“I am completely in favor of a no-fly zone. I think we should’ve done it long ago”: Retired General Rick Hillier
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Hundreds of demonstrators marched through Toronto’s downtown core Sunday to focus attention on the plight of Ukraine as Russian bombs and missiles continued to pummel the eastern European country.
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The march was led by a giant tractor sporting the sign, “The Anti-Tank Tractor Brigade.”
The sign and tractor are symbolic of recent images that have emerged of Ukrainian farmers using their tractors to tow and claim abandoned Russian tanks during the five-week-old invasion.
“We really are just begging the world to really make a difference. This is the time. We’ve got to do it. The Russian troops are on the run,” said Peter Schturyn, president of the Toronto branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, which organized Sunday’s march.
“We are going to be coming out until this is over.”
Carrying a sign, a woman named Renate — who came to Canada from Ukraine in 1951 with her parents as refugees — called for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be punished for war crimes.
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“Both of my parents were born in Ukraine. My father in Kharkiv, my mother in Odessa,” Renate said.
“I’m totally, totally disgusted by what’s going on, and I think Putin should be punished to the full extent of the law.”
Retired Canadian General Rick Hillier, who addressed the crowd, said Russia escalated the conflict to the “top level” when the country’s military invaded Ukraine.
“This is going to drag on for a while. Canada is going to have to be there with Ukraine, with our Western allies, for a long period of time yet,” Hillier added.
As the flood of horrific images of slain civilians continues from cities and towns ravaged by Russian aggression, Hillier insisted the West should step up with more help.
“I am completely in favor of a no-fly zone. I think we should’ve done it long ago. I think we can start it incrementally by putting a no-fly zone over the humanitarian routes in the western part of Ukraine,” he said.
“We can do this. I think it’s our moral obligation in fact to do it. And I’ve been calling for it since day one.”
Schturyn, meanwhile, noted that grim accounts emanating from Ukraine include allegations of the rape and torture of civilians.
“Unfortunately, we knew this was going to happen,” he said. “We knew there would be horrific stories coming out, but it’s still shocking to see it.”