Calgarians protest cultural destruction in Ukraine

Calgarians rally for Ukraine on Feb. 11, 2024. (CTV News Calgary)

Members of the Calgary’s Ukrainian community took to the streets Sunday afternoon to remind the city of the cultural destruction Ukraine has faced since Russia invaded almost two years ago.

About 30 members of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress lined Memorial Drive at Edmonton Trail northeast in front of the Holodomor monument.

They say since Russia began its war, nearly 900 cultural monuments, 2,000 objects of cultural significance and 4,000 schools have been destroyed.

They believe Russia is trying to wipe out Ukrainian culture in addition to the country.

"We want to plead to the Canadian government at least to help protect Ukrainian culture, because it seems that Russia continuously and continuously tries to destroy not only the sovereignty of the Ukrainian state but also destroy Ukrainian culture as it is," said Anna Tselukhina with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. "This is why we are here, just to pay attention to this and draw attention to this.”

The group is calling on Canada to bolster its support for Ukraine, both by financially supporting the country’s military, and taking a stronger stance at the United Nations.