Dyakaju! Thank you!
It is my honor and privilege to speak to you on behalf of the Vancouver Estonian Community and Estonians worldwide in Vancouver today, in this great nation of Canada, where we have the freedom to safely gather and rally with our Ukrainian friends and family.
All of us here: Canadians, Ukrainians, friends of Ukrainians, new Canadian immigrants, no matter what your nationality, we have joined together because we care about basic human rights, dignity, peace, love, and every nation’s right for self-determination and sovereignty. Principles that the terrorist state of Russia violates every day as it continues its ultimate goal of wiping out the Ukrainian nation, people, identity and language, as it has tried to do, not since 2022 or 2014, but for over close to 400 years.
We are here to let the world know about the horrors that are unfolding at this very moment –
in the centre of 21st century Europe,
in Ukraine, the largest country in Europe,
in the Russian occupied city of Oleshky,
which due to total Russian blockages of food, medicare, relentless bombing and flooding has become a living hell for the over 2,000 residents remaining there.
We are here to show the world our unequivocal support for the people and city of Oleshky.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, warned recently at the UN general assembly of a “humanitarian catastrophe” and called for an immediate evacuation, accusing Russia of standing as “the only obstacle”.
I quote from today’s Oct 3rd Radio Free Europe’s Ukrainian Service:
“One beetroot, five potatoes, an onion, a zucchini, a tomato, and a little barley: “We're preparing our last borshch,” a resident of Oleshky wrote.
“We eat once a day,” another message read. “We'll die this autumn for sure. I'm dying already, weakening with each day.”
Oleshky now lies largely in ruins and is ringed by land mines, trapping residents in a war zone that is cut off from the outside world. Menaced by “endless drones, fires,” the town feels “like a horror movie,” one local wrote.
Little to no food, drinking water, medicine, or electricity, facing a “total blockade” and Russian drones, the situation in Oleshky is no longer just “critical,” said Ukrainian volunteer Iryna-Ester Vratareva “It is hell. In the best-case scenario, a person can eat a clear soup and a few spoons of some kind of porridge in a day, if they have any left.”
Food supplies are expected to run out in October. “They have been left completely without food, without medicine, without access to medical assistance, without fire engines, and, of course, without money “”
(I am glad to say that for financial support, the Estonian Refugee Council has opened registration for residents of Oleshky. to receive cash humanitarian assistance.)
“With their “homes destroyed, property wiped out, documents lost, and little chance of escape many are facing another horror – they're starving.”
The head of the Oleshky military administration, Tetyana Hasanenko, said that “there have even been documented cases of people eating dogs,” and also the reverse: “I have a photo showing dogs eating the body of a deceased person.””
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, warned recently at the UN general assembly of a “humanitarian catastrophe” and called for an immediate evacuation, accusing Russia of standing as “the only obstacle”. “Russia is deliberately making life there impossible. They are starving them to death.”
We must continue to raise our voices, we cannot remain silent! Do not let the awful history of the Holodomor, the great forced famine of Ukraine by Russia in 1932 where millions died – repeat itself.
Unbelievably, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, acknowledged the “critical situation” in Oleshky but accused Ukrainian forces of blocking humanitarian supplies intended for its residents.
Kaja Kallas, the former Estonian Prime Minister, a tireless supporter of Ukraine and now the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said “the humanitarian disaster in Russian-occupied Oleshky demonstrates why Ukraine continues to fight and does not want to surrender its territories to Russia.”
“It also clearly shows what happens to the people on the occupied territories. When somebody says, ‘why don't they just give up the territories', it sounds so easy, right? But it's actually about people that will suffer on these territories.”
“We are trying to get humanitarian aid in, we are trying to help Ukraine to defend itself and its people so that this kind of thing won't happen.
But I think this is also a reminder to all of us: it is not about the land, it is about the people.”
She pointed out that the EU is preparing “the largest listing of sanctions” against 1,576 individuals and entities involved in Russia’s military-industrial complex.
Kallas also stressed that on 28 September, EU defence ministers discussed transferring Patriot interceptor missiles from EU member states' stocks to Ukraine.
What can we do?
We must continue to raise our voices, we cannot remain silent! Do not let the awful history of the Holodomor, the great forced famine of Ukraine by Russia in 1932 where millions died – repeat itself.
Those who have committed and are committing crimes against humanity must be condemned and punished.
Be on the right side of history:
Support Ukraine, Support Oleshky,
Support Peace over War,
Good over Evil, Love over Hate.
Only together we will win.
I close by saying in Estonian “Elagu Ukraina, Elagu Oleshky” which means “Long live Ukraine, Long live Oleshky”
“Slava Ukraini”
