Calgary’s Ukrainian community commemorates second anniversary of Russian invasion

A sea of blue and yellow lined both sides of MacLeod Trail by Calgary City Hall late Saturday afternoon.

Six hundred members of Calgary’s Ukrainian community were commemorating the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine.

They also honoured the memory of the thousands of people who have been killed in the conflict.

Narhiza Musaieva arrived in Calgary two summers ago and said Saturday was a hard day.

“It brought a lot of very tough memories of all the people that we lost, my friends, some of my family. It’s not a celebration or a holiday.

It just reminds us the war is ongoing and that Russia is not slowing down. This is a grieving moment for me personally and for our community,” she added.

“Although Ukraine has been under Russian aggression for 10 years this has been probably one of the hardest anniversaries that anyone here has had to witness,” says Stephania Romaniuk, vice president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Calgary Branch.

“What Ukrainians have had to go through is unbearable, no nation should ever have to go through this much less a prolonged, protracted war. In every Ukrainians heart we want this war to be over,” says Romaniuk.

Today was also a chance to thank Calgarians for their support of all the newcomers who have come here since the war began, Romaniuk added, and a way to send a message on the second anniversary of the invasion.

“I think (what's) most important to remember is there are two options. We can stop Russian aggression in Ukraine, or we can wait until it spreads throughout Eastern Europe even further, and that’s going to have even more serious consequences for Canada and our NATO allies,” says Romaniuk.

On Saturday Canada pledged roughly $3 billion in funding including $320 million in new military spending.