Quebec soldiers who fought in Ukraine honoured in Montreal ceremony

Families of two Quebec soldiers killed in Ukraine, along with a surviving comrade, were honoured Saturday in Montreal.

Three Quebec soldiers who fought in the war in Ukraine were honoured Saturday during a ceremony in Montreal.

Two of the soldiers never came home.

Jean-Francois Ratelle, from Joliette, was 38 when he died on the front lines in 2024.

Montrealer Emile-Antoine Roy-Sirois was 31 when he died in July 2022, a few months after the war began.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022, making the conflict now more than four years old.

During the ceremony, their families stood in their place to accept the Ukrainian Canadian Sacrifice Medal, which honours Canadian citizens who have been killed or wounded while serving with Ukraine’s armed forces.

“There’s no words to say how proud I am,” said Roy-Sirois’s mother, Marie-France Sirois.

Denis Perrier survived the conflict. He was 55 when he made the decision to go to war and said he couldn’t ignore the sense of obligation.

“So I saw that war can destroy family and child kill people,” said Perrier, who was injured while he was on the ground. He spent 10 days in hospital.

It’s not clear how many Quebec soldiers are still fighting in Ukraine.

Michael Shwec, president of the Quebec Provincial Council of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, said he was thankful for the volunteers who have put their lives at risk.

“The values of Ukrainians and the values of Quebecers are very, very similar. They value life, they value family, and they are willing to fight for it,” Shwec said.