Ukraine conflict refugees come collectively in solidarity whereas working at Edmonton eatery | USAEMALL.com

A vigil will take place Monday night in Edmonton to mark the sombre three-year anniversary of Russia invading Ukraine, triggering a full-fledged war after years of escalating tensions between the two European nations.

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, in a major escalation of a conflict that began in 2014. The invasion is the largest and deadliest conflict in Europe since the Second World War, causing hundreds of thousands of military casualties and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties.

Since the invasion, an estimated 300,000 Ukrainians have fled to Canada as refugees. Of those, about 65,000 have settled in Alberta — many in the Edmonton area, which already boasted a large population of people who claim Ukrainian heritage.

Janice Krissa is one such Edmontonian. She, along with her daughter, are the founders of DON’YA Ukraine’s Kitchen in north Edmonton (12153 Fort Rd), where all the workers share a common bond.

“All of our employees left the war in Ukraine, all of our employees are women. All of them have very close personal ties to people who are serving in the war,” Krissa said on Monday as the lunch rush was beginning of pick up.

Krissa never intended to start a restaurant that has since evolved into a community hub for newcomers and Canadians alike.

“We might be the only donation centre-turned-to-a-restaurant, turned-to-a-retail-perogy-supply-company ever,” she said, explaining when the war started, she banded together with some friends to collect donations for those they knew, which grew into a full-on donation centre.

Donors kept asking if there was food they could buy to show their support. Two of her volunteers from Ukraine asked if they could give it a go.

“We were supposed to cook for one day and that was over two years ago,” she said with a laugh. “We moved from church kitchens into Butchers & Packers (Supplies Ltd.) just down the road, and now we have our own space, our own kitchen.”

That kitchen is filled with women who have fled the horror and violence in Ukraine, including Svitlana Sukhovych.

She held out for two years after the war started, praying it would be resolved as their lives were turned upside down.

“We couldn’t accept that at this moment, at this time, in the middle of Europe, something like that could start.”

Sukhovych said the war was very stressful on the family as her youngest child is on the Autism spectrum, non-verbal and requires a lot of support. Changes to routine were challenging, and they were not able to hide in basements and bomb shelters, she said.

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“He has many sensory moments so we just stayed home and we’re praying that it’s not our last day.”

But as the conflict got closer and closer to her home, Sukhovych knew she had to make a hard decision.

“After some point, I realized that it’s not getting better,” Sukhovych said. “I decided that I have to do something because, I won’t forgive myself in case something happens to my kids.”

Around a year ago, Sukhovych and her two sons fled to Canada.

“I couldn’t sleep the night before cause I was thinking, ‘Is it the right decision? Maybe I shouldn’t do this. This transition might cause many troubles for my younger one,’” she said, but eventually she realized keeping her family safe was more important than the fear of the unknown.

“You can pack your entire life into backpacks and the only thing that matters is the people who hold your hands.”

Sukhovych and her kids lived with a host family in Edmonton for a while before finding their own place. After getting settled, she began searching for work and landed at DON’YA Ukraine’s Kitchen last month. She said it already feels like home.

“It’s nice to have this small community, you know? To laugh together, to cry together because you’re accepted. Everyone understands each other in terms of what we feel.”

Krissa said that community is helping to heal each other.

“They’re experiencing Canadian norms, Canadian employment practices, but they’re not doing it alone,” Krissa said. “If there is a bad day, we’re getting through it together. We’re coming together. They don’t have to pretend to be happy. They support each other, but we keep moving forward.”

DON’YA Ukraine’s Kitchen’s monthly sales keep growing, she added.

“It makes us feel so amazing to know that people love Ukrainian food and they continue to order it.”

On Monday, Firefighter Aid Ukraine took part in a special event at the restaurant, setting up artwork from its “Unbreakable Ukraine” exhibit that features gripping photos taken by a Ukrainian journalist.

“To show the incredible devastation that people are living through every day and what they have to work and endure on a daily basis,” said Anatoli Morgotch.

Morgotch was born in Ukraine, grew up in Saskatchewan and now lives in Alberta, where he’s worked as a firefighter with the City of Edmonton for 17 years.

He’s been the fundraiser manager for Firefighter Aid Ukraine since 2022, with whom he has made four trips to the war-torn nation to provide aid, critical equipment and training to first responders.

“The first time that we went into Ukraine, we went in the winter of 2023. It was very surreal. We were scared. We didn’t know what was happening. We didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into.”

Morgotch said his team flew into Poland and crossed the border on foot, where they were welcomed warmly by the Ukraine emergency services personnel.

“Literally as soon as we walked in, we felt the love and appreciation,” he said, explaining Firefighter Aid Ukraine fundraises to source the best equipment possible. “The whole experience was surreal. We were able to deliver combat lifesaver training to first responders in Ukraine.”

“I am honoured to be able to travel there and help as much as I can.”

Morgotch still has family in Ukraine and fears for the country’s youngest who are growing up surrounded by war and death.

“The hardest part is just watching all the kids suffering because the war is not going to end when the war ends. The suffering is going to continue for a long (time) after that,” he said.

“Having kids just being so accustomed to explosions and military vehicles and gunfire is just something that no child should ever experience.”

While those in Edmonton are comforted by the local support for Ukraine, on this dark day it’s impossible to ignore the risk of the United States withdrawing support amid President Donald Trump’s attempts to change the narrative of the war.

In recent days, Trump has accused Ukraine of starting the war and appeared to be trying to barter with Ukraine for access to its critical minerals as part of any peace process. The United States has been meeting with Russia in an attempt to broker a peace deal — without Ukraine at the table.

“We paid so big a price with our blood, with our loved ones, just to say we surrender right now — it’s unacceptable,” Sukhovych said.

For those who fled the war, the rapid changes in U.S. foreign policy and change in narrative is not just baffling, it’s insulting.

“Why? Why would we start that? We were a peaceful country. We were growing. We were improving our lives there,” Sukhovych said. She struggled to find the words to explain her disbelief over Trump’s attempts to rewrite history.

“It’s hard to imagine that someone at that level can allow themselves to say something which is not true at all and the entire world knows that.”

The rest of the world needs to continue to fight to uphold the truth, she said, adding if Ukraine gives in now, there’s no guarantee Russia won’t just invade again down the road.

“It’s important to not to be scared to be on the right side. And it’s not only a question about the future of Ukraine, it’s a question about the future of Europe, also, because (Russia) won’t stop there. They won’t.”

Krissa agrees.

“We want people to be strong, to be united, to stand with Ukraine. Ukraine did not start this war. We want this war to end.”

On Monday night, The Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Edmonton Branch, will host a vigil to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

It takes place at St. Basil Ukrainian Catholic Church and Cultural Centre (7007 – 109 Street NW) starting at 6:30 p.m.

— With files from The Canadian Press