About to deliver his speech, the Ukrainian president's eyes got a bit misty when schoolchildren instead broke into the Ukrainian national anthem.

Source: Canadian Press

A large crowd of members of the Ukrainian community and politicians welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena Zelenska, with a standing ovation when they walked into a Canadian Armed Forces facility in Toronto on Friday night.

Zelenskyy, who is in Canada for the first time since Russian troops began a full-scale assault on Ukraine in February 2022, greeted the crowd with “Slava Ukraini,” a national salute that means glory to Ukraine.

About 1,000 people gathered in the Fort York Armoury to show support, including a group of students and teachers from St. Demetrius Ukrainian school who responded to Zelenskyy’s salute by singing the Ukrainian anthem. Others in attendance were singing along and waving Ukrainian and Canadian flags.

Vira Kalinova, a mother of two students at St. Demetrius, attended the event wearing a traditional Ukrainian shirt with her son. Kalinova said she was glad to see people showing support by singing the Ukrainian national anthem.

"The fact that the whole community came up together to sing it together, it's just heartwarming. It brings me to tears," she said.

And from another view.