LAKELAND – War does not end when the world stops watching.
For the Ukrainian diaspora, including in the Lakeland, the war for Ukraine is not an abstract conflict playing out overseas. It is a reality shaped by loss, but also a reminder of the resilience carved by the unyielding hope of a nation refusing to disappear.
“I want to see Ukraine gain its peace, integrity, and territories back,” says Svetlana Wiatr of Bonnyville, who wants to believe that “common sense will prevail after three years of this horrible war.”
Wiatr was born and raised in Ukraine, when it was still a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). She was witness to Ukraine’s independence, with its own constitution, flag, and sovereignty, following the fall of the USSR in December 1991.
Ukraine was among the 15 countries that gained independence after the Soviet Union’s collapse.
“It wasn’t [an] easy transition for the people and [the] country, but it opened up more opportunities, more freedom and democracy. People were happy, the future looked bright,” she said.
But in 2014, those opportunities, and the freedom and democracy enjoyed were threatened when Russia occupied the Ukrainian region of Donbas and annexed Crimea, an internationally recognized Ukrainian territory located at the northern coast of the Black Sea.
In February 2022, Russia committed to a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “It broke my heart to learn that Russian military forces invaded my homeland,” Wiatr says. “There is no justification for this war.”
To Wiatr, invasion of a neighbouring country “in such a cruel way” is a crime against humanity.
“It is genocide against Ukrainians.”
Members of Wiatr’s family, as well as her friends, are among the millions of people who were displaced. “This is Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II,” says Wiatr.
Having lived in Canada for a while, Wiatr says she knows how beautiful and peaceful life can be. So, “It is so sad to watch broadcast news from Ukraine, realizing that there is no safe place in Ukraine during these three years of horrific war.”
“Russian missile strikes keep destroying Ukrainian cities, villages, important infrastructures, civilian properties, schools, hospitals, taking lives of innocent people,” she says.
But she remains proud of her brethren who still fights for the sovereignty of Ukraine.
“I’m proud of [the] resilience, courage, and bravery of the Ukrainian people.”
“You probably heard the saying, ‘Be brave like Ukraine.’ It is very powerful. If everyone in the world had at least 10 [per cent] of the courage that Ukrainian people have, there would be no danger to international law at all.”
Amid the darkness, however, there is hope.
“I am very grateful for the support of the Canadian government and people who stand with Ukraine in this war.”
Watching
Amil Shapka, a member of the Ukrainian community in St. Paul, has watched the shift in international support with both gratitude and frustration.
Speaking specifically to the United States halting aid to Ukraine, Shapka feels President Donald Trump's administration’s actions are a betrayal painted with blood.
“Everybody conveniently forgets that the Ukrainians under the Budapest Memorandum [of 1994] signed away their nuclear arsenal under [former U.S. President Bill] Clinton in exchange for security guarantees signed by both the Americans and the Russians,” says Shapka.
According to information from the United Nations, Ukraine agreed to relinquish its nuclear arsenal in exchange for security assurances from the U.S., the U.K., and Russia.
Ukraine’s nuclear arsenal was the third largest in the world at the time.
The memorandum is not legally binding, unlike the Geneva Convention or the United Nations Charter, prosecutable under international judicial organs like the International Court of Justice. The Budapest Memorandum indicates it is an agreement born out of trust.
It only works if the countries involved choose to uphold it. “Neither of those parties, [the U.S. and Russia], is honouring that agreement,” Shapka says.
The U.S. pulled aid from Ukraine after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy challenged Trump, who suggested negotiating with Russia on behalf of Ukraine during a meeting at the White House.
Trump later said that Zelenskyy is not ready for peace.
But, according to Shapka, Ukraine is ready for peace. It is simply a matter of trust.
“Ukraine has absolutely no reason to trust anybody negotiating on their behalf,” he says, explaining Russia, in addition to the Budapest Memorandum, also violated international agreements such as the Minsk agreements which sought to end the Donbas war.
Shapka believes Ukraine is at a point where fighting the war is the only option left on the table, because Russia do not respect diplomacy.
The only way to stop the war is the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and for Russia to leave Ukraine and respect “their right to self-government and sovereignty,” says Shapka.
“To just let them raise their kids in peace.”
