A Kelowna, B.C., business is temporarily closed just days after being targeted by vandals Sunday night.
The Russian & Ukrainian Deli on Springfield Road has been open since 2015, offering customers a variety of different food options from Eastern Europe, but on Monday, it was discovered that the store’s sign had been defaced.
The word “Russian” on the store’s sign has been painted over with the Ukrainian flag’s colours of blue and yellow, and some of the yellow paint trickled down on the store’s front window and sidewalk.
Global News reached out to the store’s owner for comment but did not receive a response. However, several neighbouring business owners say that the deli had been open up until Thursday, and that they were unaware the store had been closed for the time being.
This incident comes as tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to soar, with no end in sight. Despite this, Kelowna Stands with Ukraine organizer, Denys Storozhuk, says vandalizing a local business is no way to get back at Russia.
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“I think for people who think they support Ukraine by this way, I would suggest doing it in some other way,” explained Storozhuk.
“We should all be on the same page, condemning this aggression. It doesn’t have any reason to happen.”
Storozhuk adds that while he doesn’t believe we’ll see more incidents like this in the region, he fears this will only cause division between Russians and Ukrainians in the Okanagan.
“You can probably understand the feeling of some people about the war that is happening, but (it’s) definitely not okay to do that,” said Storozhuk.
“I’m more worried about personal tensions or conflicts like that.”
The Kelowna RCMP confirmed to Global News that the store’s owner has not filed a police report.
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