University of Saskatchewan students rally for Ukraine

Ukrainian students at the University of Saskatchewan are hoping their voices are heard a world away, with many worrying about their friends and families still living in Ukraine who face a brutal winter ahead.

Oksana Dudko moved to Saskatoon two years ago to finish her doctoral fellowship in Ukrainian Studies.

For Dudko, standing in the snow for a rally supporting those in Ukraine hits home.

“We don’t know Russia’s next step so we will have to survive this winter without gas and electricity,” Dudko told CTV News.

She’s from the western city of Lviv which hasn’t been a main target in the last eight months of the war, but her husband’s elderly parents who live there are now without power.

“That’s because of Russian missile rocket strikes on the city’s infrastructure, so it’s really brutal,” she says.

Her family members are older and don’t want to leave which makes it even more concerning.

“I’m worrying a lot of course, but I still believe in Ukraine’s victory,” she said.

And that victory is also important for organizers of the rally, The Ukrainian Students Association (USUSA).

“The second that people stop hearing about what’s going on is when we lose because we don’t have anyone to support it,” Marta Krueger, Co president, USUSA told CTV News.

Having this Saskatoon support for her homeland goes a long way for Dudko.

“The Ukrainian population is strong, but international support and support for instance from students from U of S is incredibly important.”

The Ukrainian students association is also encouraging people to donate to causes in support of Ukrainians fighting on the front lines as well as those that support children who are victims of the war.

Click here to donate.