Montrealers rally behind Ukraine with music, volunteering

Ukraine’s national anthem echoed through the street outside Montreal’s Russian Consulate on Saturday as Montrealers once again rallied behind the Ukrainian community.

A chorus was led by Ukrainian-Canadian pianist Serhiy Salov, in a small gesture to his homeland from afar.

“[Music] is a tiny little sparkle in this humongous ocean of atrocities,” he said.

Demonstrators were targeting the aggression of Russian president Vladimir Putin, with some calling on the West for further intervention in Ukraine.

But for Salov, it’s more philosophical.

“We desperately need this section of Rue de Musee renamed into Rue de Ukraine or something of that sort, it will be a powerful statement from Montreal and it is going to be an act of solidarity to all the civilised world,” he said.

As some took to the streets to condemn Russia and call on the international community to do more, others took a homemade approach to helping Ukrainians in need.

At the Ukrainian Catholic Parish Of The Assumption Of Blessed Virgin Mary, an assembly line formed as thousands pierogies and cabbage rolls were prepared to raise money for Ukraine.

“We have a bunch of people coming in, doing the sorting and packing of clothes and of course the food, they are absolutely fantastic,” said volunteer Nina Kostyk.

She says the parish has been inundated with donations and those ready to open their own doors to people fleeing Ukraine.

“I have to tell you, you could cry when people come in and [say] ‘I gotta do something,’” she said. “It’s heart warming, it really is.”

Parish president Myroslaw Balycky says the outreach has been “unbelievable.”

“It’s not just from the Ukrainian community, it’s from the community at large. French, Italian, Greek, Jewish, Polish, everybody.”