“It’s a terrible thing that’s going on”: Albertans gather to show support for Ukraine

Local vigils are planned as Alberta's Ukrainian communities anxiously await news from overseas.

Alberta’s Ukrainian community is nervously watching events unfold overseas.

Many fear for the safety of friends and family back home after Russian troops launched a large-scale military attack on Ukraine Thursday.

The City of Calgary released a statement on the situation.

“On behalf of Mayor Jyoti Gondek, Calgary City Council and in partnership with city manager David Duckworth and city administration, the City of Calgary has raised the flag of Ukraine at the Municipal Building to show support for a sovereign nation under a horrifying and unprovoked attack,” the statement read. “We stand in support of the Ukrainian community in our city and the people who have close ties to their homeland.”

Members of Calgary’s Ukrainian community gathered at city hall over the noon hour on Thursday.

Ukraine-born Igor Kyryiluk’s father and extended family are all overseas. He said a bomb went off as he was speaking to his dad Thursday.

“The most ironic thing is that I was telling my dad that the war is coming, but nobody ever believed me,” said Kyryiluk.

“He was telling me that under any circumstances he won’t leave the city because my grandmother still stays there. She has a broken ball in her hip so she can’t move fully, so he has to take care for her. And he was saying that he’s not going to surrender.”