The Ukrainian Canadian Congress on May 8 issued the statement below.
Today marks the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day). On May 8, 1945, Nazi Germany surrendered to the Western Allies and the Soviet Union. World War II in Europe, which began with the German-Soviet invasion and occupation of Poland, ended.
Today we unite in solemn commemoration of the millions of victims of the most brutal war ever inflicted upon humanity and in eternal gratitude to those who fell in the service of our country in the struggle for freedom. The memory of the Nazi German death camps and the blood-soaked battlefields of Europe warn us of man’s capacity for evil and instills in us an eternal vigilance against inhumanity.
“More than 1 million Canadians and Newfoundlanders served in the Second World War with more than 45,000 paying the ultimate price. Canadian soldiers participated in all of the major European theaters, including the Italian Campaign, liberations of Holland, Belgium and France, defense of the United Kingdom, army operations and bombing of Germany and the Battle of the Atlantic,” stated Capt. (ret’d) Andre Sochaniwsky CD, President of the Ukrainian War Veterans Association of Canada. “It is estimated that more than 40,000 Ukrainian Canadian served in Canada’s armed forces in World War II, approximately one in 10 Ukrainian Canadians fought for Canada. Today we honor their service and remember their contribution in defense of our freedom.”
On the Western front, the Western Allies liberated Europe from Nazi despotism. With the Allied Forces, freedom and peace returned to western Europe. On the Eastern Front, Stalin’s Soviet Union brought more subjugation, death and oppression to the captive nations of eastern Europe. Liberation and deliverance from tyranny would come to eastern Europe only decades later with the downfall of Communism and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Caught between the genocidal regimes of Hitler and Stalin, the Ukrainian people fought valiantly against both occupiers. We honor their sacrifice and their courage. For four decades after the end of WWII, the Ukrainian people struggled for their freedom, which they finally won in 1991.
Today, that freedom is again under threat. Russia once again wages war and seeks to subjugate Ukraine to Moscow’s tyranny. Ukraine’s brave sons and daughters take up arms and defend their country and their liberty. We are certain that the Ukrainian people will be victorious, for their struggle is just and their cause is righteous.
Lest We Forget. Vichnaya Pamiat.