New Pathway.
Ever since the Russian Federation illegally annexed Crimea and invaded Eastern Ukraine, Canada has been supporting NATO assurance measures in Eastern Europe and helping build the capacity for the Ukrainian military within Operations REASSURANCE and UNIFIER. To thank the Canadian Forces for these missions, the Ukrainian War Veterans Association of Canada (UWVA) held the Canadian Forces Appreciation Evening on April 27 at the UNF Trident Banquet Hall in Toronto.
The Evening started with the celebration of the historic contribution of Ukrainian Canadians to Canada’s military efforts. Captain Andre Sochaniwsky, the President of UWVA, provided several examples of Ukrainian Canadian contributions to the service of their country. During WWII for example, the entire Winnipeg Branch of UWVA consisted of soldiers from The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada. This very regiment took part in the ill-fated Dieppe Raid of 1942 where the Canadian military casualties totaled more than 3,000 with almost 1,000 dead. Captain Sochaniwsky also referred to one of the numerous veterans who were present in the audience, Michael Nazarewych. Mr. Nazarewych was born in Western Ukraine a century ago. In 1939, as a member of Polish cavalry, he was imprisoned in the Soviet GULAG. He managed to escape and join the army of Polish General Sikorski. He fought in Persia, Palestine and then in Italy where he took part in the battle of Monte Cassino with the British Army in 1944. After two platoon commanders were killed in battle, he found himself leading 85 men into combat. Michael himself was wounded twice in the battle. He was awarded the Cross for Valour, Cross of Monte Cassino and the 8th Army Cross.
At the Evening, Capt Sochaniwsky introduced the emblem of Canada Battalion. The emblem has an arrowhead shape symbolizing military strength and purpose. The emblem’s red and white colors represent the colors of the Canadian flag. In the center, is a sword supported by angel wings – symbolizing the righteousness of the mission. It also contains a blue cross depicting its roots to UWVA while the maple leaf and trident symbolize Canada’s support and resolve for Ukraine. At the bottom, are inscribed the Latin words “Pro patria” – meaning “for country” – for Canada, for Ukraine and for all countries of Eastern Europe. Capt Sochaniwsky said that since the members of the community showed their support for the Canadian Forces and Ukraine’s military during the Evening, they were all members of Canada Battalion. He also emphasized that with recent events in Ukraine and Canada’s mission in Eastern Europe and Ukraine, the UWVA has a renewed mission. It has become a channel in fostering the relationships between the Canadian and Ukrainian militaries and the Ukrainian Canadian community.
Those in attendance were able to get first-hand accounts of the current CAF operations, Operation REASSURANCE and Operation UNIFIER, from the operational commanders. Commander Pascal Belhumeur is the Commanding Officer of Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Winnipeg. He talked about his experiences from Operation REASSURANCE which refers to the military activities undertaken by the Canadian Forces to support NATO assurance measures through the provision of military capabilities for training, exercises, demonstrations and assigned NATO tasks. HMCS Winnipeg served a six-month operational deployment in the Mediterranean Sea supporting NATO’s measures in Central and Eastern Europe.
Lieutenant Col Jason Guiney and Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Lavoie presented on Operation UNIFIER. LCol Guiney is the Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment and from June 2015 to January 2016 served as Commander of Joint Task Force-Ukraine (JTF-U), as part of Operation UNIFIER. The Operation is providing training to the Ukrainian military on infantry tactics, including individual weapons handling, marksmanship, moving, communication, as well as on explosive ordnance disposal, combat first aid, policing techniques and military ethics. The training is taking place primarily at the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre in Starychi, Lviv region, and at the Demining Centre in Kamyanets-Podilsky. He commented that this was one of the most professionally gratifying missions in his career.
In his separate interview with the New Pathway, LCol Tim Arsenault, the current JTF-U commander now in Ukraine who transitioned from LCol Guiney, said that the Ukrainian soldiers appreciate the first aid training the most, because it gives them immediate benefits of the knowledge they need to help themselves on the battlefield. When we asked, what other types of training are proving the most useful for Ukrainian soldiers, Tim Arsenault also singled out the marksmanship training. Almost every day brings news from the front lines of the war in the Donbas about Ukrainian soldiers and civilians being shot at by sharpshooters, and it is not surprising that this kind of training is popular among the Ukrainian trainees.
As part of Canada’s military assistance to Ukraine, Operation UNIFIER has been providing training in Ukraine since summer 2015. Within the Operation, about 200 Canadian Armed Forces personnel are currently deployed to Ukraine and will remain there until March 31, 2017. According to Tim Arsenault, since its beginning, the mission has trained over 600 Ukrainian soldiers. That number includes more than 400 Ukrainian soldiers within the small team training in Yavoriv; 10 instructors at the Demining Centre for the explosive ordnance, and 120 soldiers in military police. The mission is currently planning to start a training in logistics modernization. LCol Arsenault said that the Canadian Forces want this mission to have a lasting effect. All Ukrainian soldiers who have received the training have an opportunity to train other Ukrainians in the future. The mission also specifically trained 50 Ukrainian instructors within a program called Junior Leadership Academy Training.
At the CF Appreciation Evening, LCol Guiney commented that the mission distributed to the Ukrainian soldiers 1,200 First Aid Kits that were assembled by the volunteers at the UNF Trident Hall on August 14, 2015. He said that, during his rotation, the Joint Task Force-Ukraine generated $3.3M CAD in contracts with local Ukrainian businesses and delivered $3M CAD worth of bomb disposal equipment which represented a 400% increase in Ukraine Armed Forces’ bomb disposal capability. This equipment is now being used in the Anti-Terrorist Operation zone. During the rotation, the CAF soldiers made 90 thousand hryvnia (up to $5 thousand CAD) in personal donations to local Ukrainian charities.
LCol Guiney also spoke about the new approaches that the Canadian contingent tried to present to the Ukrainian Forces. He said that the Ukrainian army is still built around a “dated” Soviet model with highly centralized decision-making: “By showing that our young 20-year old corporals are capable of teaching classes, that our sergeants are the ones making decisions … we’ve showed them what we think right looks like… The culture differences were a huge challenge. But, as Canadians, we respect that. We don’t try to smash through that culture barrier – we try to share our practices and we approach it as Canadians – politely. And we saw a big cultural shift [in those that attended]…”
It appears that the training in Ukraine is a two-way street. Russian high technology is being used in ATO against Ukrainian forces. The Canadians, according to Jason Guiney, learned from the experiences of Ukrainian soldiers who served on the front lines about the modern Russian weapons systems, electronic warfare, home-made UAV drones controlled by iPhone apps and cyber attacks. These learnings, he commented “…will make our army better.”
On behalf of UWVA, Andre Sochaniwsky presented Cdr Pascal Belhumeur, LCol Jason Guiney and CWO Lewis Lavoie with a plaque recognizing the Canadian Forces positive impact on security in Eastern Europe and raising the bar on the training level of Ukrainian soldiers. Andre Sochaniwsky called on the Canadian government to ensure that Canadian missions in Ukraine and Eastern Europe continue further, beyond the current commitment into 2017. He also asked the Government of Canada to continue providing Ukraine with radar satellite images of key strategic points in the Donbas which help track movement of foreign troops and equipment into the country. Capt Sochaniwsky stressed the need to continue supporting Ukraine militarily in the light of the current review of Canada’s defence policy and urged the government to sign the Canada-Ukraine defence cooperation agreement.
The Appreciation Night was addressed by MP James Maloney (Etobicoke-Lakeshore) and MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj (Etobicoke Centre) who presented a greeting from the Government of Canada. In attendance at the event were also former MP Ted Opitz and Patrick Brown, MPP, Leader of the Official Opposition.
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