Still no plans to take down flags of Ukraine
Ukraine flags will continue to fly over some municipal buildings in the Okanagan, two years after the country was invaded by Russia.
Following the start of the war on Feb. 25, 2022, local governments in this region began raising Ukraine flags to show their support for the besieged country.
Two years later – and with the war still raging – most of those flags are still rippling in the breeze with no plans to remove them.
Oliver council renewed its support for Ukraine at its meeting Monday, by ordering staff to replace the weathered Ukraine flag that had been flying at the Oliver Visitors’ Centre since it was donated by a community member in March 2022.
Town staff sought direction from council not only on the replacement, but also on the duration for which the Ukraine flag should remain in place.
Council subsequently voted unanimously without comment to keep the new flag up for at least a year.
Ukraine flags are still up in larger communities, including Kelowna.
Kelowna in March 2022 added a Ukraine flag to council chambers, marking the first time a foreign flag had been hung in the room.
“The flag is still there and there have been no discussions about removing it in the foreseeable future,” said Tom Wilson, a spokesman for the City of Kelowna, in an email Monday.
Vernon city council voted in June 2022 to leave its flag up until the conflict in Ukraine is over.
Penticton was supposed to followed suit with a Ukraine flag outside city hall, but it never actually went up.
“It seems the city never raised a flag, but we did put up some banners on the 100 block” of Main Street, confirmed spokesman Shane Mills in an email Tuesday.
“They stayed up until the wind got to them and were replaced with others like Remembrance Day, etc.”
Approximately 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in action in the two years since Russia launched its fullscale invasion, according to a speech Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave on the two-year anniversary.
Russia has provided few official casualty figures.
A U.S. intelligence report declassified in mid-December 2023 estimated that 315,000 Russian troops had been killed or wounded in Ukraine. If accurate, the figure would represent 87% of the roughly 360,000 troops Russia had before the war, according to the report.