NORTH BATTLEFORD — The City of North Battleford has raised the Ukraine flag outside City Hall.
Mayor David Gillan and members of council, as well as city staff and members of the area’s Ukrainian community, were on hand on a chilly Wednesday morning to raise the flag.
They were there to show support for Ukraine in the wake of the ongoing Russian invasion of that country.
Gillan said the flag was being raised “in solidarity with our friends and neighbours in the country of Ukraine.” He said the flag stands for a “sovereign nation, and all the great people inside that sovereign nation.”
“We must denounce tyranny in this world, denounce illegal occupation in this world … that’s what we stand here today for. We believe in the values of freedom and peace, not war.”
Also at the flag raising were a couple of speakers. One was Tetiana Polishchuk, a City of North Battleford employee who is originally from Kiev, Ukraine and has relatives in Ukraine.
Another speaker was Oksana Parkhomenko, who also spoke in support of Ukraine while denouncing Russian aggression.
“If Ukraine stops fighting, there will no Ukraine. If Russia stops fighting there will be no war. We must stop Russia. Glory to Ukraine.”
In speaking to reporters afterwards, Polishchuk said she was glad people supported Ukraine, and thanked the countries that came forward with sanctions, but had harsh words about the leader of Russia, Vladimir Putin.
“That guy, he’s just a … I cannot describe who he is,” said Polishchuk. She described the situation as a “genocide of Ukrainian people” but said Russians were being harmed as well, saying Putin was “genocid(ing) his own people as well.”
“You think they want to go? Most of them not,” said Polishchuk. It was pointed out that Russian young people were being sent in to fight.
“They’ve been told it’s just for training purposes … whoever is captured in Ukraine, they call their moms and (are) saying please, come and pick me up, because here’s the real war going on.”
In speaking to reporters, Mayor Gillan noted the importance of standing up for Ukraine.
“It’s important for all of us, not just the city of North Battleford, but all Canadians and everyone who lives in the free world to stand up against this type of illegal invasion and the illegal occupation of a sovereign country and its people. They didn’t provoke this war.”
He added raising the flag was the least they could do.
“It’s a small thing. What the people in Ukraine are facing is life and death. What we are doing is walking and raising flags. Put it in perspective, it’s the least we could be doing.”
More activities in support of Ukraine are on the way. It was announced that on Saturday at noon, there will be a gathering and demonstration outside City Hall in support of Ukraine.
