Ukrainians living in New Brunswick rally around Zelenskyy

Ukrainians living in New Brunswick say they are concerned, but proud, after Friday's fiery exchange between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The leaders of the two countries, along with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance, traded verbal blows during a media availability at the White House.

After the incident, many Republican and Russian voices came out in support of Trump, while the vast majority of European and Canadian allies expressed continued support for Zelenskyy and Ukraine.

Nataliia Haidash, who moved to Moncton from Ukraine in 2017, said she wasn't surprised to see the way Trump acted. She said it was difficult to watch.

But she was happy with the way Zelenskyy handled himself.

"I think he was the one man in that room who was behaving like a real president," said Haidash.

The Ukrainian leader also received high marks from Victoria Varfolomiieva, secretary of the Ukrainian Association of Moncton, who admits she didn't vote for him, but believes he represented Ukraine well.

"If I was there, I would not be as composed as he was," said Varfolomiieva.

Haidash characterizes the evolving relationship between the U.S., Ukraine and Russia as a fundamental shift in international relations.

She said recent events have sent a clear message there has been a change in how the American government thinks, and the West should recognize this.

"They clearly showed to the world that the United States, unfortunately, is lost as a reliable ally to the whole free world," said Haidash. 

"Canada and Europe can no longer trust [the] United States and they showed where the alliance lies right now."

Varfolomiieva said she doesn't feel safe anywhere right now with the state of the world, even in Canada.

"When we moved to Canada, we thought that, 'Ohhh, this must be safe,'" said Varfolomiieva. "But it is not because we have another Putin down south who threatens to invade Canada."

Trump has made repeated claims of wanting to annex Canada and make it the 51st state.

Since Friday's diplomatic disaster, Haidash said she's seen an outpouring of support from neighbours and other Canadians.

Varfolomiieva said she's also seen an increase in supportive messages from Canadians who now better understand what it's like to have an increasingly erratic and aggressive neighbour.

"They understand us and we understand them," said Varfolomiieva. "They have demonstrated their support and we are very grateful for that and we stand strong with Canada."