One year since Russian invasion of Ukraine: Rally in Northern Ireland to remind world that situation has not improved

Kateryna Zaichyk, on behalf of the Ukrainians in Northern Ireland group, has organised a rally in Belfast on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the invasion and to remind people that the situation in Ukraine has not improved despite the media spotlight fading.

She said the demonstration is also to thank the people of Northern Ireland for the support they have given both to people in Ukraine and those who have sought refuge in the Province.

Kateryna said: “When the war started I couldn’t just sit and watch the news, I need to do something – organise, help, hold meetings and rallies. If there was no war I wouldn’t be doing this.

“All my family is in Ukraine, my husband’s family is in Ukraine. They all want to stay in Ukraine.

“From the first day I said, ‘come to us’. My grandparents are 75 years old, all their lives they live in Ukraine, it’s their home, they don’t want to go. My mum can’t leave them.

"I speak to them every day. My father is in Kyiv, my mum with my grandparents are in a different city in the central part, we have family members in Dnipro which is very close. The last half year they maybe have six hours a day where they don’t have electric. Sometimes we can’t connect to each other.

“Still the war is going on, nothing has ended, rockets are still going, they have sirens in the cities and towns a couple of times every day, at night as well.

“As Ukrainians, it’s not just about myself and my family, it’s about everyone. We have a couple of days quiet, then 100 people die or 40 people die, more civilians die than soldiers.

"I still can’t believe people can do this – we need to build our world better, this is about destroying life."

She said: "I remember in the summertime local people asking me, ‘is it better now?’ because there’s not much news about Ukraine. I didn’t know how to answer. Nothing is better, it’s just the same... and worse.

"It's maybe because the world is tired, we’re tired as well, but we can’t just close our eyes.”

Talking about the Ukrainian refuges who have come here she said: “I think at the moment there may be 2,000 have come to Northern Ireland, I don’t know the exact numbers.

"There is a Ukrainian community here already, there are people in Northern Ireland who want to help.

“They feel very welcome in Northern Ireland, they are so grateful. You have this feeling when you go into a country it is so stressful.

“Everyone is very thankful to Northern Ireland and the local people who try to help however they can. I see this and see how Northern Ireland is very far away from Ukraine but people here are very understanding, very helpful.”

Kateryna has been in Northern Ireland for nine years with her husband, living in the Lurgan area. They have two children.

Of the rally on Saturday she said: “The main message is that we are thankful for the support, another message is that the war has not stopped and it’s still a horrible time in Ukraine.

“It is to stop the world from forgetting, it’s not much on the news. The world is tired, the world forgets, as soon as the people in Ukraine see there is still support, it makes them feel more powerful inside.”

The rally will assemble at Botanic Gardens at 1pm before proceeding to Belfast City Hall.

Last March the News Letter spoke to Alina Orzel, a Ukrainian woman living in Belfast whose family members were living underground in Kyiv amid intense shelling of the city.

Speaking again this week she said her sister Oksana and niece Anna have since moved to Poland to live with her mum and was pleased to say that nothing of note had happened to them.

In terms of the integration of Ukrainians into Northern Ireland society, in Co Down, one lady told how families recently received a warm welcome.

Tour guide Brigid Watson from Sustainable Journeys Ireland invited Ukrainian families to learn about the ancient cultural traditions associated with St Brigid earlier this month in the Saint Patrick Centre in Downpatrick.

Brigid said: “The event that I organised was an opportunity for them to forget about the trauma and also to feel welcome in our community and feel a sense of connection with our heritage.”