If the new Russian bombardments make Ukrainians fear an escalation of the conflict, many of them refused to give in to fear this Monday, during a demonstration organized in front of the Russian consulate in Montreal.
• Read also: Russian bombings in Ukraine: Canada denounces “a war crime”
• Read also: The train runs again, despite the missiles, between Izium and Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine
• Read also: Biden condemns ‘absolute brutality’ of Russian strikes in Ukraine
“It’s important to be here to show our anger,” says Marta Martynuk, 23, from Lviv in Ukraine. It’s different from February, because this time we’re not crying. The bombings are supposed to scare us, but they unite us a little more. »
Photo Youri Nabbad
Marta Martynuk, 23-year-old Ukrainian, during the demonstration organized Monday afternoon in front of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Montreal.
Monday, a hundred Ukrainians were indeed gathered in front of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Montreal, to denounce the Russian strikes that hit several cities in Ukraine a few hours earlier.
“Putin understands that he is losing and is trying everything for everything, these bombings are the result of the most total disarray, thinks Volodymyr Kouchnir, dean of the Ukrainian Orthodox cathedral Sainte-Sophie in Montreal. It is a tragic attack, but the Russian regime will eventually collapse. We will win this war. »
Arrived in Quebec at the end of August from Kyiv with his wife Olena and his son Mark, Mohand Benarab said he was “very worried” after this new Russian offensive.
“Putin sends us a signal, he wants to show us that he is capable of the worst, believes this father. I fear another attack on an even greater scale than today.”
Photo QMI Agency, Thierry Laforce
Mohand Benarab, his son Mark and his wife Olena Humenchuk arrived in Montreal from Kyiv in August.
Echoing the words of President Volodymyr Zelensky, who claimed after Monday’s attacks that Ukraine was dealing with terrorists, several demonstrators held up signs reading “Russia, terrorist state” or “Putin, murderer”.
“I think it’s time for Canada to officially declare Russia a terrorist state,” said Marta Martynuk. To negotiate a peace treaty with Russia would be to turn a blind eye to all the atrocities committed by this regime since the beginning of the war. »
“The war is not over”
For Elena Altgauzen, a volunteer at St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, these new strikes should be seen as a wake-up call.
“In recent weeks, we have seen a lot of relaxation in public opinion, she underlines. In Kyiv, we even saw images of people going quietly to work or to a restaurant. These attacks come to put our ideas back in place: the war is not over. »
Photo Youri Nabbad
“Elena Altgauzen, Ukrainian volunteer at Saint-Michel Ukrainian Catholic Church in Montreal”
In tears, the 59-year-old woman also explained that she feared the worst for her sister stranded in Ukraine. Other Ukrainian refugees interviewed by The newspaper also expressed concern for their relatives back home.
“Even if my parents are modest people who do not easily show their emotions, I hear in their voices that they are afraid, explains moved Kateryna Armeeva, arrived last June in Montreal. They stayed in Zaporizhia, and every morning it’s the same routine: I watch the news with great concern.”
Yuri Nabbad
Kateryna Armeeva, originally from Vasilievka, arrived in Montreal on June 4 after fleeing Ukraine.
Viktorria Babych, who arrived with her husband in Saint-Apollinaire at the end of May, was informed of the Russian attacks by her 20-year-old son, stuck in Kyiv because of administrative problems.
Courtesy picture
“Upon her arrival in Quebec from Pokrovsk, Viktorria babych was hosted by Claudia Vidal, a resident of Saint-Apollinaire”
“I was sleeping when my boy called me in a panic to explain that Kyiv was being bombed,” says the 42-year-old woman from Pokrovsk. I have only one wish, and that is that he can join us here as soon as possible. »