Members of Winnipeg\u2019s Ukrainian community and their allies gathered to mark four years since Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd there\u2019s always the idea \u2013 will it ever end?\u201d said Joanne Lewandosky, president of Ukrainian Canadian Congress Manitoba.<\/p>\n
Hundreds came together at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights for a solidarity rally marking the fourth anniversary of the war.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all are here to commemorate the 4th anniversary of war in Ukraine,\u201d said Oleg Yemkow, attendee. <\/p>\n
Manitoba has become a destination for roughly 30,000 Ukrainian refugees. The rally drew hundreds of Ukrainians and Canadians carrying flags and posters to raise awareness about the ongoing conflict. Community leaders also acknowledged the support of elected officials who spoke at the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey believe in us, they believe in the Ukrainians who come here, they believe that these Ukrainians are going to be an addition to the province,\u201d said Lewandosky.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I tell you on behalf of the Province of Manitoba \u2013 we will always support Ukraine. A free, independent, democratic Ukraine,\u201d said Wab Kinew, Premier of Manitoba.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s rally is an important expression of solidarity. It\u2019s a reminder that we in Winnipeg, throughout Manitoba, throughout Canada have not forgotten. And that we will not look away,\u201d said Scott Gillingham, Mayor of Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
Some attendees, like Amanda Anderson, said they came not only to show support for Ukraine but also to remember Canadians who lost their lives volunteering overseas.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am wearing this today. A friend of mine, Pete. He was a volunteer medic there, who gave his life for the Ukrainian people,\u201d said Anderson.<\/p>\n
Many youth and children were also present. Yemkow fled Ukraine with his family in 2022, but his grandparents remain there because they are too old to relocate.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time when I hear the news about missiles hitting my city, obviously I am frightened about my grandparents. I don\u2019t even know what to say. I just pray for them,\u201d said Yemkow.<\/p>\n
Among the many Ukrainian flags, some flags representing military divisions could also be seen, drawing attention to servicemen and civilians still held in Russian captivity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is important to be the voices for those who have no voice at all right now,\u201d said Kateryna Puhach.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very disappointing to have to continuously to come out here to support. Because this war should be over. It should have been over 4 years ago and it should have never started,\u201d said Holly Hladun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Members of Winnipeg\u2019s Ukrainian community and their allies gathered to mark four years since Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":493088,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-493087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=493087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/493088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}