Bombs, artillery, area raids. The Ukrainian community living in the Veneto listens to and looks with anguish at the Soviet invasion of Ukraine. The Honorary Consulate for the Tre Venezie, which is based in Padua, has declared a state of emergency, indicating on its website and social pages the sensitive points through a series of maps where it is evident that the country invaded by the Soviet Union is under attack from east to west, from north to south. It has been made available to the Ukrainians residing in Veneto, just under 17 thousand people, a toll-free number to contact for any emergency. Apprehension and anguish are the feelings that pervade those who live in Italy and have left family, friends and acquaintances in Ukraine. But also for the numerous Venetian entrepreneurs who have been operating in Ukraine for years. In these dramatic moments, even the Veneto region trembles for Ukraine and its people.
On Sunday a demonstration for peace in Padua
Just a few days ago one was announced demonstration for peace on Sunday 27 in Padua, organized by the Ukraine Together association. A fortiori, yesterday it was confirmed. And it will be a great pacifist event, starting from Piazza Antenore in front of the Prefecture, which will attract Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians from all over the north-east to Padua.
Marco Toson, Honorary Consul of Ukraine for Veneto, Trentino Alto Adige and Friuli Venezia Giulia, president of Confindustria Ukraine and of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce for Italy, only returned from that country last Saturday. "We are all still in disbelief in the face of this invasion - explains - Just before I left, we had a meeting with embassy representatives, businessmen. We knew something was going to happen, but we never thought about it. Yet I know that reality and that land well".
The bewilderment of Venetian entrepreneurs operating in Ukraine
Marco Toson has been operating in Ukraine for at least thirty years. He works in the construction business. "I have lived the history of Ukraine over the last three decades, I have worked with several presidents of this country, it is a reality that I and the other Italian entrepreneurs who operate there know well. Today we seem to have gone back to the times of the former Soviet Union. We are bewildered, bewildered, the situation is going haywire. There are factories in northeastern Ukraine and in other areas that are no longer safe. Also the area of Lviv and those near the borders with Hungary, Poland, Romania are under attack, in a situation of total chaos. People try to escape, Poland has opened its borders but the situation is complicated and there is a lot of fear".
"There are about forty entrepreneurs from the Veneto who operate in Ukraine - he adds - They deal with agriculture, mechanics, textile transformation, fashion ... In large part they are the sectors of Italian production of excellence". Given the worsening of the situation, in recent days many entrepreneurs have returned to Italy. "Since yesterday, however, there are no more flights - adds the consul - and for those who are still in Ukraine (precise numbers are not yet available because the census is strictly the responsibility of the embassy) the recommendation is not to move because the locations of the sensitive targets are not known. The Italian and Venetian entrepreneurs have been grouped in places as safe as possible, waiting for the situation to break free. I understand that at the moment supermarkets are open and bank counters are functioning. However, all Russian-controlled banks are blocked".
The drama of the Ukrainians living in the Veneto region
So far the situation of the Italians in Ukraine, but particularly the situation of those nearly 17 Ukrainians who work in our region and who have families in the area of war. That of the Ukrainians is a deeply rooted community in our territory. They are differently distributed in different activities, mainly assistance but not only. Consul Marco Toson's thoughts also go to them. "They live moments of absolute apprehension and concern. Many have left their parents and children in Ukraine… In these hours they are in a situation of great despair".
