'Absolute nightmare': Calgarians call attention to the children unable to leave Ukraine
A group of Calgarians gathered along Memorial Drive Sunday to draw attention to what they call "disgusting" treatment of Ukrainian children.
About 100 people attended a protest and short ceremony organized by the Calgary branch of the Ukrainian-Canadian Congress.
It comes as the Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches its first anniversary.
"We're here calling attention to the toll the war has had on Ukraine's children," Stephania Romaniuk told CTV News. "Those in the occupied territories are living through an absolute nightmare. There have been UN reports of rapes, deportations, executions and even children being tortured.
"Who's speaking for them?"
Earlier this month, the head of the United Nations refugee agency accused Moscow of illegally issuing passports to unaccompanied Ukrainian child refugees, with the intent of adopting them into Russian families.
Romaniuk says she doesn't want that to go unnoticed.
"The cost of this war on children is something a lot of people haven't realized the full stock of," she said.
The gathered group held signs and waved flags just north of the Bow River. Later in the afternoon, they congregated in Flyover Park to lay flowers and blue and yellow ribbons atop children's shoes.
They hope the footwear will serve as a visual reminder of the human toll of the invasion.
The UN estimates more than 400 Ukrainian children have been killed since last February.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.