In 2016, there were an estimated 1,359,655 persons of Ukrainian origin residing in Canada, mainly in the West, with the majority of them being Canadian-born citizens.
Today that population is pushing well beyond 1.5 million.
This makes them Canada’s 11th largest ethnic group, giving Canada the world’s third-largest Ukrainian population behind Ukraine itself and Russia.
Naturally, it will not be the best of Christmases.
Russia launched a new barrage of missiles at Ukraine on Friday as air defence systems went into operation across the country.
Oleksiy Kuleba, the governor of the Kyiv region, said Russia was “massively attacking” the country.
At least three people were killed and nine power-generating facilities were damaged in the strikes — leaving more than half the country with compromised power as the cold of winter truly sets in.
No electricity, no gas, no running water, no heating is now the reality for upwards of 12 million across the country.
Ukraine’s air defences took out 60 out of 76 of Friday’s incoming missiles fired at critical infrastructure, including 37 out of 40 missiles fired at the capital Kyiv, Ukraine’s top general told Euronews.
Considering this is already the ninth wave of missile strikes on energy facilities, the restoration of the power supply may take longer than before as emergency power shutdowns have been introduced across the country to enable repairs.
In Kryvyi Rih, a residential building was hit, leading to fears that people could be trapped in the rubble.
“The stairwell was destroyed. Two people were killed,” regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Facebook.
“At least five were wounded, including two children,” he added. “All are in hospital.”
A third person died in the southern Kherson region after an apartment block was hit by Russian shelling that caused a fire, regional authorities said.
The West’s response was to hit Russia oligarchs with more sanctions.
The Kremlin said on Friday it would study the latest package of European Union sanctions against Russia and then formulate its response.
The measures target a further 200 Russian individuals and entities, freezing assets and imposing travel bans. These include government ministers, lawmakers, regional governors, political parties and entities including the armed forces.
A total of 1,241 individuals and 118 entities have already been blacklisted by the EU following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
The ninth sanctions package also targeted the Russian defence industry, more Russian banks, and the mining sectors, as well as export controls on products that could be used by the armed forces.
The war in Ukraine — the largest in Europe since the Second World War — has posed significant challenges for the bloc.
European defence spending topped €200 billion for the first time in 2021, rising 6% from the previous year.
The EU’s defence agency has warned that member states should buy arms jointly to replenish stocks after supplying Ukraine.
“The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine demonstrates our capability shortfalls,” said Jiri Sedivy, chief executive of the European Defence Agency.
According to a 2020 report by the European Parliament, the EU would struggle to defend itself without intelligence, reconnaissance aircraft and medium-range missile defences from the United States.
Meanwhile, former Ukrainian ambassador to Canada Andriy Shevchenko and former Canadian ambassador to Ukraine Roman Waschuk warned on the CBC of the potential for a major Russian ground offensive in the new year and question whether Ukraine is receiving enough support as its power grid continues to come under attack.
As for Russian president Vladimir Putin, he is carrying on as usual, and is heading to Belarus on Monday basically just to say hello.
