Canada’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Larisa Galadza, has feelings of foreboding as Ukrainians mark the start of the second year of war since the Russian invasion began.
For most Ukrainians Larisa Galadza spoke to, the anniversary of the invasion is not a day of reflection, as they still live it day to day, she said.
“There is no room for reflection,” said Ms. Galadza during an interview in a conference room at the Canadian Embassy in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.
“That’s it for me too.”
The ambassador had retreated with her Canadian staff to the western city of Lviv before fleeing the country on February 24, 2022. That was when missile strikes rained down on the country at dawn, as Russian tanks invaded from the northern border with Belarus towards the capital of Kiev and from the south.
Ms Galadza testified that she knew from the first days of the invasion that she would return to Ukraine, but the question was what state the country would be in by then – and under whose leadership.
Some still feared that the Ukrainian capital would fall under Russian occupation, but Ukraine’s flags are still flying in Maidan Square in the heart of kyiv, a year later.
Waiting for new bursts
The streets were quiet Friday in the capital as residents fear the possibility of Russian missile strikes to mark the anniversary of the invasion.
In fact, a Ukrainian Air Force spokesman said the army expects several waves of Russian attacks on the first anniversary of the war.
At noon, the sirens of the raids remained silent in kyiv.
Larisa Galadza says the mood in the city is much darker than before the Russian military aggression.
“The joy is gone. The hope is there, she said. The determination is there. It’s tangible.”
People also feel gratitude, she added.
Ms Galadza started the day by attending a ceremony in Hagia Sophia Square where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky paid tribute to servicemen and citizens who supported the war effort. Some of the awards were given posthumously and accepted by relatives of fallen soldiers, she said.
“It was very meaningful to do this in the middle of kyiv, the city of kyiv that Russia thought it would take in a few hours,” she said. It was powerful.”
After the war, reconstruction
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes to end the war, but Galadza said that support will have to go beyond the war, to reconstruction notably.
Ukraine liberated five regions last spring, and rebuilding these communities is a priority for the Ukrainian government, she said.
“That’s how they’re going to bring people home, bring Ukrainians back to the country, and it’s going to be an international effort,” she said.
“We will do it together.”