Calgary Ukrainian community to meet with Zelenskyy during G7

Calgary Herald

a day ago

Members of Calgary's Ukrainian community will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the tail end of the war leader's G7 appearance in southern Alberta, the local leader of the movement said Friday.
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Ten people from across Canada, including the local group, will have an audience with Zelenskyy for up to an hour in an undisclosed location in Calgary on Tuesday, said Roman Yosyfiv, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress's Calgary branch.
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Exactly when and where the meeting will take place hasn't been disclosed for obvious security reasons, he said.
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When local Ukrainians heard earlier this year that Prime Minister Mark Carney had invited Zelenskyy to the G7 to be held June 15-17 at Kananaskis, the congress contacted the Ukrainian embassy in Ottawa to request the meeting, said Yosyfiv. That meeting was confirmed three weeks ago, he said.
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They will make their time with Zelenskyy a show of support and a reminder of how much their community has striven to push Canada to back the Ukrainian war effort through lobbying that's included numerous public rallies in Calgary, he said.
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Alberta has also welcomed many Ukrainians who've fled the war in their homeland. Last year, the provincial government said that number stood at more than 70,000 since the full-scale Russian invasion in February, 2022 with 33,000 of those settling in Calgary.
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'We'll tell him Canada supports him and Calgarians are doing a lot of rallies and making donations,' said Yosyfiv.
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'We'll ask him what else we can do.'
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They also hope to screen a photo presentation of their community's activities for the Ukrainian president, who's become a symbol of resistance and perseverance during the conflict, he said.
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Zelenskyy will be presented with gifts that include pysanka, or intricately decorated Easter eggs crafted by a Calgary woman, a book chronicling Ukrainian pioneers in Alberta and artwork, said Yosyfiv.
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Not all Ukrainians in Calgary are enamoured with Zelenskyy's conduct of the war, some questioning his strategic and tactical decisions and military appointments in a conflict that sees the country hard-pressed against a larger Russian foe.