Why a sister city relationship in Ukraine is being discussed in Kelowna

For Denys Storozhuk, each day is a crucial moment for the world.

“We need to act now,” he told Kelowna10, seated in a boardroom surrounded by boxes of papers. “It’s the most crucial point of the twenty-first century, so far. And we need to act now. We need to forget about our previous life, otherwise we will regret later that we did not do anything in this moment.”

Storozhuk is a co-founder of Kelowna Stands with Ukraine. The local group has been instrumental in rallying support in Kelowna, while funding targeted frontline efforts overseas to support the army and territorial defence forces.

His latest endeavour is to establish a sister city relationship between Kelowna and Rivne in northwestern Ukraine.

The city, like every other, has fallen victim to shelling from Russian forces. Several members of the Kelowna Stands with Ukraine non-profit have ties to the city. Rivne’s mayor saw the overwhelming support from Canada and connected with the group.

Creating a sister city relationship will make it easier to channel financial and other support directly to administrators in Ukraine.

“People of Kelowna will know where their help is going to and they will get feedback,” he said. “We will raise much more money when locals feel the connection with specific people in the city.”

Beyond material support, the mayor of Rivne has told Storozhuk the moral support from people is “priceless.”

To further bolster this, a human chain will take place Sunday at the pedestrian overpass over Harvey Avenue at 2 p.m. He said the images will help keep spirits high in Ukraine.

Beyond this, the group has raised about $150,000 to help shuttle everything from tactical gear to medicine to Ukraine. Its biggest purchase so far has been 53 pieces of body armour and 19 ballistic helmets. One volunteer has already been sent abroad to support war efforts, and two more are being trained in the coming days.

The group is avoiding classic humanitarian efforts for simple reasons: there is a war to win.

“There is a war going on. For it to be short and for us to win, they need our help right now with specific materials for soldiers,” he said. “If we don’t supply it … and Ukraine loses the war, then the aid might be useless.”

Storozhuk and his colleagues are also playing a crucial role in helping Ukrainian organizations buy frontline tools, like body armour and helmets, from Canada as Europe is sold out. Kelowna Stands with Ukraine is also now working to help house refugees that are expected to start flooding into Canada shortly.