Murray Wood: We should defend Ukraine because it is the right thing to do.
Four years of Russian barbarism after the invasion of Ukraine seem to have left some Canadians less concerned about that...
Dozens of demonstrators were out on Eighth Street in Saskatoon on Tuesday to commemorate the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Many were wearing or waving Ukrainian flags as they walked up and down the busy road. Others stayed in their vehicles, waving the blue and yellow flag out their windows and honking horns to show their support.
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Pat Tymchatyn, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress’s Saskatoon branch, which organized the event, said the location was chosen to maximize visibility and bring more awareness to the plight of Ukraine.
“Eighth Street is busy all the time, so if you want to make awareness and you want people to understand what’s happening in Ukraine, this is the place to be,” she said.
One of those participating in the demonstration was Nataliia Melnychenko, who lived in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine with her teenage daughter before moving to Canada a year after the war started.
She experienced the effects of the war firsthand before leaving, explaining that her daughter “was so scared about her life and about my life.”
Nataliia Melnychenko (left) came to Canada in 2023, a year after the war started. Pat Tymchatyn (right), president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress’s Saskatoon branch, says the event on Tuesday was meant to commemorate the anniversary and to remind Canadians to be thankful for their own democracy and stability. (Marija Robinson/650 CKOM)
When the war began in 2022, Melnychenko was working for the local government. She said the job was dangerous, because the Russian military immediately “tried to hit the most important buildings.”
Melnychenko recalled her feelings when Kropyvnytskyi was bombed, knocking out Internet and phone connections and making it difficult for her to get home to her daughter.
“Those 10-15 minutes, it’s like the whole (of) your life, because you don’t know what is going on at the other end of the city,” she said.
“All the people were in panic, running all over the streets, and that was terrible.”
Since moving to Canada, Melnychenko said she’s also been able to bring her parents here, meaning that all of her family members are safe. But she still has close friends in her home country, and Melnychenko said they keep in touch constantly.
“Every time I read news, especially about my city, I text almost all of them to ask ‘How (are) you guys? Are you OK? Is everything good?’” she said.
Raising awareness
For Tymchatyn, as much as the event was about acknowledging the four-year anniversary of the war, it was also about reflecting on our own democracy.
“I think everybody in Canada has been aware of what’s been happening to the south of us, with our neighbour who we actually thought was our friend. I think we’ve been taking democracy for granted in the last number of decades,” she said.
Tymchatyn said she wants Canadians to realize how “fortunate” they are to be living in safety.
For Melnychenko, that’s all she wants for her home country.
“I think all Ukrainians have just one wish. All of us want (this to) stop as soon as possible, because a lot of people, just civilian people, they suffer from nothing – from some crazy ideas,” she said.
