‘This is September 1939’: Ukrainian Canadian community urges support for no-fly zone
Posted March 15, 2022 4:08 pm.
Last Updated March 15, 2022 4:45 pm.
As Ukraine’s president implored Canada’s Parliament to imagine bombs dropping on cities like Toronto, burning their homes and killing their children, the organization representing the Ukrainian Canadian community listened with an understanding, it said, that war knows no boundaries.
“This is September 1939. How quickly we escalate to June of 1941 is something that we must all contemplate now,” Alexandra Chyczij, the national president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, told CityNews.
In 20 days of war, NATO and its allies have remained steadfast that, for now, the fight exists only in Ukraine. But Chyczij said she believes there will be spillover, and NATO must recognize its response is not just about helping to defend Ukraine but investing in its own security.
“The Baltic countries and Poland understand only too well that all that stands between them and Russia is Ukraine,” Chyczij said.
In an impassioned speech to a joint session of Parliament on Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged support for his central request: to help his country close its airspace.
“We’ve been friends with you, Justin,” Zelenskyy said in a direct appeal to the prime minister. “But also I would like you to understand, and I would like you to feel this, what we feel every day. We want to live, and we want to be victorious.”
“He’s calling for protection of civilian life in Ukraine. Whether that’s through a no-fly zone or other means is for military strategists to figure out,” stressed Chyczij, adding Canada can provide more arms and air-defence systems to Ukraine to help protect its skies. “We need to protect lives, prevent more deaths in Ukraine.”
Canada has pledged millions in military equipment to Ukraine, including drone surveillance cameras. But Ottawa and its NATO allies have repeatedly rejected pleas from Zelenskyy for a no-fly zone, fearing it would trigger a general war across Europe.
During Zelenskyy’s historic address, Russia, increasingly isolated, retaliated against Canada in kind, placing sanctions against more than 300 Canadians, including Chyczij herself.
Chyczij had a one-word response to being sanctioned: “LOL.”
