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By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

"we have control of hatred"

Stand of solidarity with Ukraine this Sunday in Red Deer

Feb 25, 2022 | 1:52 PM

Red Deer’s Ukrainian diaspora will stand in solidarity with fellow members in Ukraine and abroad this Sunday during a gathering at City Hall Park.

Its organizer, Alex Ivanenko, says the peaceful event is open to Ukrainians, Russians and anyone else who opposes the recent Putin-ordered invasion of Europe’s largest country by area outside of Russia.

The gathering will start at noon, says Ivanenko, a native of Kovel, which is located in Ukraine’s northeast, near the borders with Belarus and Poland.

“If you stand against this aggression, come be with us, shake my hand, and let’s stand together. The whole point of standing up in every country is so that our politicians hear us. Putin doesn’t care, because he is an unstoppable machine, but our leaders will hear us,” says Ivanenko, 37.

“There are good Russian people. There are Russians who believe there shouldn’t be a war, but then are arrested and sent to jail there. If people stand up in Canada, including the Russian diaspora, that’s where the change will come.”

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Ivanenko’s mother came to Canada from Kovel in the late 1970s, but eventually returned and gave birth to him and his older sister. They returned to Canada in 1994, where the family owns land in the Peace River area of Alberta.

His father helped found Red Deer’s St. Nicholas Ukrainian Orthodox Church, one of two Ukrainian churches in the city.

Ivanenko says since Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this week, the nights have been sleepless, and he’s had to have agonizingly difficult phone conversations with at least one close friend in the country of over 40 million.

“Just earlier today, he had to put his wife and kids on a bus and he may never see them again. It breaks my heart,” he says, referring to the nation’s ban on anyone aged 18-60 leaving the country so that they can fight.

“I told him the sooner he realizes he has more power when he stands strong, the better. Ukraine will put up a hell of a fight, even if they may not win, but Putin will also have to answer to moms and dads as to why their Russian sons came back home in a coffin.”

Ivanenko says Ukraine needs help, with that need increasing if, as he words it, the situation, “slips out of hand,” and becomes a full-fledged world war.

He says since 2014 — when armed conflict between the new nations commenced — Ukraine has bolstered its ranks, with trained pilots and other personnel, but it lacks all the necessary military equipment.

“People in Canada have to understand that this is not just about the price of your vegetables going up. My friend here and I were talking, and he said that gas could reach two dollars per litre; I said ‘Let’s put it this way: at least you have something to put your gas into and you’re not getting attacked. You didn’t have to make the decision to put your family on a bus and send them away,’” he shares.

“And there are a lot of split families where the wife and kid live in Ukraine, and the husband is working here in Canada.”

According to the 2016 federal census by Statistics Canada (2021 census data is not yet available), 675 Red Deerians’ mother tongue was Ukrainian, while 410 people said their place of birth was Ukraine. More than 8,400 in the city indicated that Ukraine was their ethnic origin, while across Canada, that number was more than 369,000 — one of the highest.

“We can’t fight with a gun, but this war isn’t one of just guns and cyber-attacks. It’s also one of two nations and two cultures who are at war. Let’s stop that. We have control of hatred,” Ivanenko urges. “We can shake hands in front of City Hall, sing the Ukrainian anthem, or have a prayer together. Nobody here can stop us from doing that.”

Red Deer City Hall will have exterior lights shining blue and yellow in solidarity with Ukraine from Feb. 25 to March 7.

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The Canadian government has announced it will match donations made to the Canadian Red Cross in order to bring humanitarian relief to Ukraine.

Now through March 18, Canadians’ donations will be matched up to $10 million.

Canadians wishing to help are encouraged to donate online to the Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal or by calling 1-800-418-1111.

Save the Children Canada is also urging Canadians to make donations to their organization, citing reports of multiple youth being killed since Russia’s invasion began.