Russian flags come down in New York’s Little Odessa: ‘Putin has turned it into a fascist symbol’

Russia's invasion of Ukraine reverberates in Brighton Beach, home to one of the world's largest concentrations of immigrants from the former Soviet Union

For years, the sign for Taste of Russia, a grocery store in Brooklyn's Russian-speaking immigrant community of Brighton Beach, featured the distinctive domes of St Basil's cathedral in Red Square. But soon after Russian troops invaded Ukraine on 24 February, the owners of the shop took the sign down. In the window, they hung a large blue and yellow Ukrainian flag.

We felt that it was divisive," said co-owner Elena Rakhman, citing feedback from longtime customers who told her they no longer felt comfortable shopping in a store named after Russia. Several of her employees are from Ukraine and have family members there.