Large crowds gathered in downtown Vancouver on Saturday for the latest in a string of rallies in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, as Russia’s invasion nears the country’s capital city of Kyiv.
Demonstrators, many dressed in blue and yellow or bearing the flag of Ukraine, gathered in the north plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Organizer Pavlo Ponikarovskyi told Global News he was expecting between 2,000 and 4,000 people to show up.
Ponikarovskyi, who was raised in Ukraine, said he was still in shock to see images of his hometown of Kyiv under assault.
“They’re bombing the city where I grew up in,” he said.
“For the last eight years it was just living next to the constant threat of war, but we were always just hoping they were not crazy enough to do a full on invasion.”
Russian troops closing in Kyiv on day 2 of invasion of Ukraine
On Thursday, hundreds of people gathered in the same location to oppose the war and show solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
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A curfew in Kyiv was extended Saturday, following a night of airstrikes and intense fighting. Russian forces have yet to capture the capital.
As of Saturday, at least 198 Ukrainians, including three children, had been killed in the Russian invasion and 1,115 people were wounded, according to Ukraine’s Health Ministry.
On Friday, B.C. Premier John Horgan condemned the invasion, as the province announced $1 million in support for Ukraine through the Red Cross.
The province also announced it would cease the import and sale of Russian products at BC Liquor Stores following calls from the opposition BC Liberals.
– with files from Global News’ Saba Aziz
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