Why this Fredericton woman is walking a Ukrainian battalion flag across P.E.I.

A flag can be folded into a backpack, cross an ocean, and carry a story from Ukraine all the way across Prince Edward Island.

Julia Cardy, who lives in Fredericton, begins her walk on Oct. 14. Over two weeks, she plans to cover more than 250 kilometres from East Point to Tignish along the Confederation Trail, carrying the flag of the Alcatraz Battalion, part of Ukraine’s 93rd Mechanized Brigade.

“I was looking for something that was a sacrifice,” Cardy said. “Because what they are doing, and I mean they being every Ukrainian … it’s not an easy life to be there.”

The flag has already travelled 700 kilometres with Cardy’s friend April Huggett, who is originally from Castlegar, B.C.

Huggett carried it along the front line during her first break from duty as a senior combat medic in Ukraine. She walked from Kyiv to Kramatorsk, where she now lives and serves, to raise money and awareness for the soldiers she works alongside. 

April Huggett during her 700-kilometre walk, stopping at Donetsk Oblast entry stele. (Submitted by April Huggett)

Her own walk changed how she understood her place in the war.

“It changed who I was. It changed my motivations,” Huggett said. “It made me realize that … we are very much alone, but we’re always together, every single one of us.”

Now, the flag is travelling again, this time through P.E.I. Cardy hopes the journey will help raise $100,000 for the battalion through Planet of People.

A friendship built on helping

April Huggett and Julia Cardy hand off supplies to soldiers in 2024. (Submitted by Julia Cardy)

Cardy and Huggett first connected online through their shared concern for Ukraine. Their friendship grew through fundraising, aid deliveries and time spent together in the country.

Cardy first visited Ukraine in 2004 to observe elections. After the full-scale Russian invasion began in 2022, she helped Ukrainian refugees come to New Brunswick.

When Cardy got married, she asked guests to donate to an orphanage in Kharkiv instead of giving wedding gifts. Huggett delivered the money, which helped provide food, clothing and a small pool for children facing a hot summer without air conditioning.

In January 2024, Cardy travelled to Ukraine and spent several weeks volunteering alongside Huggett, including on aid trips towards the front.

“I saw how quickly things could change,” Cardy said. “One minute you’re talking about food or fuel or where you’re going next, and the next minute you’re thinking about whether it’s safe to keep moving.”

“I want April to feel that people here are with her,” she said. “I want her to know that when she’s exhausted or scared or missing home, there are people in Canada who are thinking about her.”

Huggett said those conversations can help counter the sense of isolation that often comes with war.

“Ukraine is not just a place where something terrible is happening,” she said. “It’s a place where people are still living, still laughing, still making plans and still trying to build a future.”

The flag helps make those distant realities tangible. It has been carried by a Canadian volunteer and passed between people who want to support Ukraine.

“I think the flag has become bigger than any one person,” Huggett said. “It carries the people who have held it, the people who have supported us and the people who are still waiting for this war to end.”

The flag will ultimately make its way back across the ocean after being signed by Canadian supporters. Until then, Cardy will carry it along the P.E.I. trail.

“I can’t change everything,” Cardy said. “But I can take the next step. And then I can take another one.”