A three-person delegation from Chortkiv, Ukraine, will arrive in Whitehorse on Oct. 10 for a seven-day visit organized by the Ukrainian Canadian Association of the Yukon (UCAY).
The delegation includes Volodymyr Shmatko, mayor of Chortkiv, a city in Ternopil Oblast, western Ukraine; Dr. Serhii Budenkyvych, chair of Chortkiv’s medical branch; and Marta Hlubish, chair of Chortkiv’s department of International Relations, Innovations, and Energy Management.
While in the territory, the delegates will work to establish relationships of mutual economic and cultural benefit with First Nations, businesses and governments, the association said in a statement.
Shmatko said in the statement that the team is very excited to meet supporters behind UCAY’s #YukonToUkraine missions, which have delivered relief supplies, and thank them personally for their work.
“It was like a light in the sky for us to receive the first assistance and friendship of the people of the Yukon,” Shmatko said. “It is an incredible boost to understand that the support of Canadians reaches the far Northwest of Canada, and we cannot wait to see and experience the beauty of the fabled territory of Yukon firsthand.”
During the visit, Shmatko, Hlubish and Budenkevych will meet with Premier Ranj Pillai, Member of Parliament Brendan Hanley, Whitehorse Mayor Laura Cabott, along with Kwanlin Dün First Nation Chief Sean Smith, Ta’an Kwäch’än Council Chief Amanda Leas, Carcross/Tagish First Nation Haa Shaa Du Hen Maria Benoit as well as local businesses and community organizations.
Since Feb. 24, 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine started, UCAY has travelled to Ukraine twice to deliver supplies to victims of the war.
UCAY president Jeff Sloychuk, who led the trips to Ukraine, said the delegation will be available to meet the press and community well-wishers upon their arrival at the Whitehorse Erik Neilsen International Airport at 3:55 p.m. A press conference will take place at the airport at 4 p.m.
Sloychuk said Yukoners may also meet the delegation on Oct. 12 at the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre during an event to showcase Ukrainian art, food and hospitality to raise funds for further delivery of medicines and supplies to Ukraine.
Tickets to attend the event are sold for $25 and are available at North End Gallery on Front Street.
Per the statement, other events planned include a trip out on the land with the Carcross/Tagish First Nation (CTFN) on their traditional territory, featuring a welcoming prayer, a tour of a small part of CTFN territory and meetings hosted by Haa Shaa du Hen Maria Benoit and the community.
Sloychuk expressed excitement about the coming exchange with the Ukrainian delegation and his group’s commitment to send the delegation back with more humanitarian aid from Yukon.
“This is the first visit of what is hopefully many from Chortkiv to the Yukon,” he said. “We can’t wait to return the generous hospitality that they have shown us in Ukraine and help to give them inspiration and hope for a future of freedom and autonomy without war.”
UCAY said it is collecting additional goods to send to Ukraine with the delegation, including used laptops, tablets, cell phones, winter boots with removable linings, thermal clothing/underlayers and hand/foot warmers. Other needed items include bandages and dressings of all kinds (especially hemostatic and silver-infused), rolled and compressed gauze, over-the-counter cold, flu, anti-nausea, and pain medicines, multivitamins, thermal scopes, and binoculars.
The group said these may be dropped at North End Gallery during regular business hours until Oct. 14.
Contact Patrick Egwu at patrick.egwu@yukon-news.com