$50,000 for Holodomor Monument as Ukrainians remember war anniversary

On Feb. 24, 2022, Yuliia Rahat remembers waking up to the sound of missiles dropping outside her home in Kyiv.

Rahat was one of the Ukrainians invited to the Legislative Building in Regina for a candle lighting on Monday to commemorate the third anniversary of Russia invading Ukraine.

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• Sask. leaders mark third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

“I’m happy that I’m here …” Rahat said. “I receive a lot of support and we are grateful for all people that support us.”

Jamie Martens, the MLA responsible for Saskatchewan-Ukrainian relations, said she was touched hearing stories from Ukrainians at the event.

“We hold a strong connection to Ukraine, especially after this invasion of Russia and the war not ending,” she said. “It’s been something that’s been very, very near and dear to our hearts.”

Martens said $50,000 was being donated on behalf of the Provincial Capital Commission to restore the brick foundation of the Holodomor Monument in Regina’s Wascana Park.

The 10-year-old monument recognizes the starvation Ukrainian people faced at the hand of the then Soviet Union from 1932 to 1933.

The Provincial Capital Commission donation will go to restoring the brick at the base of the Holodomor Monument in Wascana Park in Regina, which recognizes the starvation Ukrainian people faced at the hand of the then Soviet Union from 1932 to 1933. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)

‘We have a stable life here in Saskatchewan’

Rahat remembers the fear and uncertainty of where her family would go as they scrambled to pack their belongings.

“We just took some of the more important things, and we got into the car and that it closed door,” she said.

Before she and her husband left the city, she stopped to hug her parents and sisters goodbye.

This would be one of the last times Rahat would speak with her father before he was captured by Russian soldiers while defending Ukraine. She said he is being held captive in a Russian prison.

“We cannot call to him,” Rahat said. “We cannot send letter. Nothing.”

She came to Saskatchewan in June of 2022 after spending several months in Germany with relatives. A few months later she gave birth to her child.

Rahat said her story echoes that of millions of others who had to escape Ukraine.

“We have a stable life here in Saskatchewan,” she said. “My child can sleep peacefully, but children in Ukraine still wake up because of the of the attacks from bombs and air strikes.”

Elena Krueger, President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Saskatchewan Provincial Council, said the provincial government has been committed to helping displaced Ukrainians from the beginning of this latest conflict, assisting in funding five flights to bring Ukrainians to the province.

“Three years ago, the Russian Regime embarked on a war of conquest that they boasted would last three days,” she said. “Three years later, Ukraine stands.”

More than 8,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Saskatchewan since the conflict first began.

Read more:

• ‘It’s heartbreaking’: Ukrainians in Sask. mark three years since Russian invasion
• Saskatchewan man reflects after helping rebuilding efforts in Ukraine
• Sask. leaders mark third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine