Oksama Yakusha says her home city in Ukraine is not unlike Barrie, Ont., but she now finds it a much different place, with family and friends living under the constant fear of a Russian attack.
Feb. 24 marks one year since Russia first invaded Ukraine and started a war that has left thousands of people dead and millions displaced.
To mark the sombre one-year anniversary, Yakusha has organized a soldiery event to take place outside Barrie City Hall.
“I came to Canada six years ago, and then one year ago, my life and many lives were changed. My family, my mom, my brother, all my friends, they are all still in Ukraine, and of course, my heart is with Ukraine,” Yakusha said.
People are invited to city hall at 6 p.m. Friday with Ukrainian flags and candles to mark 365 days of Ukraine fighting the Russian invasion.
“It’s hard to say what a tragedy we feel with our family. We are asking people to come to our event to commemorate the memory of innocent victims, they lost their lives for freedom in Ukraine, fighting for freedom, fighting for the future,” Yakusha said.
Yakusha and her husband, both safely living in Canada, worry about their family and friends still in Ukraine.
Last summer a shopping centre in Yakusha’s home city of Kremenchuk was hit by a Russian missile, killing at least 21 people and injuring 66 others.
She told Global News her niece and great-nephew were at the centre at the time of the attack but they were able to escape.
“They don’t want to live in a dictatorship, Ukraine should be a free country, it must be a free country. That’s why we are fighting for – we are fighting from this place where we could do anything,” she said.
“Sometimes I feel desperate. I don’t know how to stop it, I don’t know how to save people, I don’t know how to save my home.”
Yakusha said she feels heartbroken over what has happened to the beautiful country and people in just one year.
She hopes that people come out to show their support at the event and remember there is still an ongoing need to support those fleeing the war.
Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall, who will be at the solidarity event, told Global News he visited Ukraine in 2018 and said it’s both angering and sad to see what has happened to the country.
“For the folks who have been displaced as refugees and who have come to Barrie, we welcome you with open arms and certainly want to see you have success here. But more than anything, to heal here, because I can’t imagine the atrocities that have been witnessed or to have been on the receiving end of.”
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