After three years of full-scale war, Ukrainians call on Canada to help them carry on

Rostyslav Milevskyi, shown in a handout photo, runs the LGBTQ+ organization Gender Zed in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, which is mostly occupied by Russia. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO)

OTTAWA — As Ukraine marks three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion on Monday, people on the ground are calling on Canadians not to give up on their fight for freedom.

Here are three perspectives, from different parts of Ukraine.

Andrew Marych, Lviv

Andrew Marych said living in Ukraine means constant uncertainty about the future — but he has no desire to abandon his home.

“It’s really like a nightmare, because already three years have passed and nothing has changed,” he said. “It’s very emotionally hard to stay in this situation.”

Marych counts himself lucky to live in western Ukraine, where airstrikes and power cuts are far rarer than they are near the Russian border.

Still, at 35 years old, Marych knows he could be drafted to the front line at any time.

“You don’t know what to expect. Maybe someday I will get this call,” he said.

Two of his closest friends were killed in the fighting.

“It’s really a big disaster for me. But right now, I’m trying to focus on some good activities and not read the news,” he said.

Marych is a volunteer with a youth hockey program run by a Winnipeg non-profit called Canadian Friends of Hockey in Ukraine, supported by hockey legend Dave Babych.

The group was founded in 2018 to provide equipment, help launch leagues and instil positive values in young Ukrainians — a mission that took on new urgency after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.

Since before the 2022 invasion, Marych’s job has involved helping companies file paperwork to relocate staff abroad.

His workload has gotten far heavier due to families seeking safer places to live, and he also has helped Ukrainians reach Canada through the emergency visa program.

But he knows from those who have moved abroad how hard it was for them to abandon their families, culture and home.

“I’m in Ukraine,” he said. “This is my home.”

Lana Niland, Kyiv

Lana Niland said that while the war has been draining for Ukrainians, it also has taught an entire society how to persevere.

“Through adversity, there’s opportunity as well. You have to be able and willing to look for it,” said Niland, who grew up in Saskatoon.

Niland was a professional dancer when she moved to Ukraine in 2003 for what was supposed to be a short stint with the Virsky national ensemble.

She ended up building a life in Ukraine after witnessing the mass protests against Russian influence in 2004 that made up the Orange Revolution.

A decade later, Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine saw Moscow capture Crimea, kicking off a grinding war in the country’s east — and triggering a series of reforms to cut down on corruption and unify Ukraine’s patchwork of languages and ethnicities.

Niland said that when Russian troops crossed the border in force in 2022, she felt indignant when friends in Canada suggested she abandon her life in Kyiv.

She instead launched Ukrainian Patriot, a grassroots organization that fills gaps in aid provided by governments and charities. The organization provides everything from first aid kits for combat medics to wood stoves for those on the front lines.

It also provides mental health workshops using dance therapy, yoga and meditation to help civilians and troops process the trauma of living in a war zone.

She said Ukrainians fear U.S. President Donald Trump’s supposed peace process will end up forcing Ukraine to surrender territory while doing nothing to deter another Russian invasion.

“If there is a false end to what is happening here, it will just repeat itself,” she said.

She said Canadians might have a better sense now of how Ukrainians feel following Trump’s repeated talk of absorbing Canada into the United States.

“If you want democracy, if you want independence, if you want sovereignty — these are things you have to fight for,” she said.

But that fight is taking its toll. She said donations to her group have dried up and Ukrainians exhausted by years of war just want to see the thousands of children Russia abducted returned home.

“We’re tired of the same stories, and they don’t change. The skies are still full of rockets or drones or ballistics,” she said.

Rostyslav Milevskyi, Zaporizhzhia

An LGBTQ+ activist, Milevskyi said Russia’s invasion has brought members of Ukraine’s gender and sexual minority communities out of the shadows — particularly those fighting on the battlefield.

“The war has united people, allowing those who once harboured negativity to see, interact with and receive support from individuals they had shunned for years,” said Milevskyi, who runs the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Gender Zed.

The group was founded a decade ago to increase the visibility of LGBTQ+ people in Ukraine, fight disinformation and push for laws that punish hate crimes and recognize civil partnerships.

Gender Zed started with social-media campaigns and public rallies. It stepped up after Russia’s full-scale invasion to provide food, medical resources, stipends and psychological counselling to those in need.

The Trump administration’s abrupt cuts to foreign aid this month have forced Milevskyi’s organization to drastically scale back its operations, though it has gotten help from the We Support LGBTQ Ukraine Fund, a Toronto-based charity.

Gender Z is based in Zaporizhzhia, a region along Ukraine’s southeastern coast. Moscow declared the region to be Russian territory in 2022, a move that few other countries have recognized.

Milevskyi said many people have stayed put, even amid power cuts, “doing everything in their power to reclaim occupied lands.” Many feel betrayed by Trump appearing to side with Russia, he said.

Moscow has officially added the global LGBTQ+ movement to its list of extremist or terrorist organizations — making the prospect of absorption by Russia a terrifying one for Milevskyi and his community.

But he has reasons to hope for a better future.

Local polling suggests the percentage of Ukrainians wanting equality for LGBTQ+ people has gone from half those surveyed before Russia’s full-scale invasion to a majority of respondents.

He said those gains have come under pressure in the past year, with an uptick in hate crimes and a drop in social acceptance. Milevskyi attributes this to Russian propaganda that attempts to convince Ukrainians that LGBTQ+ people and women soldiers are signs of moral decay.

“The enemy cannot accept that our country is firmly on the European path, and seeks to tarnish the image of various groups,” Milevskyi said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2025.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press