Association of United Ukrainian Canadians
Achieving peace is going to require Ukraine and Russia to talk
Thursday, March 16, 2023
As National President of the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians, I have spoken many times on what Canada’s response to the war should be. The most recent instance was to St. Catharines City Council regarding a motion equating support for Ukraine with military support.
The motion and discussion that ensued reinforced what underscores the motivation for the conflict and why the prospect of peace is so difficult.
The motivation is Cold War ideology. It exists both in Ukraine and in Western countries, who now pump weapons into the country. It also exists among a section of the Ukrainian diaspora, who see the war as the means to settle accounts with Ukraine’s history within the Soviet Union.
That is why the notion of resolving this conflict has become synonymous with pursuing war and pouring in weapons. Disinformation, coupled with denial of the facts underlying this war, are the means to justify why Ukraine is at war with Russia. Thus, Canada and NATO must not relent in supporting Ukraine to some “ultimate” conclusion. This is why Canadians are told that peace will come through the defeat of Russia — our enemy from the Cold War.
This is very dangerous. The incontestable facts are that this war has steadily escalated since a possible peace agreement in April 2022 was scuttled. With escalation has come the danger of direct confrontation between NATO and Russia. A conflict between NATO and Russia involves the U.S., and it potentially involves nuclear weapons. We have already seen in this conflict that nuclear facilities are not taboo as a target. They have been repeatedly shelled.
As the war has escalated, so have the stakes. Russia has warned that it views NATO’s pushing of weapons into Ukraine as a direct threat to its existence.
We (Canada) can either see ending this war as a “fight to the finish” — whatever that means — or we can join with the majority of world’s nations who are working to de-escalate the conflict, secure a ceasefire and bring Russia and Ukraine to peace negotiations. The latter is the only sane response.
And what of the people of Ukraine? Leaders speak in their name when calling for more weapons. The people of Ukraine want peace. Zelenskyy was elected to bring peace to Ukraine by ending the civil war. He was stopped from doing this by the ultranationalists and the non-capitulation movement. We should not forget — while all regions of Ukraine have been impacted by this war — it is the people of the Donbas who have lived through most of this fighting and an eight-year civil war with the central government that began in 2014.
Achieving peace is going to require Ukraine and Russia to talk. Both have kept their word on prisoner exchanges and restoring grain shipments; they can trust each other for further agreements, too. Countries that have remained neutral in the conflict will be important to the negotiations.
Achieving peace is going to require Ukraine and Russia to talk. Both have kept their word on prisoner exchanges and restoring grain shipments; they can trust each other for further agreements, too. Countries that have remained neutral in the conflict will be important to the negotiations.
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Glenn Michalchuk AUUC National President
Speaks to the St. Catharines City Council
St. Catharines city council urges federal government to continue supporting Ukraine ‘militarily’ until end of war
Feb 27, 2023
On February 27, 2023 AUUC National President Glenn Michalchuk told council peace and diplomacy have been “distinctly lacking” in the
Canadian government’s response to the war.
“Canada must emphasize the need to bring peace to Ukraine and act accordingly. The strategy of more weapons to support more war has been a failure,” he said.
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No to War, No to NATO:
North American perspectives on Ukraine, Russia, and NATO!
No to War, No to NATO!
Feb 23, 2023
On February 23, 2023 AUUC National President Glenn Michalchuk was a panelist on a webinar entitled:
“No to War, No to NATO: North American perspectives on Ukraine, Russia and NATO” hosted by World Beyond War (Canada)
For the last year, the war in Ukraine has been reflected daily in mainstream news, but remains an issue
clouded by confusion. While events of the last year are front page news, there is little talk about
the many years of NATO provocations, aggression and military buildup against Russia. More and more
each day, NATO countries including Canada, the US, and England are fueling the war, funneling even more
weapons into Ukraine. The Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network hosted a webinar featuring speakers from
Canada, the US, and Ukraine.
Join the conversation with:
Glenn Michalchuk: President of the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians and Chair of Peace Alliance Winnipeg.
Read Glenn's full presentationMargaret Kimberly: Executive Editor of Black Agenda Report and author of the book Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents. In addition to being a Coordinating Committee member of Black Alliance for Peace, she is an Administrative Committee member of the United National Antiwar Coalition, and the Board of Directors of the U.S. Peace Memorial Foundation. She is also a board member of Consortium News and the editorial board of the International Manifesto Group.
Kevin MacKay: Kevin is a professor at Mohawk College in Hamilton. He researches, writes, and teaches on the subjects of civilization collapse, political transformation, and global systemic risk. In 2017 he published Radical Transformation: Oligarchy, Collapse, and the Crisis of Civilization with Between the Lines Books. He is currently working on a book entitled A New Ecological Politics, with Oregon State University Press. Kevin also serves as Vice President of the Mohawk faculty union, OPSEU Local 240.
Co-moderated by Janine Solanki and Brendan Stone Janine is a Vancouver-based activist and organizer with Mobilization Against War & Occupation (MAWO), a member group of the Canada-Wide Peace & Justice Network. Brendan is the co-chair of the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War, and the co-host of the Unusual Sources radio program. As digital manager for the Taylor Report radio program, Brendan has been distributing interviews warning about the danger of NATO's role in Ukraine since 2014, and has written on the subject. Brendan is involved with the series of anti-war events happening in February and March, and you can find out more at hcsw.ca
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Russo-Ukrainian Crisis
2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian Crisis
2021-2022 Russo-Ukrainian Crisis
Association of United Ukrainian Canadians Statement on the Situation in Ukraine
Released by our National Office on February 26, 2022
The Association of United Ukrainian Canadians, representing Ukrainian-Canadians of many generations with ties to family and friends in Ukraine, is deeply concerned about the crisis in Ukraine.
We call upon the international community to bring about a comprehensive ceasefire between the Governments of Ukraine and Russia. A ceasefire is the immediate necessity to end the bloodshed, destruction, displacement and fear that has been put upon the people of Ukraine.
War is the basest form of political contention. It is a breakdown of the fraternal unity of peoples. The AUUC calls for the international community to pressure Russia to accept Ukraine's call for a ceasefire and negotiations to restore peace and stability to Ukraine, to Europe and the world.
It is the common good and will of humanity that can end this conflict.
Peace for Ukraine!
Peace for Europe!
Peace for the World!
National Media Contacts:
Glenn Michalchuk 204-479-7026
National Vice-President
Robert Seychuk 613-791-5983
National President
.