Independence Day will be special this year for Ukrainians. Their national holiday, celebrated on August 24, will also mark, to the day, the six months since the start of the invasion of Russian forces on their territory, on February 24.
“I never thought it would happen, and that it would last so long,” drops Alina Lyonga, early thirties, who arrived in Quebec with her children two months ago. She fled Mariupol, and after a long siege, her city now lies in ruins.
“When I left, I didn’t pack my bag properly, because I was sure I would come back,” she says, still on edge. Everything has changed so much. I am sure that I will return to Ukraine. But I don’t feel like I can plan things in this life, because it can change abruptly. »
Ukraine will celebrate its 31st time its independence from the USSR in 1991 for the 31st time on Wednesday. It is the first time that Alina will celebrate it outside her country, and this time the mood will not be not light. “It’s very serious and special this year. We never thought about it so deeply before the war,” she says.
Sasha Samar, an actor who arrived in Montreal 26 years ago, was still in his country of origin when independence came. “Before, it was a very festive event. But currently, it is a political position, he says. Today, I believe it is even more valuable than in 1991. Back then, it was not difficult, independence was almost given to us. »
Six months later
Ivan Katchanovski, a part-time professor at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Social Sciences and a long-time expert on Ukraine’s conflicts, says the current situation is very dangerous for the future of the country. “This is the most dangerous situation for Ukraine since its independence, and even before,” he said, recalling that it was done peacefully.
The expert does not believe that Ukraine will lose its independence, but he believes that the impacts of the war are devastating and he is pessimistic about the future of the country. After leaving the kyiv region in March, the Russians are now confined to the east and south of the country, where they have made gains. The focus is currently on Zaporizhia, home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant now occupied by the Russian military and around which there is an upsurge in fighting.
“Large parts of Ukraine will be occupied and annexed. And the chances that Ukraine will be able to dislodge the Russian forces are very small”, thinks Ivan Katchanovski.
War has its share of damage to infrastructure and material, but also human costs. In an August 15 update, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported that more than 5,500 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the war, and nearly 7,700 civilians have been hurt. March was the deadliest month.
“Most of the recorded civilian casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects, including heavy artillery fire, multiple launch rocket systems, missiles and airstrikes,” OHCHR said.
If the Ukrainians are losing territory, the war has helped to strengthen their identity. “There is rallying around the Ukrainian flag and resistance against the invader. It’s a big change compared to what has been seen in the past, ”thinks Ivan Katchanovski.
For their part, Sasha Samar’s friends, Russian speakers like many Ukrainians and “Russians at heart”, and who live about fifty kilometers from the front line, “want to know nothing more” about Russian culture. “They want to speak Ukrainian. While knowing that soon, probably, the Russians will enter their city, he says. In a moment of stress and fear, we finally understand who we are. It’s an electric shock. »
Like others, he did not expect Ukraine to resist the Russian army for six months. “It’s very encouraging, but at the same time, we are afraid, he slips. We don’t really know how far we can go. We will test. »
Concerns
In their country of origin, Ukrainians are anxiously awaiting their national holiday. In a video statement released this weekend, President Volodymyr Zelensky feared that Russia might “do something particularly disgusting” and “cruel” this week.
“A key objective of the enemy is to humiliate us”, to “sow despondency, fear and conflict”, but “we must be strong enough to resist any provocation” and “make the occupiers pay for their terror,” he said.
An adviser to the presidency, Mykhaïlo Podoliak, for his part believes that Russia could intensify its bombardments of Ukrainian cities during August 23 and 24.
According to the media The Kyiv IndependentRussia has increased the number of cruise missile carriers in the Black Sea, a sign that Russian forces may be preparing to launch an attack.
Due to the war, public gatherings will be banned in Kyiv from August 22-25. A long curfew will be imposed in the Kharkiv region from the evening of August 23 until the morning of August 25.
With Agence France-Presse