Ukrainian Montrealers scramble to get family to safety as fighting intensifies in civilian areas

Ivan Puhachov pulls out photos of members of his family who fled Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, just as Russia began to bomb residential neighbourhoods. 

"The last 96 hours have been a complete nightmare," said Puhachov, a Université de Montréal PhD student who moved to Montreal in 2019.

The photos, printed in colour, tell the story of a different time. The first, taken barely two months ago, shows a happy family travelling in Egypt.  

Now, Puhachov's parents and siblings have just managed to escape from Kharkiv, near the Russian border — one of the first Ukrainian cities to come under attack last Thursday.

"Every morning after a few hours of sleep, I wake up and I call my parents," said Puhachov. "I am grateful they had this option to [flee] from the bombshelling."

He said they have made their way to central Ukraine, and now they are hoping to find their way to Canada, but the incessant bombing, the roadblocks and curfews are making that goal increasingly difficult.

Puhachov's father, who turned 50 on Sunday, may not be able to leave at all; he likely will have to stay in case he is called to fight alongside other civilians and the Ukrainian army. 

"I don't have words to explain the feelings that I have right now," Puhachov said. "It's part of what terrifies me the most."

Puhachov's relatives are among the hundreds of thousands of people vying to escape the country, many with ties to Canada's large Ukrainian diaspora.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said it has so far approved nearly 4,000 applications to come into Canada from Ukrainian citizens.

The federal agency said it is prioritizing "new and replacement travel documents for Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family members." It also said it is fast-tracking permanent and temporary residence applications. 

Puhachov has made visa applications for his whole family, but he worries the process won't be fast enough to save them.

"I ask that more resources be put into that question," Puhachov said. "I ask politicians to be even more involved in what's happening there because in the end, none of us want to leave our country. We want to be there. We want to build an independent country."

Puhachov flipped through the photos he brought, showing them to the camera and telling the story behind each picture.