Saturday, Aug. 24 was Ukraine's Independence Day, which in Vernon served as a reminder that the country is still in the throes of Russia's war of aggression, now two and a half years since Russia's invasion of the sovereign European nation. 

The Thompson Okanagan Branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress held a free barbecue event at Kin Beach Saturday, inviting the community to support Ukraine while eating some traditional Ukrainian dishes, including homemade cabbage rolls and kielbasa on a bun. 

Andrea Malysh, president of the local Ukrainian Canadian Congress branch, said more than 100 people attended the event. 

She said independence day was the perfect opportunity to remind the public of what Ukrainians are going through.

"People need to be reminded that the war is still going on," Malysh said. "There's still people suffering, and so however we can help them, we still need to do that."

Malysh said the best way to support Ukraine is through the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, which is providing the country with humanitarian aid, most recently for a children's hospital in Kyiv that was attacked by Russia in early July, an attack Malysh called "unconscionable." People can visit to donate. 

Malysh said Ukrainian forces have recently made "great progress" in the Donetsk area of their country, "which is very exciting, but we still need to keep supporting them."

"(Ukraine) is starting to make progress now in the east, but it's not over, it's not anywhere near over," Malysh said.

"We still haven't got Crimea back," she said of the Ukrainian region that was annexed by Russia back in 2014. 

Organizers at Saturday's event collected donations for the Canada-Ukraine Foundation.

The Canadian Ukraine Congress received funds to run the event through the Regional District of North Okanagan's Community Neighbourhood Grant program. Safeway, Buy Low and the Wholesale Club also provided donations.