On February 24, 2022 at 5:00am, Russia further invaded Ukraine. The worst outcome scenario was now a reality for millions of Ukrainians who were awoken by Russian airstrikes across the country. The news was spread across social media, followed by fear and panic. The invasion was an unprovoked attack on peaceful and innocent population of the country. The same day of the invasion, hundreds of Ukrainian Canadians gathered at the Nathan Phillips square in Toronto to support their loved ones back home. Belarussians, Russians, Honk Kongese, Lithuanians, and others came to stand in solidarity with Ukrainians. Swipe left to read about the current realities of Ukrainian Canadians and their families in Ukraine who were interviewed at the Nathan Phillips Square demonstration.
The Ukrainian Students' Club interviewed the protesters. Scroll down to learn more about the current reality of Ukrainians and their worried families in Canada.
"My younger family are mostly in Kyiv and they're sitting next to their weapons just in case"
"The older family will not go anywhere they don't care. They say if the pigs are coming that's fine, we're going to be here"
"I'm just helping. I'm sending money, I'm sending weapons. I have a group of people buying special lenses and night vision for snipers. We're just trying to do anything we can"
"Hoping that the country [Canada] that we dearly love will help our folks at home and give them what they need right now"
"My father is there, the whole family pretty much"
"People are packing, they're trying to leave the city but it's blocked off with jams. Gas stations are overflowing with customers, a lot of abandoned vehicles because they run out of gas and can't get new one, a lot of people are in the metropolitan subway system because they're using it as a bomb shelter"
"Pretty much didn't sleep at all, reading the news, trying to connect with the loved ones. You don't want to overwhelm them or give them even more sense of panic, but then you don't know what's happening there as well. We're afraid that they might loose internet and connection so whatever information we can get or give them, because they might not have all of the information there as well"
"I think that Putin's gone crazy and the whole world supposed to stand together not even against Russia, but against Putin because Russians are here [demonstration] as well"
"I'm trying to get my father out of there. He wants to stay there same as my uncle"
"I didn't sleep so much, I went to sleep at 7am and lots of assignments I was supposed to do for my study, I just missed them or asked my professors for extensions. It's not the best moment for me to concentrate because of emotions and everything that happened"