IN MIDST OF WAR, TORONTO UKRAINIAN COMMUNITY ANSWERS CALL FOR HELP
“I was there when [Nadiya] Savchenko was kidnapped…it was all planned, there were no journalists there at all.”
These were the words of volunteer soldier Nazar Volynets, one of the featured speakers in last weekend’s informational fundraiser event, War in Ukraine, organized by Armiya SOS. Volynets has spent the last eight months fighting Russian-backed separatists and regular forces in eastern Ukraine. During the earlier press conference and throughout his keynote address to the audience, Volynets repeatedly attested to fact that Russian media outlets have been lying en masse about what is actually happening on the frontlines in Ukraine. “I was there, I [saw] how they lie,” he said.
Echoing these statements was Dr. Lada Roslycky, Director of Strategic Communications at Ukraine Today, Ukraine’s first international news channel and media source, and a second keynote speaker at the event.“Soft power can be used to create hate, fear, and war,” she said. “Russian psychological operations … are fostering hate and fear among civilians not only in Ukraine and Russia, but in Canada and the United States as well. Fostering hate amongst nations and religions constitutes a war crime in certain states, and I strongly encourage decision makers to proceed against this type of psychological violence.”
Established in the summer of 2014, Armiya SOS Canada is the official representative of Armiya SOS in Ukraine. The grassroots organization aims to support the actions of its partner organization in Ukraine by whatever means possible. Thus far, Armiya SOS Canada has shippedover $1 million in supplies to Ukraine for the troops on the front lines.
Also present that evening were Bernard Trottier, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke-Lakeshore and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and for La Francophonie, and Ted Opitz, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke Centre and Chair of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group. Addressing the audience, both MPs assured those in attendance that Canada would continue to champion the Ukrainian cause in whatever way possible. “This fight is not just about Ukraine, this is about all of humanity,” proclaimed Trottier.
Retired Canadian military officer Ihor Kozak also delivered remarks in his capacity as a defence and security expert. He outlined three action items that he recommends Canada, the United States, and their NATO allies pursue. They include: providing Ukraine with sufficient quantities of defensive weapons and training of the Ukrainian military and security forces; dramatically increasing sectoral sanctions against Russia’s defense, energy, and financial service sectors, in particular banning Russia from the SWIFT banking system; and to continue supporting Ukraine with adequate financial aid and political backing in order to help boost Ukraine’s economy, modernize its government, and support its society, especially those who have been affected by Putin’s aggression.
Recently Dr. Richard Hareychuk and Svyatoslav Foyak, founding members of Armiya SOS Canada, travelled to eastern Ukraine to help deliver materials purchased via extensive fundraising campaigns and to see for themselves the situation on the front.
“Almost everywhere we went, we saw things that we had sent over,” said Hareychuk, a Toronto optometrist. “As we walked along the front lines we were able to point out, ‘Aha, there are our boots, there are our sleeping bags,’ and other needed supplies that we had sent over.”
As Hareychuk and Foyak recounted their brief but intense trip, photos of theirtour were projected on large screens around the hall, helping to illustrate their experience. In one, Foyak and Hareychukstand with their guides for the week, “big Dima and little Dima.” In another, Foyak is in an underground dugout where the soldiers find shelter and rest. “Two of the soldiers immediately gave up their cots for the night, insisting we take them,” recalled Hareychuk. And in another photo, Hareychuk is standing near an unexploded “Smerch” rocket, with its tail end sticking out of the frozen ground.
Photos such as these were a stark reminder of the war-time realities that not only soldiers, but also Ukrainian civilians, must face every day. “It’s gotten to the point that Ukraine needs lethal military support immediately,” said Dr. Roslycky, who recently found herself on the frontlines of the war to document cases of human rights violations and torture against women in the so-called ‘Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.’
“I was going to show you pictures of victims and share a few of their stories with you, but I was advised against it,” said Roslycky during her presentation. Those stories, and their accompanying images, were simply too graphic to show.
As a volunteer soldier, Volynets, too, had no shortage of experiences to share, many of them having to do with direct encounters with Russian regular forces. As he spoke, his calm and gentle manner betrayed the horrors he bore witness to on the battlefield.
At one point in the summer, for example, his battalion was defending the town of Khreshyvata, and it was then, said Volynets, “that we understood what ‘Russian aggression’ meant.” “Russian tanks, T-80s, were coming and shooting every home. Three shot one home, another home, a third home…just destroyed completely.”
“I remember that day, it was very hot,” continued Volynets.“An old lady was coming by and asked us, ‘Can you give us butorphanol [pain killer]?’ And we said, ‘Lady, what are you doing? Go and hide in your basement, you are going to get killed!’ And then she told us that her daughter had lost her arm.”
A neighbouring town to which Volynets’ battalion retreated was also destroyed by Russian advancing forces. Like in Khreshyvata, nothing was spared, not even the church. When his battalion was forced to retreat from that town, they took as many civilians with them as they could. But for those who were left behind and who had helped the Ukrainian army, “they were just shot, coldblooded,” said Volynets. “There are a lot of mass graves [there].”
It was tragic, chilling stories such as these that undoubtedly encouraged those in attendance to donate generously toArmiya SOS’s cause; in total, $52,000 was raised that evening alone. Even so, while War in Ukraine was considered a successful event, those present were well aware that the real, ongoing war in Ukraine was far from over.
As it stands, some Western powers - namely the United States, Canada, and Great Britain - are considering sending lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine, as well as helping to train its armed forces. Arguably, this is the next logical step after the relative failure of the Minsk II agreement brokered in mid-February by the leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine, and Russia. “There is a risk in everything,” said Kozak, commenting on whether or not the West should indeed intervene militarily in the crisis. “There is a risk in doing things, and there is a risk in doing nothing. And in this particular case I believe there is a greater risk for the West, for democracy, for Ukraine, for all of us, in not arming Ukraine as opposed to arming Ukraine.”
This message was emphasized by Volynets, who later said, “The Russian Federation keeps their control with fear. If they think you fear them, they will always attack. We have to show them our strength and courage, because we can only stop this criminal organization with our weapons, our military force. Otherwise, they will never stop.”
A blunt, timely reminder delivered a day after the murder of the Kremlin’s most visible critic, Boris Nemtsov.
“I was there when [Nadiya] Savchenko was kidnapped…it was all planned, there were no journalists there at all.” 
Retired Canadian military officer Ihor Kozak also delivered remarks in his capacity as a defence and security expert. He outlined three action items that he recommends Canada, the United States, and their NATO allies pursue. They include: providing Ukraine with sufficient quantities of defensive weapons and training of the Ukrainian military and security forces; dramatically increasing sectoral sanctions against Russia’s defense, energy, and financial service sectors, in particular banning Russia from the SWIFT banking system; and to continue supporting Ukraine with adequate financial aid and political backing in order to help boost Ukraine’s economy, modernize its government, and support its society, especially those who have been affected by Putin’s aggression. 
“I was going to show you pictures of victims and share a few of their stories with you, but I was advised against it,” said Roslycky during her presentation. Those stories, and their accompanying images, were simply too graphic to show.
A neighbouring town to which Volynets’ battalion retreated was also destroyed by Russian advancing forces. Like in Khreshyvata, nothing was spared, not even the church. When his battalion was forced to retreat from that town, they took as many civilians with them as they could. But for those who were left behind and who had helped the Ukrainian army, “they were just shot, coldblooded,” said Volynets. “There are a lot of mass graves [there].”
