About 200 people took part in a demonstration in downtown Montreal on Thursday afternoon to offer their support to the Ukrainian people and to urge the federal government to do more to help the Ukrainian army respond to the Russian invasion in this Eastern European country.
The event, held at 3 p.m. in front of McGill University, was organized on the initiative of three Ukrainian student associations from Montreal. A prayer was notably pronounced for the Ukrainian people, before the organizers of the event begin speeches. In the crowd, many flags of the Eastern European country were waved by demonstrators, while posters highlighted their support for the Ukrainian people. The blue and yellow flag was erected Thursday on the site of Montreal City Hall.
“We have had war in eastern Ukraine for eight years now. Now it’s spread out a lot more and it’s come close to my hometown, Kiev [la capitale du pays]. It’s really terrible for me, ”worries Natalia Fedosieieva, met on site Thursday. The journalist of Ukrainian origin, who has lived in Montreal for 15 years and says she fears for her loved ones still in this Eastern European country.
At his side, his friend Irina Vobkmellik also expresses her concerns, at a time when the bombings and ground attacks in Ukraine have caused dozens of deaths in the past few hours. “It’s really scary what’s going on there,” she is alarmed before bursting into tears.
Kostiantyn Iakymov has lived in Montreal for eight years as part of his studies. Most of his friends and relatives, including his mother, still currently live in various cities in Ukraine, his country of origin. “There are bombs being dropped. Some of my relatives are in shelters right now [pour se protéger des explosions], while others wait for the alarm to sound to seek shelter. It’s like a nightmare,” he says. during the demonstration.
Worried, the young man urges Ottawa to provide more military equipment to Ukraine, a message conveyed by several posters held up in the crowd on Thursday. “We want direct action from world leaders, as much help as possible from the world”, insists the student, who asks the world community to take this situation “more seriously”.
The organizers of the event have also called on the Government of Canada to go beyond economic sanctions against Russia by providing anti-aircraft defense systems to Ukraine. “Ukraine is under a lot of danger and I think we all have to stand together and stand strong. We can just pray at this point,” for her part dropped the president of the Ukrainian student association of the University of Montreal, Zoya Shwec.
A similar demonstration is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. at Place du Canada to allow the Ukrainian community of Montreal to make their demands heard.
Mobilization in Ottawa
Thursday afternoon, before the demonstration scheduled for the evening in front of the Russian Embassy in Ottawa, a card placed on the fence of the building demanded “Someone kill Putin, please”.
On the sidewalk, Irina Salikhova brandished a sign where it was possible to read, in her language, “The Russians against the war”. “As soon as I saw what was happening, I said to myself that I had to come here to ask for peace,” said the 30-year-old woman, who has been living in Canada for two years. She adds that Russians like her suffer from their government’s “propaganda”, and did not feel safe demonstrating against President Vladimir Putin in her country.
With Boris Proulx