'It's really hard': Ukrainian grandmother lonely but happy family is in Calgary
CBC
Galyna Danyliuk knew she would miss her daughter and grandsons when they fled to Canada shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, but she felt it was best she stay behind to protect their family home.
The 68-year-old hairdresser lives in Rivne, with a population of 240,000, about 330 kilometres west of the capital of Kyiv.
"It's been a little bit lonely but I'm in a safe place," Danyliuk told The Canadian Press through an interpreter.
"I really want to see them, but it's hard, it's really hard. I feel like I'm alone. I know they are safe, but right now they are on the other side of the world," she added.
Danyliuk's daughter Kateryna Stepanchuk and her two sons, ages 12 and 16, left Ukraine last year, just months after the Russian invasion.
She and her son-in-law Anatolly Stepanchuk remain behind.
"I cannot leave my household and all of this here in Ukraine because my daughter's husband is left here in Ukraine and he's doing a job."
Men between the ages of 18 and 60 were banned from leaving Ukraine after Russia invaded the country. The Ukrainian government is not forcing men to fight, but they must register and remain in the country.
There is a chance of enforced conscription if the violence continues.
"I'm pleased that they are keeping safe and they are in a peaceful and comfortable place," Danyliuk said of her family in Canada.
Danyliuk's family is now living in Calgary with her granddaughter.
Anastasiia Stepanchuk has been in Calgary since 2018, where she obtained her doctorate in neuroscience, and now conducts research on dementia and Alzheimer's at the University of Calgary's Foothills campus.
She said her family is getting used to life in Canada, but it can be difficult.
"They've been adapting remarkably well. However, I've been talking to my brothers ... and they still miss home a lot," she said.
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