“The War is not Over,” the Ukrainian Community Reminds Victoria

Over a hundred protesters answered the call of Victoria’s Ukrainian community to rally at the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, to remind the public that the war with Russia rages on overseas, claiming the lives of hundreds every day.

Indeed there hadn’t been a sizeable protest in support of Ukraine in town for over a year, the community instead focusing on mutual help events while news coverage thinned out and public awareness was drawn to newer crises. The organisers kept it simple this time, trying to replicate last rally‘s formula of lining up on Belleville Street in front of the Legislature. While it couldn’t replicate the turnout, it did reproduce the atmosphere, and the public answered with frequent honks of approval indicative of the West’s continued support for the cause.

While all eyes are riveted on Palestine, the war in Ukraine rages on, with little results to show for either side in the past year. The Russian war effort may be unsustainable in the long run, but that hasn’t stopped Putin from spending the lives of roughly one thousand of his soldiers a day as cannon fodder to drag the war on indefinitely, while hitting civilian areas with indiscriminate bombardment in a futile effort to break the Ukrainian people’s fighting spirit.

Observers expect the current stalemate to be broken in Ukraine’s favour by next spring, as the West continues to supply it with ever more weaponry. In particular, the recent addition of F-16s to its arsenal may prove instrumental not only in repelling the beleaguered invader, but even retaking Crimea, a goal which initially looked like a pipe dream.

On his end, Putin may be waiting on the Ukrainian to exhaust themselves and the West to lose interest, but time does not seem to be on his side, while democratic peoples do not tire of fighting off tyrants and colonial invaders. Such was the vibe at today’s rally, as small as sample as it may have been.

The event was held on Freedom Saturday, whose habituals’ conspiracy theorist mindset usually drive to embrace the Kremlin’s propaganda. I did not witness any interaction between the factions, however.