Montrealers mark sombre 1-year anniversary of Russian invasion of Ukraine
CBC
As the world marks the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Friday, the owner of Zytynsky's deli in Montreal says her customers have been eager to help since the very beginning.
"When the war started, people would come in here and they wanted to give some kind of support," said Angel Zytynsky, who within a couple weeks started to collect donations.
She put out a jar with a little sign on it and customers have been stuffing money inside ever since. Those funds have gone into buying helmets, boots and warm clothing for the soldiers fighting back against Russian forces.
To help new Ukrainian immigrants feel at home in Montreal, Zytynsky also made sure her business, started about 100 years ago, was fully stocked with Ukrainian groceries and goods, ranging from candy to soap.
She recalled when a young girl came into the shop, located on Beaubien Street near 12e Avenue, and told her mother, "it's just like home."
Zytynsky said she is happy Canada is welcoming refugees.
"I'm glad they come to be safe here. Everyone deserves to be safe," Zytynsky said.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees reports more than 21,000 civilians have so far been killed or injured during the conflict, although the actual number of casualties is believed to be much higher. War crimes have allegedly been committed.
More than 5.3 million Ukrainians were internally displaced as of Jan. 23, and there were more than eight million Ukrainian refugees across Europe as of Tuesday, according to data from the UNHCR.
In Canada, almost 167,600 Ukrainian citizens and Canadian permanent residents of Ukrainian origin had arrived by land or air as of Sunday, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
For Andri and Halya Pochatkin, who came to Canada nine months ago with their three children, the transition to their new home has been tough but is going well overall.
Andri Pochatkin has been working in a nearby grocery store while he is here and, he said, he enjoys living in Montreal.
But it's hard to keep his mind off his homeland, he said.
"I'm very hurt by this," he said in French. "It's very hard."
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