Parliament Hill rally marks 2 years since Russian invasion of Ukraine

Before she participated in Saturday's rally on Parliament Hill to mark two years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Yuliia Siemak said she was planning to scroll through her phone's camera roll — and remember the intense feelings the pictures evoked. 

Siemak, 24, is one of nearly six million estimated Ukrainians who were displaced outside their country after Russia launched a new military invasion in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

After a months-long journey that took her first to Turkey and then to Montreal and Quebec City, with only a carry-on suitcase and tote bag to her name, Siemak settled in Ottawa. She works for a non-profit that links other Ukrainian women with jobs. 

One photo — taken three days into the invasion — shows Siemak's "brave but terrified cat" in a library basement during a series of air raids in her region, she said. Siemak's family ultimately fled their home city of Mykolaiv two weeks later.

"[I remember] feelings of being scared when they tell you that it started and what the next action is or how to get ready," she said. 

"I [also] think about how happy I am [now], [and] my family as well, considering."

Ottawa a 'comforting' political hub

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine says more than 10,500 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and nearly 20,000 injured in the conflict.

"We hoped of course that it would end sooner than having to mark a two-year anniversary of this," said Cassian Soltykevych, a member of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, which organized Saturday's 3 p.m. rally on Wellington Street. 

The event remembered the dead and honoured the "resilience" of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to a news release. Canadians from coast to coast were invited and embassy representatives from Denmark, Poland and Germany were expected to be there.

The crowd started by singing Canada's national anthem before switching to the anthem for Ukraine. 

Siemak brought her country's blue and yellow flag, unfolding it from her purse as she approached the hill.

She said that along with Ottawa's diverse community and "exquisite various cuisines," she has come to enjoy the city as a hub for political gatherings — especially with her immediate family scattered elsewhere.

Her brother is in Alberta while her mother and father are in Turkey and Germany, respectively. 

"I will be with my people, which is very exciting," Siemak said of Saturday. "I like being on Parliament Hill with [other] Ukrainians, surrounded with all the flags, taking pictures of the way Ottawa [and] Canada support us.

"Having people who understand my situation, it's really comforting."