The Ukrainian Students’ Association held a vigil and other events from February 24 to 27 to mark the third anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.

On February 24, 2022, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, striking multiple cities with dozens of missiles. Initially, Russian troops were able to advance quickly to claim large areas of Ukraine, including the suburbs of Kyiv, the nation’s capital. However, they were met with a strong Ukrainian resistance combined with logistical problems of shortages of food, water and ammunition, causing them to retreat. After failing to take Kyiv, Russian troops withdrew completely from the north by October 2022. Ukrainian forces recaptured areas such as the southern city of Kherson by November. Since then, the war has mainly been on the eastern front, with Russian forces slowly expanding the area they control. 

To show the USask community’s continued support of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Students’ Association (USUSA) held an awareness week, Unbreakable Ukraine: A Week of Strength and Resilience, to mark the third anniversary. 

On February 24 a vigil was held in St. Thomas More College Chapel to commemorate this anniversary. The vigil consisted of prayers, testimonies and a Memorial Litia. Everyone present at the vigil was invited to light a candle during the singing of Vichnaya Pamyat, meaning Memory Eternal in Ukrainian. Dozens of students, staff, community organizations such as the Ukrainian Museum of Canada and news outlets such as CTV, CBC and Global News attended the vigil. 

Nikita Sereda, a first-year psychology student, is the First Year Representative for the USUSA. Sereda fled Ukraine in March of 2024. Having lived in Kharkiv, Ukraine since July 2019 with his aunts and uncles, Sereda was in his third year of studies at the Kharkiv Theological Seminary to become a priest. He gave a testimony of his time in Ukraine at the vigil. 

In his testimony, he recalled the day before the invasion when his class visited an old church where members of the clergy were killed during the times of Soviet Oppression.

In an interview with The Sheaf, Sereda, describes the day of the invasion. “On February 24, I woke up at 5 a.m. to the sounds of tanks and bombing two blocks away from where I was living. At that point, I would say that I felt frightened and shocked since I have never experienced anything like war before, due to the fact that I was born in Canada.” 

“That is when I knew that my life changed as they told me the worst news I would hear: Russia has invaded Ukraine. War has begun, and I was two blocks away from where it was happening,” he said.

He spoke of his harrowing journey back to Canada, where his parents were anxiously awaiting his safe return. He said, “There was one evening in the Dormitory, that I thought my life would end, as I remember being in the room alone laying in bed, and at that same moment, I heard a fighter jet fly by.” 

In the days that followed Sereda endured a 13-hour train journey from Kharkiv to Lviv, Ukraine, and then another 25-hour train ride to the Polish border. The trains were filled to capacity with people having to take turns sitting and standing. On March 20, 2024, he boarded a plane from Warsaw, Poland to Toronto, and later to Winnipeg, where he was reunited with his family.

“[His mother] Jolanta Sereda, who grew up in the former Soviet Union knows how Ukraine was affected by oppression during the Second World War, but to have the similar destruction in the 21^st century, she feels saddened by it, and with me being back in Canada almost three years later, I too am saddened and worry for my family and friends that have to live through this nightmare every day,” Sereda said.

In his interview with The Sheaf, he reflected on the vigil, saying, “There [was] a mix of emotions felt by those in attendance. For myself, I felt a deep sense of gratitude, even though my emotions were high, due to the fact that I can’t believe that it has already been three years.”

Following the vigil, many students signed postcards to express their thoughts for those on the frontlines in Ukraine.

 On Tuesday, February 25, the second event of the awareness week was held outside of the Murray Library at the Lesya Ukrainka monument. Ukrainka, a Ukrainian writer born on February 25, 1871, wrote poems and plays expressing her belief in Ukraine’s freedom and independence. 

Sereda said, “Among the Ukrainian Student Community, she is thought to be a hero and beacon of hope in times of affliction.” 

The next day, Dr. Nadya Foty-Oneschuk gave a lecture at STM College on how USask became the birthplace of Ukrainian Studies in Canada. 

The awareness week was concluded with a Long John donut sale on February 27. The donuts were from Nestor’s bakery, a Ukrainian-owned bakery in Saskatoon, and all proceeds went to the Ukrainian Canadian Students’ Union initiative. 

Sereda encourages the university and students to “continue to support Ukrainian-Student initiatives, and to not forget that this war is still going on.” 

He says that Ukrainian Canadians are resisting the invasion, “By continuing to spread awareness and social activism, the Diaspora is actively combatting Russian disinformation campaigns present within social media and common culture alike.”

Sereda ended his testimony by saying, “As we gather to commemorate this solemn day in our life, let us remember those who are on the frontlines defending our Sovereign Nation, those who work with Humanitarian Aid, the front-line workers who try to save the lives of innocent Civilians, those who are imprisoned and also for those who lost their lives.”

The following is the full testimony that Nikita Sereda gave at the vigil on February 24.

On the Third Year of War in Ukraine

As I stood in front of her monument here at the University of Saskatchewan, these words spoke to me, and it made me remember the duration of my time that I spent in Ukraine up to the War, and how it impacted my life even now.

Today (the 24^th of February) may seem as a regular day for some people. But for us, it is a day when life changed dramatically. Three years ago on this day, Russia began their full-scale invasion on our beloved Ukraine.

When I was still young, I would remember during the summer months going to Ukraine to see family. As I approached the end of my Grade 12 year, the desire to move to Ukraine to study grew immensely, and after my graduation in 2019, that dream was fulfilled. In the middle of July, I went onboard the plane, where I would be met in Kyiv by my aunt and uncle, to take me to Kharkiv. There, I would enrol as a student in the Kharkiv Theological Seminary, where I would study to be a priest for the next 3 ½ years.

During this time, I lived a normal life, which consisted of: studying, attending classes, living with family, attending church (where I sang in the choir and served in the altar), going to the village to chop wood for the winter, and travelling to many spiritual sites that were close to my heart (one being Svyatohirsk Lavra in the Donetsk Oblast).

In my first year living in Ukraine, I fell into a depression, due to the fact that I was away from home, and didn’t know what to do. It was at this time that our Vice-Rector advised me to go to Svyatohirsk Lavra, where I would meet a monk (+Archimandrite Seraphim) who told me that it is meant to be a blessing from God that I am in Ukraine. After this discussion, I had high hopes that nothing would happen to me, and that I shouldn’t worry too much about anything. With that, I would say that I took life for granted. Even as I stand here amongst you, I often think of it as one that was filled with happy occasions, due to the fact that I (being born in Canada) wanted to go back to my Ukrainian roots, where I was befriended by many people, and even my classmates who all made an impact on my life, in some way.

In 2022, I was in my third year of classes, and as the weeks in February would fly by, there were some warnings that an imminent invasion would happen, but when talking to my classmates about it, they told me not to worry too much about the ongoing situation, and that something like an invasion wouldn’t happen. I remember the 23^rd of February (a day before the war started). I woke up at my usual time (5:30am), in time to go on the metro from Saltivka (the suburb where I was living) to attend classes. Instead of one afternoon class, our professor decided to take us on an excursion to an old church, where a few of our clergy were killed during the times of Soviet Oppression. Afterwards, my friends decided to spend time together until evening. Then, I went home to get ready for the next day of classes, and went to bed.

In the early hours of the 24^th of February (5:00am), I was awakened by odd sounds and to the windows in my room rumbling. Not knowing what it was, I went back to sleep. A half hour later, I was awakened by the same sounds not knowing what it was. At 6:00am, I woke up still hearing these odd sounds, and at first, I thought they were firecrackers going off or maybe a car’s engine had exploded. I even remember, telling my friends back in Canada about these odd noises I was hearing. That is when I knew that my life changed, as they told me the worst news I would hear. Russia has invaded Ukraine. War has begun, and I was two blocks away from where it was happening.

At 7:00am, I decided to call my Aunt Nina (who was living in the Village two hours away from Kharkiv), to tell her what was happening. She told me to get whatever I need for a few days and to go to the Seminary Dormitory, where I would at least be not alone and safe.  That is what I did, and there, I would share a room with my two close friends (Boris Prokopenko and Ivan Neher) until my dad (due to road blockages) would be able to take me to the Village, where my Aunt was living.

That same evening and next day (the 25^th), I decided to go to the Holy Annunciation Cathedral (not far from the Seminary), where we attended services, and where I often sang in the Choir. I unceasingly prayed that God would keep me safe, and that I would be able to go back home to Canada where my mom was waiting for me, and there was one evening in the Dormitory, that I thought my life would end, as I remember being in the room alone laying in bed, and at that same moment, I heard a fighter jet fly by. I immediately stood out of my bed frozen thinking what to do, and what just happened a moment ago. Luckily, nothing happened to me.

It wasn’t until the end of February or start of March that my dad was able to take me to the Village, where I spent about two or three weeks with family until the day I was able to go to Poland. On March 17^th, my dad and I made the decision, that we would go on the train from Kharkiv to the Polish Border. It was a 12-13 hour train ride from Kharkiv to L’viv. We made it to L’viv at 12:00am the next day, and waited six hours in line to board the train to Poland. The train was at full capacity with people taking turns standing and sitting and overall, it was a 25 hour journey from one end of the country to Poland.   

On the 20^th of March, I boarded a plane to Toronto from Warsaw, and the next day to Winnipeg where my Mom, Godmother, and Family Friend were waiting for me at the airport. That same evening on the 21^st, there was a reunion at one of the restaurants in Yorkton that a few people had organized for my arrival back home. Even thinking about this journey and when I was still in Toronto checking out of the hotel to go to the airport, the thoughts of “is this a dream?” or “what did I just go through” were racing in my head. How did I manage to flee war to come back home? 

One person I should be talking about is my Mom, that felt relief after she saw me for the first time at the Winnipeg Airport. In her words, during the time I was going through in Ukraine, she felt sort-of powerless, because there was so much she could do for me while I was there (other than to give emotional support over the phone). Jolanta Sereda (my Mom) who grew up in the former Soviet Union knows how Ukraine was affected by oppression during the Second World War, but to have the similar destruction in the 21^st century, she feels saddened by it, and with me being back in Canada almost three years later, I too am saddened and worry for my family and friends that have to live through this nightmare every day. 

Three years later, my emotions are high, just thinking of all that I had experienced.  Even to this day, my life has been difficult, and there are times that I don’t know what to do anymore. There isn’t a day that goes by that I hear the sounds of war and cries of innocent people that are suffering in my head. Who knew that I would wake up to the sounds of tanks, and bombing in the distance, later finding out that Russia had started their full-scale invasion?

Three years later, I also think of the resilience that the Ukrainian people have in defending their Homeland. Oxford Dictionary defines the term resilience, as the capacity to withstand or to recover from difficulties. This war has not only transpired over the past 3 years, but the past 11 years. We, as a Ukrainian community here in the Diaspora need to remember this as our fight for freedom also. Throughout the years, Ukrainians were victimized. Denial of language and faith, sexual violence, and starvation—these are the tools of oppression and erasure of our rich culture, and way of life. We once again suffer erasure of our culture and national identity, along with the fact that we live in an environment of suppression and fear. All resistance is met with force, and Putin (along with the Russian Federation) is attempting to erase Ukraine off the map once more. 

History has taught us that Putin’s aspirations are folly, due to the fact that we Ukrainians are resilient people who over the years have lived through barbarism and violence. We as Ukrainians will never lose our sense of self-identity, and Ukraine will endure and overcome the trials of War, so that our beloved Homeland will prosper once more, and as we gather to commemorate this solemn day in our life, let us remember those who are on the frontlines defending our Sovereign Nation, those who work with Humanitarian Aide, the front-line workers who try to save the lives of innocent Civilians, those who are imprisoned, and also for those who lost their lives.