke of
"genius."