Edmontonians joined together in blue and yellow to line the streets this weekend, showing their support for the crisis unfolding in Ukraine.
“My parents are still in Ukraine,” said Irina Salouk, who took part in the demonstration Sunday. “They are in their eighties and it’s very hard for me to (talk) about that, it’s very emotional.”
She says the past few days have not only been difficult for her parents and herself, but for everyone in Canada and in Ukraine.
Sunday’s rally stretched across downtown streets from 99 Avenue to 109 Avenue encompassing a long line of Edmontonians standing up against Russia’s continued efforts to invade Ukraine.
“The motto across the world is ‘Stand with Ukraine’… we’re standing with Ukraine together all Albertans of Ukrainian decent and Ukrainians of many other heritage, supporting our people,” said president of the League of Ukrainian Canadians Edmonton, Taras Podilsky.
“I just talked to my cousin in Ukraine this morning and he was in tears when we heard that we had a thousand people last Thursday and again today we’re supporting them.”
He says there’s still many things people can do to help Ukraine, with one of them being a display of support for governments around the world taking action against Russia.
“We want to let our country, our government, and the governments around the world to know that the people support everything they do to put pressure on Russia,” said Podilsky.
Edmonton mayor Amarjeet Sohi joined the human chain, saying “we will continue to show solidarity with the Edmonton Ukrainian community.”
“This is a terrible situation what is going but this gives me comfort, in a way, that Edmontonians are here to support each other and stand together.”
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Alison MacKinnon
