Old Montreal turned blue and yellow on Sunday as hundreds gathered to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day. The rally comes three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022 – igniting a war that continues to this day as Ukraine fights to maintain its sovereignty and independence.
“Since 2022 it’s like every Ukrainian Independence Day is even more important and I am here to celebrate and support Ukraine,” said one attendee.
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“We have to show everybody that the country still exists, the people still live, they’re still considered Ukrainians, they’re still motivated, they’re still strong and that we’re not going to give our territories just like that,” said another attendee.
“We’re commemorating basically 34 years since we’ve taken the shackles of communism and Moscow’s handling of Ukraine,” said Gregory Bedik, vice-president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Quebec (UCC). “So it’s been 34 years ago, they’ve been free, democratic, and we continue to be free and democratic, and are fighting now to make sure that those shackles don’t come back on.”
“It’s important for the international community to support Ukraine because Ukraine’s independence and territorial sovereignty is the best guarantee of peace, security and stability in the world,” said Eugene Czolij, partner of Montreal Honorary Consul of Ukraine.
Along with European leaders increasing their support – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney travelled to Ukraine on Sunday, unveiling Canada’s plan to support Ukraine’s continued war efforts with a 2-billion-dollar military aid package.
“We were happy to see Carney in Ukraine offering his support, offering money, offering even probably boots on the ground when needed, when finally, that ceasefire comes about,” said Bedik.
“Clearly, the security guarantees are a key issue today in order to ensure that we’re not negotiating a pause where Russia can just rearm and attack Ukraine another time,” said Czolij. “But true peace will survive.”
In a speech during his visit to Ukraine, Carney said he believes support from the international community must intensify at this critical moment of the war – alleviating any fears of Ukrainians being left to fend for themselves.
“The world is still supporting Ukraine,” said Bedik. “There was a little bit of fatigue, but that probably lasted 15 minutes.”
