War in Ukraine hitting home for Saskatchewan people

There are people living in Saskatchewan who know what it is like to fight against the Russians.

Andrii Gnatiuk served as a tank commander in the Ukrainian army before moving to Watson.

He told the Rawlco Radio Saskatchewan Day of Caring for Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin wins wars through spin and messaging.

“He uses propaganda and misinformation, especially on those who live not far from the Russian border. It is easy to fight against an enemy you are told is a terrorist,” Gnatiuk explained.

But he went on to say this is a different Ukraine from the one Russia knows from 2014, the last time Russian aggression spilled into the country. This country is one that wants to take part in the global economy and have a bigger role in Europe.

Gnatiuk says Ukraine is a united country, with experienced and inexperienced people taking up arms to fight.

“Peaceful people right now (are) standing with the Ukrainian armed forces. Can you imagine this? This is awesome,” he said. “It is one big team. (It) doesn’t matter who they are — civilian, somebody with experience or without experience, it doesn’t matter.

“They met Russian troops with bullets. They met them with cocktails of Molotov. They told them Russians, ‘Get out of here. We are peaceful people. We don’t need your help here. We are in our country (and) we are deciding how to do (things), what we are going to do (and) how we are going to do it,” Gnatiuk said defiantly.

Maryna Shaluga

Right now, Maryna Shaluga is staying in a bomb shelter about an hour outside of Kyiv.

She said recently, she experienced a terrifying incident.

“About five (or) seven kilometres from our place, a Russian missile landed on a few civilian houses, and it was probably the scariest moment of my life,” Shaluga said.

The last eight days, she said, have felt like a year, with the constant shock, stress and little sleep for many people. Now, with missile fire and bombing, it’s not just “the news” coming from other countries anymore.

“It’s happening to you, your family (and) your friends,” she said.

While many people are trying to help one another by offering up their homes to those who’ve had to run from their own, buying warm clothes for others and even feeding soldiers, she said the world will never be the same after this.

“If Russia stops fire, there will be an end of the war. But if we stop, there will be the end of us,” she said with a sigh.

Danylo Puderak

Danylo Puderak spends every night keeping up on the news coming out of Ukraine.

“It’s a multitude of emotions,” said Puderak, a fixture with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in Saskatchewan. “It’s immense pride for the Ukrainian people that are there that are defending their homeland, that are holding back what is one of the largest armies in the world … the dedication they have.”

He says people are volunteering in the thousands to defend their country.

Fear, though, is a real and present emotion for many members of their community here in Saskatchewan and in Ukraine.

“The sadness — I keep in contact with my family members almost on a daily basis when I can get ahold of them,” Puderak said during the Rawlco Radio Saskatchewan Day of Caring for Ukraine.

“Thank God they’re safe, but I just can’t imagine that stress, that fear … because they don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

Barb Dedi

Barb Dedi is a Regina woman of Ukrainian heritage who has been a big supporter and champion of the Ukrainian community.

She appeared on the Rawlco Radio Saskatchewan Day of Caring for Ukraine and knows first hand how strong the Ukrainian people are in the face of adversity.

Dedi was last in Ukraine in 2014, when Russian aggression was also high.

“They were so strong. You talk to anyone on the streets of Ukraine (and) they all say, ‘The Russians aren’t going to hurt us,’ and you see that time and again on the news now,” Dedi said.

But she also has her own personal concern: With many areas attacked by Russia, vital communications links are down and she has lost contact with her family there.

“I lost contact about three days ago with the last one. We are constantly searching but there has been no contact. It is just terrible. There are so any families out there that people have lost and can’t find,” Dedi said with a sigh.

Dedi has organized a rally in support of Ukraine at the Saskatchewan Legislature on Thursday at 6 p.m. She is asking for people to come out with Ukrainian flags if they have them or sunflowers.

Lana Niland

Lana Niland was born in Saskatoon, but has lived in Kyiv for the last 20 years.

She said she’s one of the few people from her apartment building who have decided to stay behind.

“There’s probably about a third of residents left in my building,” she said. “Everyone else has evacuated either the building itself, has moved outside of Kyiv, or (has moved) outside of Ukraine completely.”

She said many have not only gone to Poland, but to other countries that are taking in refugees, including Hungary, Slovakia and Romania.

In Kyiv so far, she said the Ukrainian army has been able to keep control of a key military airfield. There’s a marked difference during this war against Russia than the conflict in 2013 and 2014 when the Russian military took control of the Crimean Peninsula.

“In these last few years, not only have we been very hard at work (but) the armed forces are an extremely intelligent fighting machine,” Niland said. “We’ve had some help from the EU (and) from our North American neighbours as well.

“In addition to that … the volunteer battalions are very active. So we’re seeing ordinary citizens signing up to defend their country in every way that they can.”

Vitaly Kushnir

Vitaly Kushnir is the owner of the SMAK Ukrainian Store in Saskatoon and Yorkton.

He has family and friends throughout Ukraine, including in the Donbas area of eastern Ukraine where fighting has taken place for years.

“We don’t know what to do. They are firing rockets near hospitals and schools,” Kushnir said. “They are really doing this deliberately.”

Kushnir says he has kept in constant contact with loved ones, many of whom are unable to leave the country.

“I have lots of friends and family who have been stuck in their basements for seven days,” he said. “(There are) lots of people in church basements for shelter.”

Kushnir says a lot of roads are blocked throughout parts of the country making it difficult for people to leave, leaving them no choice but to hide or fight.

Maria Campbell

It has been a stressful time for Maria Campbell and her Ukrainian family.

Campbell managed to get both of her parents out of Ukraine just before the war began, and took them to Saskatoon for safety.

“They will be staying with me as long as they can. My husband and I are more than happy to have them here,” Campbell said.

While her parents have been taken care of, Campbell still has plenty of friends and family members stuck in Ukraine and spends a lot of time worrying about them.

Campbell says she knows her parents will want to return as soon as possible.

“The war will end and they will have a home to go back and they really do want to go back to Ukraine because that’s their life,” Campbell said. “My grandmother, my mom’s sister, my father’s brother — all our relatives are there.”

Olena Dobysh

Olena Dobysh is in constant fear that some of her closest family members will die.

She’s from Kovel, Ukraine, but lives in Regina.

Her mother, father, brother and other extended family members live in her home country. She has been able to get in touch with her mother, and has developed a heartbreaking habit whenever they speak.

“Every night when I call my mom to speak and see her, I make video call. And I take screenshots of her face, because when I wake up the next morning, I’m not sure if I will see her again, because the situation changes so quickly,” Dobysh said, her voice thick with emotion.

Her aunt lives in Kherson, a city that was taken by Russian forces.

“She was hiding in a basement for five, six days, without food or water. They tried to escape … so they did, and they are now in a more safe place. It’s behind the city, kind of like a cabin. And they tried to find some food, so, finally, they found a big bag of potatoes so they can cook for themselves and try to survive,” she said.

“There’s a big shortage of food and supplies … So, yeah, we worry.”

Petro Skirchuk

Petro Skirchuk says the situation in Ukraine is not good right now. He recently spoke with his friend in Kyiv.

“Right now, in big cities, there (is not) enough food for everyone and the prices in the stores and shops is really high,” he said.

He said the capital city is under constant bombardment by Russia.

“They are ready to fight,” Skirchuk shared about his friends. “They are not thinking about leaving the city though many soldiers, especially civilians, are killed.”

The eastern and southeastern parts of Ukraine are almost completely surrounded by Russian troops, Skirchuk said. They’re also being bombarded, and people’s homes are being destroyed.

“The situation is really catastrophic there,” he said.

Skirchuk says a “no-fly” zone over Ukraine would be best for the country right now.

“The Russians are bombarding big cities with a lot of civilians still there … Ukraine is strong but we need to reduce those bombardments on big cities as soon as possible,” he said. “Closing the fly area around Ukraine by NATO or other democratic countries … would be really helpful.”

Diane Boyko

It’s hard to shield children from the images of war in Ukraine, so Saskatchewan schools are ensuring students have the proper supports to express their feelings.

Diane Boyko is board chair for Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools and a Ukrainian-Canadian.

“We’re so blessed the staff we have strive to truly serve students and families,” Boyko told Gormley during Thursday’s Saskatchewan Day of Caring for Ukraine.

“They’re well-versed in having age-appropriate conversations with students with a variety of topics. So when something like this comes, they use all of those skills to ensure that students are feeling safe that they have a safe place to talk.”

The events in Ukraine hit close to home for many in the school community.

Boyko said they have staff at Bishop Filevich Ukrainian Bilingual School in Saskatoon who are recent immigrants with direct ties to their homeland.

“All of those close personal emotional connections that they have to what’s happening in Ukraine I think helps with the care of the students,” Boyko said.

She added the school division already has teams of counsellors available to students to provide an outlet for them to express their feelings.

Boyko, who has travelled to Ukraine twice, described the people as resilient and welcoming.

“To see what’s happening now is breaking our hearts,” she said. “We’re constantly connecting with everyone we know there. We pray. We send humanitarian aid. We do everything we can and yet in so many ways you feel helpless.”

To make a donation to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, click here.