15.10.2024

Go back to 24 February 2022, the most fateful day in Europe this century: the day when Vladimir Putin sent his armies into Ukraine. The least discussed aspect of the revival of Russian imperialism was the miserable failure of Western intelligence. It wasn't that Western analysts missed the invasion—they didn’t. The Biden administration and its allies did an admirable job. They warned Ukraine and Europe, and pre-empted Russian propaganda efforts to create a false pretext for the invasion. But their success ended there. They vastly overestimated Russia’s military prowess while grossly underestimating Ukraine’s resolve—a misjudgement that persists today, with devastating consequences. Intelligence sources briefed journalists, who then shared these faulty assumptions...

01.10.2024

17.09.2024

I condemn TVO’s decision to help fund the film “Russians at War” using its funding allocation from the Canada Media Fund. The film “Russians at War” whitewashes Russia’s crimes against the people of Ukraine by falsely portraying members of Russia’s military as victims and by absolving them of their responsibility for the invasion of Ukraine and the war crimes they have committed. For years, the Russian military has committed genocide, rape, torture, murder and the mass systemic abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children - a crime for which the International Criminal Court has indicted Vladimir Putin. The director of...

17.09.2024

A Kremlin cyber operations unit has been embedded in RT since last year and has gone to global lengths to spread Russian propaganda, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The State Department on Friday said Russia’s state-owned RT news agency has expanded operations to become a sophisticated, mainstay arm of the Kremlin’s military intelligence nexus, and helped deploy a covert fundraising operation for body armor, radios, rifles and other military equipment for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Canada and the United Kingdom joined the ...

10.09.2024

On behalf of the DOF, FUDF FUND, League of Ukrainian Canadian Women-Oshawa branch, and Ukrainian Youth Association of Oshawa, we extend a most sincere THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO DONATED TO HELP US HELP Brandon – a resident of Oshawa, a non-Ukrainian, a Canadian volunteering in Ukraine. Brandon's work is in tactical defence and training. Brandon trains with an American unit, as well as with Invictus Global Response. Ukraine does not pay salary for his work; living expenses, etc. are self-funded. As previously mentioned, Brandon, along with Monty and Eric (American marines), were ...

10.09.2024

The first night in Lviv was replete with sirens of various categories and lengths This had been preceded several days earlier by an unprecedented missile attack resulting in serious fatalities including that of a family of four with the remaining father hospitalized. Once again this target bore no proximity to any military targets, energy grid, or anything remotely connected with the war and Ukrainian resistance. It was simply a grotesque message from the Russians to Ukrainians: we will wipe you off the face of the earth. Today, Friday, September 6, 2024, the people of Lviv paid their...

03.09.2024

Ukraine's surprise offensive into Kursk has not only caught Russia off guard but also shocked its allies, exposing the contrast between Ukrainian boldness and the West's timidity. The Ukrainian attack into Kursk in Russia, now into its third week, was a tactical and operational surprise for the Russians. There are many reasons for this, including Russia not assembling all the available pieces of intelligence to anticipate the Ukrainian attack, the Ukrainian deception plan, and a failure of humility on the part of Putin’s regime and military. The Ukrainians have also surprised their supporters in the West. This was in large part because Ukraine deliberately withheld details of the Kursk attack to preserve operational security, maximise its chances of achieving surprise and shock against the Russians, guard against the inflated expectations of the failed 2023 counteroffensive and avoid second guessing by talkative, risk-adverse bureaucrats in the West. Ukraine has shown that, fortunately, strategic audacity is not entirely...

27.08.2024

Ukraine’s 33rd Independence Day was commemorated with an official flag raising at the Ontario’s Legislative Assembly on Friday, August 23, 2024. As the war in Ukraine reaches a 30-month mark, it is important to show support and solidarity with Ukrainians both in Ukraine and worldwide. This year’s event once again presents the hard-earned value of Ukraine’s independence and national self-determination as it is being defended with blood and immense human sacrifice. The League of Ukrainian Canadians (LUC) and the League of Ukrainian Canadian Women (LUCW) organized the annual Ukrainian flag-raising event on the grounds of the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen’s Park, under the auspices of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Toronto and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress - Ontario Provincial Council. It was attended by members of the Ukrainian community, as well as politicians at the federal, provincial and municipal levels.

20.08.2024

The NATO Summit in Washington had two purposes: to recognize the 75 years of NATO and strengthen the defensive alliance and to substantively help Ukraine. The first was fanfare although its purpose was to encourage the remaining one third of NATO nations to spend on military more than 2% of its GDP. The remaining one third includes some serious members such as France and Germany, but also less serious members such as Canada, Slovenia, Spain, Belgium and extremely wealthy Luxembourg. Granted that Canada has an ocean as a buffer. Nevertheless, with the Trump assassination attempt NATO must take into account that the United States will be missing in action as to Europe's defence against Russia. Senator J.D. Vance, now the Vice President under Trump posted about two hours after the incident: "Today is not...

20.08.2024

In the architecturally gorgeous city of Lviv in western Ukraine sits Ukrainian Catholic University. After several name and affiliation changes, in 2002 it became the first Catholic university to open on the land of the former Soviet Union. The university is small, but its reputation is large. Visiting in April, I repeatedly heard it called "one of our best universities." War forces those in power to rethink the future. UCU has adjusted its strategic plan to the reality of the war and the role it is now playing in the war effort and the aftermath as the nation begins to slowly prepare for rebuilding. The university will continue to help veterans and civilians deal with physical trauma and mental health issues, and provide services to the country's many war veterans. The Ukrainian Catholic University was reconstituted after the fall of communism in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Bishop Borys Gudziak — American-born, from Syracuse New York — was a leader in establishing UCU, serving as its first rector and now as president. But his...