Ukrainians in N.L. in disbelief over Trump's comments that their country provoked Russian invasion
Trump called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a 'dictator' who stole money from U.S. to wage war on Russia
Two Ukrainians living in Newfoundland and Labrador say U.S. President Donald Trump's comments about their country are dangerous, harmful and show a lack of understanding.
Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Trump falsely claimed that Ukraine is to blame for Russia's invasion of their country.
"You should have ended it. You should have never started it," Trump said, referring to Ukraine.
"I could have made a deal for Ukraine that would have given them almost all of the land, everything. Almost all of the land, and no people would have been killed, not one city would have been demolished, and not one dome would have been knocked down. But they chose not to do it that way."
On Wednesday, Trump also called Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator" who took money from the United States to wage war against Russia.
Yuliia Veretennyk, who moved to Chapel Cove from Ukraine three years ago, said she couldn't believe the comment.
"I thought it [was a] mistranslation. I was, like, I was devastated. My mother came to me this morning and she was crying, she didn't hear news yesterday … [she said] he told that we started the war, how is that even possible?" Veretennyk told CBC Radio's On The Go on Wednesday.
"Ukraine is being bombarded, like, every night. So many of us, we start our day by checking if our family is still alive.…They are trying to make [Vladimir Putin] good and us bad."
Zelenskyy responded by saying Trump is living in a Russian-made "disinformation space."
Veretennyk said she fears Trump's comments will make his voter base believe the message. She says she's already seen propaganda spread on social media following the comments — although she does believe some of the comments were made by bot accounts.
"If people here will start [to] believe that we actually provoked the war, I don't know. I don't know what will happen to this world," she said.
Mariya Lesiv, a folklore professor at Memorial University from Ukraine, said she fears what Trump's actions could mean for the people of her country.
"What we are witnessing now is massive injustice that has much larger implications. It's not just about Ukraine and Russia, it's also what kind of a message does President Trump [want] to convey to the entire world? International treaties and agreements no longer work, so what can we rely on? What kind of world order can we expect in the future? So this is terrifying," Lesiv said.
"I catch myself in disbelief every day, and think about justice and hope for it."
Lesiv took exception to comments Trump made around a potential future election in Ukraine. Trump falsely told the media that Zelenskyy had a four per cent approval rating, when in actuality his approval rating is around 57 per cent.
She fears Trump is trying to undermine Zelenskyy's legitimacy as president as part of his connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"There is a lot of that kind of increasing anxiety and fear about the future," she said.
2,600 Ukrainians in N.L. face temporary visa expiry
Meanwhile, other Ukrainians living in Newfoundland and Labrador face uncertainty at home on top of abroad.
About 4,300 Ukrainians have arrived in Newfoundland and Labrador since the province established an overseas desk to encourage immigration, but many face their temporary visas expiring at the end of March.
Immigration Minister Sarah Stoodley said roughly 1,700 of those Ukrainians have been nominated for economic immigration, but that leaves around 2,600 people with expiring visas.
"They have very limited options if the federal government does not extend that visa," Stoodley told CBC News this week.
"We thought that the federal government would extend the visas … and we still hope that they do that. There's still time, so please federal government, extend those visas."
Stoodley says anyone who is unsure of the status of their visa should contact her department.
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With files from On The Go
