An outdoor vigil for Ukraine was held Sunday night at Fonthill United Church, in a show of solidarity and support for that nation in its current struggle with invading Russian armed forces. Mayor Marvin Junkin, Regional Councillor Diana Huson, and Town Councillor John Wink were in attendance to condemn the Russian invasion.
Fonthill resident Natalie Diduch, an executive member of the Niagara Chapter of the Ukraine Canadian Congress, spoke to the approximately 70 in attendance, noting that the Ukrainian people are applauded for their strength and resilience, which is a consequence of historic oppression by Russia.
“We're used to it. This has been the story of Ukraine for centuries. Soviet Russia’s founding revolutionary, Lenin, had plans to subjugate Ukraine because of the rich resources,” she said.
Diduch still has family members in the western part of Ukraine, who up to this point have been untouched by the bombings and gunfire. But in much of the country, banks, schools, and airports have been shuttered, and food stocks and medicine are running critically low.
“The world must stand united,” Diduch told the Voice. “This is not just an attack on Ukraine, it's an attack on the free world. We have to give Ukraine the help they're asking for, and certainly international sanctions need to be expanded. The economy of Russia really needs to feel pain for its government’s actions.”
Diduch said that Russian president Vladimir Putin, like the Soviet revolutionary Joseph Stalin before him, is threatened by Ukraine’s nationhood and independence, but that his imperialistic ambition is out of sync with modern times, as people around the world seek freedom and democracy.
Donations to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation at cufoundation.ca will fund humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged country.
It is estimated that there are some 20,000 residents in Niagara with Ukrainian heritage. Over 1.36 million Canadians bear Ukrainian ancestry, almost four percent of the population. Canada has the most Ukrainians of any country other than Ukraine itself and Russia.
The Russian people clearly are not united in the fight against Ukraine. In the past two weeks, more than 10,000 have been detained at protests inside Russia, according to OVD-Info, an independent Russian human rights media agency committed to combating political persecution.
