‘A little bit of hope’: Canada’s Ukrainian community reacts to latest peace talks

Mariana Sirko came to Canada in the spring of 2024. She’d been living in Kyiv for the past decade, but the Russian attacks on her home eventually forced her to flee, leaving behind friends and family.

“The war is going deeper and deeper, and it’s becoming harder and harder to live in Ukraine,” says Sirko.

A year later, Sirko is thankful for the welcoming community in her new country as she navigates the typical challenges faced by newcomers. But even as she builds her life in Calgary, her heart is never far from home.

“Even though I’m here in Canada right now, I’m still with Ukraine with all my thoughts and feelings.”

Like the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who have come to Canada since the war began, Sirko is watching closely as world leaders try to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. The latest attempt comes from U.S. President Donald Trump, who says he is working to arrange a direct meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump met with both presidents this week to discuss the ongoing war. Should Zelenskyy and Putin meet, it would mark the first in-person encounter between the two leaders since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.

“Absolutely cautious optimism,” says Petro Schturym, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress’s Toronto Branch, about the potential meeting. “Russia has not stood by any of the international agreements they’ve made with Ukraine and their European partners so of course we’re cautious, but at the same time we realize the only way this ends is through some negotiated settlement.”

In a video shot outside the White House, Zelenskyy praised his meeting with Trump on Monday and appears ready for the long-anticipated meeting. However, Russia for now is non-committal, having unleashed another round of attacks against Ukraine Tuesday night, targeting residential areas. The move leaving unanswered questions within Canada’s Ukrainian community.

“Many people think it’s really hard to trust both Putin and Trump right now,” says Anna Tselukhina, a member of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress based in Calgary. “(Putin) broke so many ceasefire agreements over the last 10 years, and Trump, he changes his mind every day.”

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Tselukhina moved to Calgary from a small town in the Luhansk region in 2022 after it was occupied by Russian troops. She lost her mother in the early attacks, and says she doesn’t know where she is buried, but says Ukraine is still her home, and she wants the country to stay in one piece.

“It’s really painful because this is my hometown, the place where I used to live,” says Tselukhina. “I want it to be Ukraine.”

Pressure is building for Ukraine to redraw some of its borders to help make a deal, but for many Ukrainians, including Tselukhina, that’s just another item on a growing list of losses.

But despite the continued attacks, and an at times seemingly unreachable deal, there is still hope that with Canadian and European support, the two sides might come to an agreement.

“Despite all the unpredictable conditions and all the pressure Ukraine has during these meetings, we still have some good steps for everyone,” says Sirko. “I would hope during this meeting different talks about returning prisoners of war or kidnapped children will also take place.”

— with files from Global News’ Amandalina Letterio