Okanagan man organizing support rally in response to Russian invasion of Ukraine

An Okanagan resident is organizing a support rally on Thursday afternoon in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Denys Storozhuk says the gathering will take place in Kelowna at 4 p.m., in front of City Hall.

Storozhuk said he got the idea to hold a rally from his 19-year-old son after watching the invasion unfold Wednesday night.

“Everybody is shocked. My family is shocked. My friends and relatives in Ukraine … nobody expected … like everybody was thinking Putin was just bluffing in trying to push his agenda,” Storozhuk told Global News on Thursday.

“Nobody was really expecting it. Nobody was believing it would happen. And then the explosions started to go all over Ukraine.”

He added “when shells and missiles are coming, everybody is in danger. And, of course, what will happen next, that’s completely unpredictable.”

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Storozhuk said all are welcome to attend the rally.

Wearing a yellow baseball cap with Ukraine in blue on the front, Storozhuk says he’s worried about how much blood will be shed.

“I think Putin’s plan is pretty much blitzkrieg, as Hitler did,” he said. “(Putin) is expecting that with a few strikes and a little invasion here and there, Ukraine will just capitulate, and we’ll accept the government that he wants.

“It won’t happen.”

Storozhuk says he’s sure it’s going to be a long military operation, and that guerilla warfare will occur.

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“It’s not like the Second World War, when Germany invaded Poland and Russia. It’s different. In this case, you cannot distinguish (Ukrainians from Russians).”

Storozhuk says he’s half Russian and half Ukrainian and that he speaks both languages. He was born in Ukraine, living in eastern Europe for 30 years, before emigrating to Canada 21 years ago.

“It’s pretty much the same people,” he said of the conflict.

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On Thursday morning, Peter Bihun and his wife, Diana, intently listened to Canada’s condemnation of the invasion.

“Last night, watching those bombs come down scared me,” said Bihun, president of the Dolyna Ukrainian Cultural Society in Kelowna.

“We were almost afraid to get up this morning because we just didn’t want to see.”

What Peter and Diana were afraid to see was widespread bloodshed in the country they love so much.

“We didn’t want to see our country torn apart,” said Bihun, “and we didn’t want to watch people die.”

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Also Thursday, Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran denounced Russia’s invasion.

“Today, I am deeply concerned about Russia’s attacks on Ukraine. We stand with the people of Ukraine and their democratically elected government, and all the Ukrainian-Canadians who call Kelowna home,” Basran said in a statement.

“We condemn Russia’s unprovoked attacks. As a community and as individuals, we need to denounce this senseless violence.

“We join B.C. Premier John Horgan and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in deploring this unwarranted and unprovoked aggression and echo the international community’s calls for de-escalation and an immediate resolution to the conflict.”

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