Since the large-scale invasion, the Ukrainian diaspora across the globe has made a tremendous contribution to the struggle for Ukraine’s support. The actions of Ukrainians abroad became part of the total resistance of the entire Ukrainian nation in the war with Russia.
The activities of our diaspora are effective and must continue, because without the activity of Ukrainians abroad, it will be much harder to maintain the support of our partners.
Russia’s war against Ukraine is not a military conflict in Eastern Europe, it is a full-fledged challenge to the entire civilized world. It is a declaration of war on democratic values, humanity, the truth and the light.
The level of support that Ukraine has today is the systematic work of every Ukrainian at his or her level.
The struggle of all Ukrainian soldiers, from the Armed Forces to all law enforcement officers who defend the country with weapons in their hands, made this support possible. Thanks to doctors, rescuers, volunteers, businesses. Thanks to the enormous work of our diplomacy, from the President and the Minister to the staff of the Language Consulate in Canada. And, of course, thanks to every member of our diaspora who has not left the streets of the world’s largest cities since the beginning of the great war.
On February 27, more than 20,000 Ukrainians gathered in Toronto to protest under the slogan #StandWithUkraine. It was the largest gathering of Ukrainians in Canadian history.
The diaspora demanded that the Canadian government close the skies over Ukraine and disconnect Russia from the SWIFT international payment system.
Canadians took to the streets of Toronto with Ukrainians. In particular, thanks to the influence of the diaspora and work on consolidating the Canadian society that our Ukrainians abroad carried out, the Trudeau government has become one of our strongest partners.
The situation is similar with the United States, Great Britain and other major European countries.
A separate case is the pressure on Germany. On February 27, one of the largest rallies in support of Ukraine took place in Berlin. 500,000 people rallied against Russian aggression and expressed their position regarding the war.
Much of the organizational work was carried out by representatives of the diaspora, who continued public pressure on the German authorities.
In late March, Ukrainian activists blocked the passage of trucks carrying goods from the EU to Russia on the Polish-Belarusian border.
The blockade lasted several days, during which time the queue of trucks stretched for 55 kilometers. As a result, it escalated into new sanctions – the EU ordered trucks from Russia and Belarus to leave the Union by April 16.
But the activities of the diaspora are not limited to public pressure.
Russia is active against Ukraine in Western countries’ information space. Its key task is to discredit Ukraine and to deprive it of international support. This is happening on completely different levels: from bots on social networks and groups or publics run by Russian special services to politicians who, like some publics, are controlled by Russian special services. There are different target audiences on different platforms: somewhere they reach out to political elites, and somewhere else they target the common people of a country.
If the Russians manage, for example, to influence the US population and change their attitude towards Ukraine, this may be reflected in sociological research. And when certain politicians see a threat to their prospects, they can switch the direction.
It is already now that the Russian special services have launched a special operation to stop financial support for Ukraine by the US government. Something along the lines of, ‘we spend too much money, and we remember Afghanistan.’
The fact is that Ukraine has already proved that we have a completely different case. Our army has shown that we are not just ready, but are already effectively resisting one of the world’s most powerful armies.
And there is another factor: our goal is to continue to explain that this is not just a war that seems far from the United States or other European countries. At one time, the Anschluss of Austria was also very far away…
Therefore, this is a war of true allies against the world’s evil. Our contribution is the lives of our people, our sacrifices, and our struggle.
If the killer is not stopped and punished, his appetite will only increase. It all starts with the growth of powerful information operations of the enemy aimed at Western countries.
So, the call to the diaspora is simple: continue to fight, resist the Russian propaganda, fight for the minds of the people who live with you in the same house, on the same street, fight for the people you work with or take the children to the same kindergarten, keep making yourselves known on the streets.
The struggle continues, and without your help, we will not succeed.
In order to understand how Russian intelligence services work, look at the excellent materials created by the fellow service members in the Armed Forces who created the Center for National Resistance. The resource is aimed at supporting the occupied territories, but some information materials will be useful to you.
Please understand that war is not just about weapons and warriors. War is a united front, it is total resistance. And as we continue our struggle, we will win.
In unity is our strength. Based on The Ukrainian Pravda online of May 28, 2022
