Multiple Canadian cities hold rallies to mark third anniversary of Ukraine invasion

The summit comes as the United States has been meeting with Russia in an attempt to broker a peace deal — without Ukraine at the table.

In recent days, U.S. President Donald Trump has accused Ukraine of starting the war and appeared to be trying to barter with Ukraine for access to its critical minerals as part of any peace process.

Trudeau has said it’s crucial for Ukraine to be part of any peace talks. But the rapid changes in U.S. foreign policy were top of mind at a rally in Montreal on Sunday.

“Ukraine was living peacefully and was invaded. Ukraine is the victim here,” said Michael Shwec, president of the Quebec provincial council of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. “And to say that the perpetrator is somehow the victim or that the victim is to blame makes absolutely no sense at all.”

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, in a major escalation of a conflict that began in 2014.

The invasion is the largest and deadliest conflict in Europe since the Second World War, and has caused hundreds of thousands of military casualties and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties.

Since the invasion, thousands of Ukrainians have fled to Canada as refugees. Artem Patyka, who came to Canada to escape the conflict in March 2023, said he didn’t think the war would last so long. “I didn’t expect that at all,” he said in Montreal. “I thought it would end faster.”

Nearby, Vira Seletska and her daughter held a banner calling for peace and justice. They arrived in Canada a decade ago, during the Russian annexation of Crimea.

“When we came here, my daughter was six years old. Now she’s 16,” Seletska said. “I couldn’t imagine that the world community would allow it to be that long.”

Eugène Czolij, honorary consul of Ukraine in Montreal, said Canada should continue to supply Ukraine with military, economic and humanitarian aid.

“And it can also use diplomatic force in order to convince the Americans to do the right thing, to stand on the side of the victim and not of the aggressor,” he said.

In Halifax, a large crowd gathered downtown at Grand Parade to mark the grim milestone and honour those who have been killed in Russia’s invasion.

Among those who spoke during the rally was Victoria Oleksienko, a Ukrainian woman who was under Russian occupation in the city of Irpin in February and March 2022.

Speaking in Ukrainian with English translation, Oleksienko detailed the violence and fear she and her family experienced as they fled their home.

“The shelling continued day and night,” she said. “It was terrifying. Terrifying to go out into the streets, but we had to bring water or cook food on a gas burner. It was cold. We all lost weight and got sick. But the worst part was the desolation.”

After Oleksienko and others spoke, there was a moment of silence in honour of those who have died in the war.

“Ukrainians are dying every single night,” said Maryna Horobets, with the Nova Scotia chapter of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.

“Unfortunately for the world, it’s a statistic now. But it’s someone’s father, it’s someone’s brother, it’s someone’s son, and it hurts that people forget that the war is happening every single day,” she said.

Elsewhere, events are taking place in cities including Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver.

— With files from Bill Graveland

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2025.

Maura Forrest and Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Multiple Canadian cities hold rallies to mark third anniversary of Ukraine invasion

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