Yukoner heading to Ukraine to bring friend's 3 nieces to Canada

After Jeff Sloychuk had a long conversation with a friend in Calgary who has three nieces in Kiev, he knew what he had to do.

"It seemed to be the only solution was to go over there, pluck them, get them on a plane to Calgary, and out of the zone," said the Whitehorse resident.

Despite thousands of Ukrainains fleeing their country as the Russian invasion continues — and the Canadian government is currently recommending Canadians avoid all travel to Ukraine — Sloychuk is flying to Warsaw on Tuesday where he has a car waiting for him that will take him to Lviv and Turnopil, in western Ukraine, a couple of hours away.

He said he'll also help anyone else, as best he can, who wants to flee the country.

Sloychuk's family immigrated to Canada in the early 1900s and he said he still has family there, and some friends, who will help him .

"From what I understand, from what we're hearing, there will be some sort of corridor opened up, a humanitarian corridor to get people and kids of non-combat age out of Kyiv. So it just made sense. Why wouldn't I go and get these kids out?" he said.

Russia announced a handful of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee Ukraine starting Monday, although the evacuation routes were mostly leading to Russia and its ally Belarus, drawing criticism from Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russian forces continued to pummel Ukrainian cities including Mykolaiv, south of the capital of Kyiv, indicating there would be no wider cessation of hostilities.

Sloychuk said he's not entering a war zone.

"I'm just skirting a war zone," he said.

Sloychuk said he'll distribute many goods he's bringing with him.

"It's all the things that you could imagine that people need when they're fleeing with only the clothes on their back," he said, "from Gravol to antihistamines and allergy medications to tampons and pads and, I don't know, clean underwear."

He said Yukoners have been donating the items.

"People have been insanely generous here in the Yukon," he said, adding even his grandmother, who lives on a fixed income, gave him $100.

A few days before leaving, Sloychuk said he was feeling some anxiety about the trip but would feel more if he wasn't going.