Hundreds rally in Calgary in support of Ukraine

As Russia's invasion of Ukraine entered its fourth day, hundreds rallied in downtown Calgary to show their support. 

More than 700 people gathered at the Holodomor Monument off Memorial Drive at around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, waving Ukrainian flags and chanting "freedom."

"I am devastated, this is wrong. I have [seen the] faces of my classmates, I have [seen] pictures of people I sat next to in university, trembling in subway stations," said Alina Schnieder, a mother of two who grew up in Kyiv. 

"They have little kids like me and in four days their lives have been ruined. The trauma of hugging your kids while the rockets are flying behind your back? This is unforgivable. The world sees you and we will never forget."

Schnieder said she brought her young children to the rally so that they could understand more about the war. 

"A few days ago when this started, I was dropping [my oldest] off [at kindergarten] and I couldn't keep my tears [in]. He didn't understand what was going on so he ran back and hugged me and said, 'Mommy don't cry.'"

The rally was organized by the Alberta chapter of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC-APC), which on Saturday called for a ban on sales of Russian liquor products across the province. 

The Holodomor monument itself commemorates the 1932-1933 famine and genocide in Soviet Ukraine orchestrated by Joseph Stalin, which killed millions of Ukrainians. 

In addition to the rally, a separate cross-city walk was organized by Sasha Yankovs'ka. The group of supporters distributed blue and yellow ribbons to passers-by and handed out informational pamphlets.   

The walk began at Kalyna Store on Macleod Trail and ended at the Holodomor monument, joining the rally. 

Yankovs'ka said that in the midst of hearing so much bad news, walking in solidarity with those in Ukraine was something concrete that she felt she could do to help. 

"This is all we can do for them. We can rally, we can inform people, we can ask for more help, we can ask for more donations to help them survive this war." 

Yankovs'ka is 29 years old and has lived in Calgary for 15 years. She grew up in Crimea, a Ukrainian territory that was annexed by Russia in 2014. 

"Because of Russia we're losing our homes for the second time in our lives.

Yankovs'ka said that her entire family — including her father, brother, sister and her cousins — are currently back home in Ukraine, and that she has now lost contact with some of them.

"We have to fight for our freedom, this is how it is unfortunately."