Content warning: This article discusses genocide
On February 23, thousands of attendees gathered in Nathan Phillips Square to commemorate the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The event included notable speakers, including former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Consul General of Ukraine in Toronto Oleh Nikolenko, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Galicia Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, and Ukrainian World Congress President Paul Grod.
At the rally, speakers condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s alleged war crimes against the Ukrainian people. Those in attendance also criticized US President Donald Trump’s recent false claims that Ukraine started the war and his labelling of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator.”
In interviews with The Varsity, Ukrainian U of T community members reflected on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its ongoing impact.
U of T professors reflect
Taras Koznarsky is a professor in the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures at U of T. Koznarsky’s family currently resides in Ukraine.
He described his experience teaching a course on Kyiv’s cultural history during the early stages of the war as “surreal.”
Koznarsky noted that hundreds of “exceptionally bright” and “promising” students from Ukraine came to U of T on academic exchange during the first two years of the war.
A month after Russia’s invasion, U of T launched its Scholars-at-Risk fund to support displaced students from Ukraine. Eligible students were also able to access the university’s Emergency Grants program if their financial circumstances were affected by the war.
Koznarsky also discussed the importance of labelling Putin’s actions as genocidal, noting the number of civilian deaths and illegal killings of prisoners of war.
The United Nations Genocide Convention defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”
It outlines five measures that would amount to a genocide, including: killing members of a group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to group members; deliberately inflicting conditions on the group to bring about its physical destruction in whole or partially; imposing measures intended to prevent births in the group; and the forcible transfer of children from the group to another.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Putin over his actions of unlawfully deporting children and unlawfully transferring children from Ukraine to Russia. A year later, the ICC issued arrest warrants for two Russian officials believed to have committed war crimes of directing attacks on civilian objects, causing excessive harm to civilians or damaging civilian objects, and the crime against humanity of “inhumane acts.”
Putin’s reasoning for invading Ukraine was for the world to recognize Ukrainian territory as Russian due to their shared history. Political pundits also argue that Russia aimed to prevent Ukraine from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Lubomyr Luciuk — professor emeritus from the Royal Military College of Canada and Senior Research Fellow of U of T’s Chair of Ukrainian Studies — said, “The world has actually realized that [Putin] has a genocidal agenda. Ukrainians never were, are not now, and never will be Russians.”
Koznarsky also noted that labelling Putin’s actions as “genocidal” is particularly important with Trump’s accusation that Ukraine is the aggressor in this war. He worries that if Russia is successful in the invasion, the rest of Europe will be targeted.
“How much blood has to be spilled?” he remarked.
Regarding Trump claiming Putin will be more “generous” in peace talks than “difficult” Ukraine, Luciuk believes Ukrainians will not accept any deals if Russia is not held accountable.
“The war criminals need to be brought to justice, the children need to be returned, and Ukraine must have the kind of security guarantees it needs so that it will not be invaded again,” he said.
“Imperialism in the twenty-first century”
“This is not a ‘conflict’ or a ‘territorial dispute,’ it’s genocide and imperialism in the [twenty-first] century.”
Alexander Zamer — a fourth-year student studying European and Ukrainian Studies — is the president of U of T’s Ukrainian Students’ Club, which has organized several events amid the ongoing war.
Zamer has noticed a growing interest in Ukrainian culture, history, and politics on campus since the war began. He believes that “support begins with knowledge” and encourages students to educate themselves about Ukrainian history, donate to the Ukrainian military, and actively support the country.
Yuliia Vatsyk is a first-year architecture student originally from Kyiv. She left her home at the beginning of the war.
Vatsyk describes her adjustment to life in Canada as overwhelming, noting that “the hardest part was knowing that while I was safe, my family and friends were still in danger.” She added that “it felt wrong to move forward while my country was suffering.”
She wants people to understand that “this is not a ‘conflict’ or a ‘territorial dispute,’ it’s genocide and imperialism in the [twenty-first] century.”
For Koznarsky, “there is no way that [Ukrainians’] sense of identity, nationhood, and sovereignty could be erased, even if territories are occupied.”
Upon reflecting on the three-year mark of the war, Vatsyk shared, “Ukrainians haven’t given up, and we won’t. This anniversary isn’t just about what we’ve lost, it’s about how strong we’ve become.”
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