Ukrainian community in Canada on edge as tensions with Russia escalate
CBC
As tensions mount between Ukraine and Russia, many in Canada's Ukrainian community are watching and worrying about what the crisis means for their country of origin and loved ones living there.
Russia has massed an estimated 100,000 troops along its borders with Ukraine, raising fears the Kremlin is preparing to launch a full-scale invasion. Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied this and in turn accused the West of taking an "aggressive" course "on the threshold of our home."
Russia's demands — that Ukraine never be allowed to join NATO and that other actions, such as stationing alliance troops in former Soviet bloc countries, be curtailed — have been rejected by NATO officials. Recent rounds of high-stakes diplomacy produced no breakthroughs.
The threat of a possible war is being keenly felt across Canada, which is home to about 1.3 million people of Ukrainian descent, according to the 2016 census.
In Waterloo, Ont., Michael Doroshenko said he is concerned for his parents and grandmother, who live in Sumy, Ukraine, about an hour's drive from the border with Russia.
"It's been pretty nervous for everybody," said Doroshenko, 30, a Ukrainian citizen who moved to the Waterloo region to study and now works in the tech industry.
He is trying to help his family make plans in case an invasion does happen, but says it's been difficult given the unpredictability of the situation.
"Nobody knows where it will be safe in the next week, or two weeks, or two months," he said.
Varvara Shmygalova, a member of Toronto's Ukrainian Canadian community, said she is worried about the loss of life that could result if Russia takes military action. She left the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, five years ago, but her parents, grandparents and all of her friends are still there.
"My message [to them] is: Try to stay as safe as you can, because I love you and I want you to be alive," she said. "But also, I want you to do everything you can to protect our home country and protect all the values of all democratic nations."
Artem Pazych, a newly arrived Ukrainian student in Vancouver, is also worried for family back home and the potential lasting impact on the country if Russia invades.
"Loss of history, loss of identity, loss of culture," he said.
The 19-year-old is from Zhytomyr, just west of Kyiv. He grew up in the shadow of the war in Eastern Ukraine, where government forces have been fighting Russian-backed separatists since 2014 — the same year that Russia annexed the Crimea region.
Multiple attempts at a ceasefire have failed, and Ukraine estimates more than 14,000 combatants and civilians have been killed in the conflict. Many others have been wounded or displaced from their homes.
