‘President Zelenskyy is what courage looks like in these times,’ says NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.
Ukrainians in Metro Vancouver are rallying this weekend to voice their disgust over the treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by President Donald Trump during a visit to the Oval Office Friday.
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Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump and vice-president JD Vance ended abruptly after Trump and Vance shouted at and berated Zelenskyy for not being grateful enough to the U.S. for its help in the illegal Russian invasion of the sovereign country.
Members of the local Ukrainian community were horrified, calling it “disgraceful,” and planned to protest the meeting as well as the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine at several rallies over the weekend, including Royal City Centre in New Westminster at noon Saturday and then Coquitlam City Hall at 1 p.m. Sunday and Canada Place in Vancouver at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Sabrina Rani Furminger, a Vancouver podcaster and Ukrainian activist, said she was “absolutely gobsmacked” watching U.S. leaders tear down Zelenskyy.
“I was angry. I was shattered. It was clearly a planned ambush. Trump and Vance were dishing out audacious lies and mocking Zelenskyy, and it was all about destroying the world order,” she said, adding that it has been very emotional.
“And you can see Putin’s influence in everything. America has been a champion of freedom and independence, which is what Ukrainians are fighting for right now. But here they are belittling this man who is not interested in power. He’s not interested in ego. He just wants to to get Ukraine back to being independent.”
Tamara Nowakowsky, a third-generation Ukrainian resident of North Vancouver, said there have been many moments during Russia’s three-year-long invasion that stick with her.
“Like when the full scale invasion started. Just the dread. I can recall that feeling … that we never thought this would happen in what we consider to be a civilized world,” she said.
“But yesterday was yet another of those very specific moments. It was utterly astounding for us. To have a democratically elected leader of a free and peaceful nation. He was so indescribably disrespected. And it was a setup. It was like a trap. And I don’t see how people couldn’t see that with their own eyes.”
Irina Gunko, who moved to B.C. from Ukraine in 2019, said she was “absolutely shocked” by Trump’s behaviour.
“That wasn’t diplomacy, it was pure bullying directed at an already exhausted and wounded Ukraine. The level of victim-blaming and outright lies was appalling,” she said.
“Ukraine never wanted this war — we didn’t start it. We just want Russia to leave us alone. But how can we stop a war that we didn’t initiate?”
All three women said they were very impressed with how Zelenskyy handled the situation with dignity.
The U.S. and Ukraine were expected to sign a critical minerals deal Friday as part of efforts to end Ukraine’s war with Russia, but after Zelenskyy asked for security guarantees from the U.S., Trump began to shout at the Ukrainian president, and berate him by saying he didn’t have any cards at the table.
Alexandra Chyczij, national president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, called the attack by Trump and Vance “shameful,” adding it was one of “the most disgraceful things” they have ever witnessed from a U.S. administration.
“To berate the leader of a country fighting for its life against Russia’s genocidal war is an act of perfidy and dishonesty that is a stain on the United States,” said Chyczij.
“To say that Ukraine is not ready for peace is simply a lie. It is Russia that does not want peace. It is Russia that started the war.”
The congress is calling on the American people to remain on the side of justice and truth, both of which Chyczij said were abandoned by Trump and Vance.
Zelenskyy left the White House and a planned news conference with Trump was cancelled. The bizarre display prompted European leaders and Canadian politicians to line up in support of Ukraine online.
In a statement on social media, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada “will continue to stand with Ukraine and Ukrainians in achieving a just and lasting peace.”
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said Zelenskyy “is what courage looks like” in these times. “This is what it is to resist Donald Trump. He has no place as part of the next G7 meeting in Canada.”
The meeting at the White House was meant to produce a bilateral agreement that would establish a joint investment fund for reconstructing Ukraine, a deal that was seen as a potential step toward bringing an end to the war and tying the two countries’ economies together for years to come.
But as Zelenskyy and his team departed the White House at Trump’s request, the deal went unsigned, and Ukraine’s hopes for securing U.S. security backing seemed farther away than ever.
With files from The Canadian Press