March 7, 2022
THE VARSITY
Cedric Jiang Associate News Editor
Content warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of war. Oleksiy Sorokin remembers the night when he knew the war was becoming real. He was at work until 3:00 am that day, which had become normal for him as his paper’s politics editor in the middle of a weeks-long military build-up at the Ukrainian-Russian border. Although conflicts and shelling in eastern Ukraine had been happening for days, Sorokin still smelled change when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the nation after his final plea for peace went unanswered by Russia. Sorokin didn’t sleep that night — too busy reading the news and waiting — until he saw a video of Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking. Before Putin even mentioned the word, Sorokin knew it was war. He called all his relatives and friends to let them know:
The University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880
start packing, prepare for the worst. Hours later, the sounds of bombing and shooting shattered the silence of the early morning as Russian troops attacked military facilities in the Kyiv region. “It became so real, so fast, that the whole night, we just remember packing and gathering family, looking for a bomb shelter and expecting the worst,” said Sorokin. His family moved to his grandmother’s house, whose large basement they used as a bomb shelter. One night, he recalled, they had to move down to the shelter three times, while sirens went off repeatedly. A lot of residents stay in the subway stations to shelter. For others living in eastern cities like Kharkiv, where air raids are even more frequent, Sorokin said, some spend their nights running for their lives between apartments and shelters. Now, Sorokin said, as Russian military convoys approach and encircle the city, Kyiv is preparing for combat: placing antitank barricades, deploying territorial defence units, and organizing
civilian militias with guns to patrol the streets. “You can feel war on every corner,” said Sorokin. “Those who remain in the city… are ready for the worst.” After graduating from U of T in 2018, Sorokin became a journalist in Ukraine, first with The Kyiv Post and then with The Kyiv Independent. Last Tuesday, U of T President Meric Gertler condemned Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine, calling for diplomatic efforts to end the war and restore peace, security, and democracy. Gertler stressed U of T’s responsibility to foster an understanding of complex issues, bring about unity by way of dialogue, and “advance the human condition” around the world through education. “In the face of this shocking human suffering, our thoughts turn to the many University of Toronto students, faculty, librarians, staff, alumni and friends who have personal connections to Ukraine and the wider region, and to all members of our community who have been impacted by these recent events – including
Vol. CXLII, No. 20
members of our Russian community who oppose the war and seek a peaceful resolution,” reads Gertler’s statement. U of T’s connection to Ukraine is not only characterized by its many Ukrainian students and the numerous researchers it hosts who study the region — it was also the hosting institution for the Ukraine Reform Conference in 2019. Delegates and leaders from over 30 countries — including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Deputy Prime Minister and then-Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland — attended the conference. A U of T spokesperson confirmed that there are no U of T students currently in Russia or Ukraine on university activity, but they do not have information on students who may be studying remotely from either country. More than 100 Ukrainian citizens are currently enrolled at U of T and several dozen alumni are living in Ukraine.
continu
ed on
page
2.