2 years 2 long: The Never-Ending Russian Aggression on Ukraine
Imagine being in your room on a snowy morning. You are still in a dream-like state, and those around you are sleeping. But when the air siren starts screaming at the crack of dawn, a nightmare becomes reality. Loud explosions slice through the silence of the beautiful and peaceful capital, Kyiv. That day, a war had erupted, a war that is still going on today.
These aggressions started 2 whole years ago, it’s been 104 weeks since Russia has been attacking an innocent country for a “special military operation”, 730 days since the EU promised to end the crisis via sanctions, 17 520 minutes since Ukrainians have been living in a war, in a fear of being bombarded, losing their loved ones, losing their country, losing their home.
It is often too easy to forget the human cost of the war, since news articles and politicians prefer to talk about geopolitical factors. Perhaps it is easier that way, to forget the ongoing bloodshed of innocents happening every minute. However, it is of vital importance that we mention the human side. Since the last report by the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, there have been 30,457 civilian casualties comprised of 10,582 killed and 19,875 injured since February 24, 2022 (Channel 4). Many have lost their friends, their family, and their loved ones. As Marharyta Chykalova, 16, described: “I just started crying, crying really hard because at that moment I understood that everything had disappeared. It is simply gone, the home is gone, there’s nothing left.” (Reuters)
This war has had many different faces and conflicts, from the massive number of children and women in trains bound for a safer country, to the soldiers on the front saying goodbye to their loved ones, schools being bombed and teenagers dancing in their prom dresses where their special night should have been held. Then, there was the massacre of Bucha, where the Russian paratroop 234th unit tortured and killed more than 400 innocent civilians, such as 52-year-old Tamila Mishchenko and her 14-year-old daughter, Anna, who were trying to flee Bucha when Russian soldiers fired on their blue minivan (New York Times). There were also the heroes who held the Azovstal steel factory in Mariupol until they surrendered after weeks of heroic combat.
Today, the once thriving coastal city of 540 000 has been bombarded into an unrecognizable heap of dilapidated buildings, now under Russian occupation (Human Rights Watch). There have been many other dramatic events, such as the iconic Ukrainian coast guard video where the soldiers told off Russia, for the bombardments on Christmas eve in Kherson. Nonetheless, the resilience of Ukrainians has shined through the war, from the woman giving sunflower seeds to a Russian soldier (so that if they die on Ukranian soil a sunflower will grow), to a little girl singing “Let It Go” in a bomb shelter, love and unity continues to shine through. The most touching clip, which goes to show the kindness of people, is a video in which locals feed a Russian solider and let him call his mom, as many soldiers at the beginning of the war were just teenagers (CNBC).
Today, there seems to be some hope among Ukrainians, with citizens rebuilding carcasses of old apartments and people returning to their home country. Still, the Russian threat looms over like a dark cloud, bombarding civilian targets, such as schools and shopping malls, trying to stop normal life from occurring. The war is far from over and it is our duty to not become accustomed to it, to not forget that people are still dying, and that Ukrainians are still living in an illegally annexed Russian territory. It is my hope that politicians and governmental bodies do their best to end this war however they can, with more sanctions on Russia and more aid to Ukraine.
As for Marianopolis, on Friday, February 23rd , the Mari Slavs Club organized a booth with informational posters about the war, a QR code to sign a petition urging governments to give more weapons to Ukraine, as well as beautiful handmade Ukrainian flag pins made by Emilia and Sophia. All the proceeds and donations went to the Ukrainian Church of Montreal who welcomes refugees. A march in support of Ukraine also happened on February 24th, exactly 2 years after the war, and united what felt like thousands of people on a frosty afternoon, with people chanting for more aid to Ukraine, and emotional speeches made by members of the community. This quote by Eugene Czolij , Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Montreal, resonates especially hard: “People ask me and are very surprised when I respond that the situation today is just as bad as it was on February 24, 2022. This genocidal war is not making the news on a daily basis as it should and people think that the situation has somewhat improved or people kind of got used to a genocidal war, which is awful” (City News).
If you want to help in any way, there are petitions online to urge governments and congress to send more weapons to Ukraine, which you can sign. You can also donate to the Ukrainian Church of Montreal if you have the means, as they help newly arrived refugees settle into Montreal.
To end this article, and to an end to this genocide: “Слава Україні ! Героям слава!” (Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!)
Sources
Al-Hlou, Yousur et al. “Caught on Camera, Traced by Phone: The Russian Military Unit that Killed Dozens in Bucha.” The New York Times, 22 December 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/22/video/russia-ukraine-bucha-massacre-takeaways.html.
Dexterne, Anastasia and Fowke-Quintas, Miguel. “Montreal’s Ukrainian community marks 2nd anniversary of Russian invasion.” City News Montreal, 24 February 2024, https://montreal.citynews.ca/2024/02/24/2nd-anniversary-russian-invasion-ukraine/#:~:text=Last%20Updated%20February%2024%2C%202024,community%20honoured%20the%20lives%20lost..
Human Rights Watch, Situ Reseach and Truth Hounds Investigation. “Beneath the Rubble Documenting Devastation and Loss in Mariupol.” Human Rights Watch, 8 February 8, 2024, https://www.hrw.org/feature/russia-ukraine-war-mariupol.
Johnson, Helen. “How many people have died in the Russian-Ukraine war and what could happen next?” Channel 4, 23 February 2024, https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-how-many-people-have-died-in-the-russia-ukraine-war-and-what-could-happen-next#:~:text=In%20its%20latest%20report%2C%20the,10%2C582%20killed%20and%2019%2C875%20injured.
Sauer, Megan. “Viral moments of Ukrainian resilience are taking over the internet — these 4 examples show why.” CNBC, 8 March 2022, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/08/russia-ukraine-war-why-ukrainian-resilience-stories-are-going-viral.html.
Wojtunik, Malgorzata and Lubowicka, Anna Magdalena. “With lives shattered by war, Ukrainian teens build new dreams.” Reuters, 23 February 2024, https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/ukraine-crisis-anniversary-teenagers/.
