Being half a world away from the devastation, Ukrainians in Sudbury can only look on in horror as their homeland is invaded by Russia.
Russia launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling. The photos and videos emerging from Ukraine show just that — a scene or horror.
Ukraine's health minister reported that 57 people have been killed and 169 wounded following Russia's declaration of war on Ukraine, reported Reuters earlier today.
“Everyone is crying,” said Sonia Peczeniuk, a member of Greater Sudbury’s Ukrainian community. “They are horrified. People have stayed awake all night trying to get ahold of relatives there. You can hear the bombing in the background, they are saying, and people are getting into cars and trying to run to Poland. We know that Poland is probably going to take a few people, but they can't take millions and millions and millions, right? This is horrendous.”
Peczeniuk said she has dozens of family members living in Ukraine. She had not been able to reach any of them to verify their safety when she spoke with Sudbury.com Thursday morning, she said.
“I'm trying to get through between taking calls,” she said, adding she has talked to a number of media outlets today. “I'm trying to get a hold of them. There have been cyber attacks as well, so the internet is down in certain areas.”
What Ukraine needs, she said, is for Canada and its allies to beef up military support, especially air and naval support.
“I think (Ukraine) really wants (the world) to up the ante on the sanctions, and I mean big time,” she said.
Ukraine needs humanitarian aid, as well.
“Send it,” she said. “Send field hospitals. Send support for displaced people, because people are literally running around with only the clothes on their backs.”
The war that is unfolding right now is the responsibility of one person and one person only, she said.
“(Russian president Vladamir) Putin is a macho egotist,” she said. “He has no son. And if you know, the Eastern European mentality amongst men, he wants to leave a legacy. He doesn't have a bloodline. So he wants his legacy to be restoring the Russian Empire.”
Another reason for the attacks, she said, is because Putin cannot afford for Ukraine to be independent and prosperous, because it would give the message to his own people that there is an alternative to his dictatorship and their “abysmal” quality of life.
“The Ukrainian people never had a beef with the Russian people,” she said. “They still don't. They just don't like Putin and his gang of thugs, because they rape and steal all the state's resources.”
Halia Buba was also in tears Thursday morning as she spent her time contacting her family in Ukraine. She called Feb. 24, 2022 one of the darkest days since the Second World War, where world order is being challenged.
“We've been in touch with our relatives in Ukraine,” said Buba. “A few days ago, they were calm. They weren't panicking. Now, what can they do?”
Buba, like many others, never thought it would actually come to an attack.
“(Putin) is a pariah,” she said. “He's a terrorist, a mad, crazy man, and I just feel for the everyday person,” she said.
Ukrainians are in complete shock; they are paralyzed with the fear of not knowing what to do, she said.
“We really need the help of the West,” she said. “We need more artillery, fuel, heavy equipment, and to immediately freeze all of (Putin’s) assets and the oligarchs. Cut him off of the SWIFT banking system as well as the Nord Stream (a system of offshore natural gas pipelines in Europe, running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany). He's going to need revenue to keep those soldiers fed and accommodated.”
The world needs to stand up against Putin, she said. This conflict is the biggest security crisis since the Second World War.
“It's not just the fate of 40 million Ukrainians,” she said. “It's about world peace and world security.”
Buba said many Ukrainians have vowed to give their lives defending their country, and that the world needs to prepare for the many orphans this conflict will create.
Buba was in Toronto on Thursday when she spoke with Sudbury.com. When she returns to the Nickel City, she said the local Ukrainian community will organize an event to show their support.
Dan de Chevigny is a Canadian living in Russia right now. He moved there to be with his Russian wife and their children.
He told Sudbury.com everything right now is fairly typical where he lives in the city of Tyumen, in the southwestern part of the West Siberian Plain.
“Some people have started stockpiling bulk items like rice, flour and sugar,” he said.
De Chevigny said he isn’t overly worried at the moment, but his family has started to prepare for the sanctions being placed on Russia.
The price of necessities has already started to rise due to the value of the ruble depreciating. The US dollar jumped approximately .20 vs rubles just in the last week.
De Chevigny said that can already be seen in grocery stores.
“What would have cost us 1,700 rubles at the grocery store last week was over 2,000 today (an increase of about C$4.50),” he said.
De Chevigny started an online store to sell camping equipment. If Russia is cut off from internet access, or the banks aren’t able to release funds, it would cut him off from about 90 per cent of his income.
Furthermore, he said recent developments might see the Russian government appropriating money deposited in citizens accounts to combat the sanctions on the country. That information has not been verified.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the attack on Ukraine, and called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw all military forces from the country.
"Canada condemns in the strongest possible terms Russia’s egregious attack on Ukraine," Trudeau said in a statement late Wednesday.
Trudeau told media these unprovoked actions are a clear further violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. They are also in violation of Russia’s obligations under international law and the Charter of the United Nations."
Trudeau said Russia’s actions will be met with severe consequences.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said in the coming days, the Ukrainian people will need our support more than ever.
“Putin has waged an unprovoked war with callous disregard for innocent human life,” Singh said in his statement. “Canada must respond decisively with sanctions where it hurts Putin the most — the assets of oligarchs that enable him and the removal of Russia from the SWIFT banking network.
“New Democrats also call on the government to prioritize humanitarian aid and safe haven for Ukrainians seeking refuge in Canada.”
The Conservative Party of Canada and the Official Opposition issued the following statement on Putin’s invasion of Ukraine:
“The Conservative Party of Canada stands in solidarity with Ukraine and its people. Together with millions of Canadians and the Ukrainian community in Canada, we condemn Putin’s actions.
“Putin’s contemptible aggression and invasion of Ukraine is unacceptable. His attack on the Ukrainian people and their democratically elected government is despicable.
“Autocrats like Putin should and will be judged harshly. Conservatives stand ready to defend the rules-based international order against these grievous violations of international law.”
