A candlelight vigil at Vernon city hall will pay tribute to the courage of Ukrainians on Feb. 24, exactly two years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion on the sovereign European state.
Andrea Malysh, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Thompson Okanagan Branch, says the vigil will honour the memory of the thousands of people killed by Russia’s “genocidal” war of aggression.
“May the memory of the victims be eternal,” Malysh said.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress is once again launching a national call to Canadians and the Ukrainian community to organize public events to raise awareness and show support for Ukraine.
Russia declared war on Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
“The unprovoked and ferocious war that Russia has unleashed upon Ukraine is an evil unseen in Europe since the Second World War,” said Alexandra Chyczij, national president of the UCC. “The resources of the free world must be marshalled in the defence of Ukraine’s liberty. If Putin succeeds with his assault on Ukraine, the light of freedom in Europe may be extinguished for a generation.”
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress expressed gratitude towards Canadians on Tuesday, Feb. 13, for supporting many humanitarian and charitable causes in support of Ukraine, and for welcoming more than 200,000 Ukrainians who have sought refuge in Canada since the war broke out.
The organization is continuing to collect donations to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation and the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, which works in Ukraine to provide humanitarian assistance quickly and efficiently to Ukrainians in need, and to address further aggression by Russia.
The candlelight vigil at Vernon city hall will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24.
A rally and memorial service will also be held at Kamloops city hall at 3 p.m. Another memorial service will take place at the Sts. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Kelowna at 3:30 p.m.
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