The Ukrainian Canadian Congress issued the following release on November 11, which is observed as Remembrance Day in Canada.
On November 11, 1918, at 11 a.m., the guns of Europe fell silent, ending World War I. Every year on this day, we gather in our communities to honor the men and women who served our country with courage and valor in defense of our freedom. We pay tribute to those who today serve our country in our Armed Forces.
Today, our nation pauses to remember our brave soldiers, whose selfless service ensured that we may live in peace and freedom. Throughout the decades – on battlefields at Vimy, Hill 70, Juno Beach, the Scheldt, Kapyong, the mountains of Afghanistan and countless places around the world – Canadians have fought with honor defending our way of life from the scourge of tyranny.
“This year we mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the first world war, where over 625,000 Canadians served and 61,000 were killed. Today we reaffirm our eternal commitment to Canadians who have fallen in defense of liberty and the sacred cause of peace,” stated Capt. (ret.) Andre Sochaniwsky, president of the Ukrainian War Veterans Association of Canada.
As we observe two minutes of silence in honor of Canada’s fallen heroes, we recall the debt that we owe to them and shall never be able to repay. It is because of the patriotism, courage and commitment to duty of Canada’s servicemen and servicewomen that today we live free. They have borne upon their shoulders the horrors and cruelty of war and they have earned the everlasting gratitude of our nation.
“We take a moment to honor and acknowledge our Canadian soldiers who today serve overseas in Ukraine, mentoring the Ukrainian Army under Operation UNIFIER; in eastern Europe, leading the Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group in Latvia and air policing in Romania; and now in Mali, providing helicopter airlift on a very dangerous U.N. mission,” stated Capt. Sochaniwsky.
In 2014, war returned to Europe. Russia invaded Ukraine and is today waging a war of aggression in Ukraine’s east. As Ukrainian Canadians, we pay tribute to the soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, who today bravely defend their country’s freedom from a foreign aggressor. We thank the 200 Canadian soldiers training their Ukrainian allies in Operation UNIFIER.
Every day, Ukraine’s finest sons and daughters fight and die so that Ukraine may be free. Their courageous struggle is a reminder to us all that, too often and at great cost, liberty must be defended.
With God’s Help, they will be victorious.
Lest we forget. Вічная пам’ять.