Hundreds of people turned out in Aberdeen and Inverness to mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with a candlelight vigil.
Among the crowd, outside the St Nicholas Centre, were a number of Ukrainians who fled their homeland when Russian military entered their country.
Meanwhile, residents in the north and adopted Highlanders gathered in Queen’s Park in Inverness in another show of solidarity.
Olena Meleshkina was in Ukraine when the invasion started and 30 minutes after being evacuated from her home in the country’s capital Kyiv, Russian tanks were on her street.
She lived with her family in the city, including with her young daughter, who was with her at the vigil in Aberdeen.
After a couple of months in western Ukraine, where they shared a one-room apartment with 10 others, she and her daughter moved to Scotland.
‘We just want it to stop, we want peace and quiet’
Speaking to The Press And Journal, Mrs Meleshkina said: “Since the war started, it’s a non-stop nightmare, Russia’s nightmare. Ukrainian people, they’re suffering every day. It doesn’t matter where we are in Ukraine, or somewhere abroad, still we are suffering.”
“From our husbands, from our brothers, from our fathers and from our friends, we are grateful to all those people who are helping us, like the whole world. We just want it to stop, we want peace and quiet, and we want to come back and enjoy life like everybody else.”
At the vigil, Mrs Meleshkina was holding a photo of her uncle, a 60-year-old who was a victim of the war after dying following a heart attack and stroke.
A military veteran, he served the Soviet Union during the Afghanistan war in the 1980s and volunteered in this conflict by driving Ukrainian soldiers back and forward to the frontline.
Although he did not have to go to war, he told his niece, who described him as her “hero”, his reasons for volunteering, telling her: “I know how to fight, I want to defend you, I want to defend my daughters.”
Maryna Yehorova, a business owner of two shops for 28 years in Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv, which is near the border with Russia, was forced to flee the country and arrived in Scotland at the end of April last year.
She still has family in the country, including her son, daughter-in-law, father and aunt, and describing what they are facing in the war-torn nation.
She said: “Every day there’s a lot of shots, bombs, a lot of buildings ruined. A lot of people have died in Kharkiv, a lot of children have died. When people sleep, they don’t know if they will see a new day or die.”
Anastasiia Snell, who has lived in Scotland for the past 15 years, was at the vigil with her mum, Nataliia Korzun, who managed to flee to the UK almost a year ago.
Mrs Snell’s dad and brother remain in Ukraine and she said the event made her “very emotional” due to the amount of children that had been displaced from their homes.
Discussing the support from people in Aberdeen and across the world, she said: “I think it gives hope and a sense of unity. It actually makes us feel stronger and feels more protected, and that democracy actually means something.
“Just because it happens in Ukraine doesn’t mean it can’t happen anywhere else. This is worldwide support for people and it is amazing that Scotland opened up their hearts.
‘They really want to go home but they can’t until it’s safe’
“I think sometimes we maybe take things for granted and it could be a wake up call that everybody deserves a life and everybody deserves to live and be happy, and these people here, they really want to go home but they can’t until it’s safe.”
Holding a picture of her neighbour who died in the conflict, at the age of 32 last summer, was Valeriia Semchuk, who has half of her family still in Ukraine, including her mother-in-law and aunt and uncle.
She fled to Scotland from Kyiv in March last year and hopes her homeland can return back to some sort of normality “very soon”, adding:
“I love Scotland and we appreciate all the Scottish people for your support and for your help, but all of us dream about home. Just one place and one dream is to join our family and be at home.”
After the vigil, crowds embarked on a journey to Marischal College, where the flag of Aberdeen had been replaced by Ukraine’s blue and yellow standard.
Since the war started, more than 1,000 Ukrainians have settled in the Granite City.
Inverness holds event to mark anniversary
In Inverness, a candlelit vigil took place that was organised by Highlands for Ukraine.
A large number of people turned out to Queen’s Park at Inverness Leisure Centre to show their support for the country.
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