Ukrainian Canadians, Ukrainian newcomers and supporters of Ukraine held ceremonies last week across Canada to commemorate the 91st anniversary of Holodomor and remember the millions of Ukrainians who died from starvation in the early 1930s under a Soviet regime.
They also marked 1,000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman MP James Bezan spoke at a Holodomor memorial in Ottawa last week to mark the Soviet-orchestrated famine in Ukraine where an estimated 3.5 to 10 million people died from starvation.
Bezan told the Express it’s important that people commemorate Holodomor, which means death by hunger, and continue to advocate for Ukraine as the Russian invasion entered its 1,000th day on Nov. 19. There are survivors of Holodomor and families of survivors in Winnipeg and elsewhere in Canada, and the commemoration includes a statement that the victims shall never be forgotten.
“If we want to ensure we do not repeat the atrocities of the past, then we need to commemorate these solemn events. Holodomor is one of five genocides that are officially recognised by Canada. Joseph Stalin in 1932-1933 tried to eliminate not only Ukraine, but also Ukraine’s national identity, culture, language and religion,” said Bezan. “And we must make sure that’s never repeated, that food is never again used as a weapon and that these types of pogroms are listed as war crimes. Those who commit genocidal crimes against humanity must be held to account.”
Canada officially recognized Holodomor as a genocide after Bezan brought a private member’s bill forward about 16 years ago.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014 (Crimea) and in 2022 were other attempts to “eliminate Ukraine’s sovereignty, identity and culture,” he added.
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics formed in 1922. Ten years later, in 1932 and 1933, millions of Ukrainians and other ethnic groups were systematically starved to death under Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who introduced a series of five-year plans to transform the Soviet Union. The plans included collectivizing agriculture in which rural Ukrainians were divested of their land and livestock and forced to join large state-run collective farms.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 included attacks on food, with the destruction of farmland, grain storage silos, farm equipment and food warehouses, all of which undermined food security and nutrition in Ukraine and affected farmers’ income.
Bezan said the fight is currently “not going well” in Ukraine. The country is under constant bombardment by Russia, which lately brought in an estimated 11,000 to 12,000 North Korean troops to help wage war against Ukrainians.
“We’re continuing to see indiscriminate attacks and bombings using drones, missiles, rockets and artillery shells from Russia against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. We see people being killed at daycares and schools and hospitals and seniors’ centres. These are war crimes and atrocities that must be prosecuted,” he said. “It’s important to continue to support Ukraine and ensure they can hold strong until there’s peace.”
A thousand days after its full-scale invasion, Russia launched a missile strike on Dnipro in eastern Ukraine, hitting a centre for people with disabilities and an industrial site. The strike last week came after Ukraine received permission to fire US- and UK-made missiles into Russia to target a weapons depot and a military command post.
“Ukraine had been asking for this [permission to use missiles] for months,” said Bezan. “And they’ve asked Canada to assist in adding pressure on NATO allies who’ve put restrictions on the use of missiles.”
Russia’s retaliation against Ukraine for using US and UK missiles came with a veiled threat – through the updating of Russia’s nuclear doctrine allowing the Russian Federation to use nuclear weapons in response to conventional weapons being used against it – that Vladimir Putin could escalate his attack against Ukraine or NATO counties using nuclear weapons.
The Russian missiles used against Dnipro were said to be experimental, nuclear-capable missiles with a range far enough to reach Europe. Later last week, unidentified drones were seen flying over three air force bases that the US uses in eastern England.
“Canada is aware of Putin’s escalation,” said Bezan in response to the missile attack on Dnipro. “It’s not Ukraine that’s escalating: they’re defending themselves. It’s the Russian Federation that continues to escalate and make all sorts of threats. … I believe Ukraine has to continue to take the necessary steps to bring an end to this war – and that means they have to defeat Russia on their terms, not on Russia’s terms, not on anyone else’s terms. It has to be that way when we get to the negotiating table. This has to be settled in the best interests of Ukraine and the people of Ukraine, not in the best interests of Vladimir Putin.”
In terms of a potential threat to Canada from Russian long-range missiles, Bezan said we’re not protected because Canada is not part of NORAD’s Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) program even though Canada is a member of NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence Command). Past Canadian governments failed to take advantage of opportunities to join BMD.
“We as Conservatives have long advocated for Canada to join Ballistic Missile Defence under NORAD with the United States. Currently, we’re not part of that. Although the US has capabilities to defend against ballistic missiles, they aren’t necessarily responsible for defending Canada. We’ve advocated over the last decade, as things continue to get more dangerous in this world, that peace dividends from the end of the Cold War have all but dissipated,” said Bezan.
“We now have more adversaries than just Russia: we have what we call the CRINKs, which is China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, which are all active in conflicts we’re seeing in the world today, whether it’s in Ukraine with North Korean soldiers alongside Russia’s troops or Iranian drones being used by Russia or China providing technology to Russia. It’s important that Canada does more to defend ourselves. We need air defence systems to protect Canadian cities, our country and our citizens.”
In addition to attacks on Ukraine, some NATO countries are experiencing what is called hybrid warfare, or irregular methods of war that include cyber attacks, sabotage, targeted murders, electoral intervention, the use of misinformation and disinformation campaigns – and even the weaponizing of asylum seekers by directing them to NATO country borders.
“[Telecommunications] cables were severed [last week] under the Baltic Sea impacting the Baltic countries. This is the second time an undersea cable has been severed. Who’s responsible? There’s been plausible deniability. That’s what Russia is counting on,” said Bezan. “We know there have been cyber attacks launched against energy infrastructure, against medical infrastructure and other [facilities]. That includes attacks here in Canada. It continues to escalate from Russia and Beijing. There’s also misinformation and disinformation warfare that’s running rampant and I get to witness it every day on my social media.”
Last week the federal Liberal government marked the 1,000 days since Russia invaded Ukraine and reiterated its commitment to continue to support Ukraine as it defends its people, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“Russia’s invasion is nothing more than a land and resource grab, an attempt to redraw internationally recognized borders by force,” said foreign affairs minister Melanie Joly in a Nov. 19 statement. “Instead of protecting Ukrainians, Russia has for a thousand days inflicted death and injury upon countless Ukrainians, torn apart families, illegally deported Ukrainian children, destroyed homes and devastated communities. Russia has committed grave human rights abuses, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and despicable acts of sexual violence against innocent people.”
