Canada-Ukraine Foundation calls on feds to match donations as war hits four-year mark

Pro-Ukrainian demonstrators take part in a rally on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. Tuesday marks four years since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

OTTAWA — The Canada-Ukraine Foundation has asked Ottawa to match donations to support humanitarian work in the country as the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches.

Executive director Valeriy Kostyuk said while his organization has collected more than $100 million for Ukraine, demand for food and water, medical equipment and power generators continues to grow.

The foundation is asking the federal government to match all private donations it receives in 2026.

“If Ukraine stops fighting back, Ukraine will cease to exist,” Kostyuk said. “The bottom line is Russia can make that decision to stop the war.”

More than a million people have been killed and millions more displaced in the Russia-Ukraine war since Moscow launched its unprovoked attack on Feb. 24, 2022.

Kostyuk said Ukraine’s recovery needs to begin before the war ends and if Canadians support that goal, the federal government should as well.

Ottawa has delivered billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine since the war began, including $6.5 billion in military assistance.

Despite that, analysts say Canada and its peers are still dragging their heels on supporting Ukraine’s defence.

“It’s still too slow and we are not meeting the need to help Ukraine win this war,” said Wendy Gilmour, who oversaw industry collaboration for the Department of National Defence during Russia’s initial invasion in 2014 and, nine months after the full-scale invasion, served as NATO assistant secretary-general overseeing defence investment.

“What we need to learn from Ukraine is how to adapt under pressure.”

Canada joined European allies in Paris last month to sign an agreement on future security guarantees for Ukraine. The agreement states that Ukraine’s allies will secure the country’s land, air and marine borders if it is presented with a viable ceasefire deal.

Last week saw the third round of U.S.-brokered negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Central to the negotiations is the future of Russian control of Ukrainian territory; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his country will not surrender territory for peace.

“What we have all witnessed is an ethnocide — a deliberate attempt at extermination on a scale unlike any we have seen in the West since World War Two,” Kostyuk said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2026.

— With files from Nick Murray and Dylan Robertson

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press