Ukrainian Nova Scotians express fear as Russian invasion intensifies

As news spread early Thursday of theRussian invasion ofUkraine, Stan Serebriakovand his wife could do little to help their loved ones halfway around the world except pick up their phones.

"We call right away to our families, told them to wake up," said Serebriakov, who is from Ukraine but has been living with his wife in Halifax since 2017.

Though many people expressed shock and disbelief as Russian PresidentVladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine, launching a full-scale assault on many fronts, the invasion has not come as a surprise to some Ukrainians. After Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, many say they have been living in a constant state of uncertainty.

But now they are terrified.

"There is no safe place in Ukraine at the moment," Serebriakovsaid Thursday in an interview.

Serebriakov, who left Ukraine in 2014,said he and his wife's family and friends who remain in the country had been preparing for an invasion, but they held on to hope that other countries would be able to talk Putin down.

Serebriakov used toliveabout 200 kilometres from Donetsk,a cityseized by Russian-backed separatists eight years ago. After the annexation of Crimea,Serebriakov said he felt he had to leave.

"It was a hard choice to leave. But it felt Canada is going to be a right place, safe," he said.

Anastasiia Mereshchukhas been in Halifax for eightyears. For the last three,she and her husband havebeen unable to go back to Ukraine to see family andfriends.

Mereshchuk saidshe has been in contact with her family ever since the assault began.Hearing about the situation from afar has put things in a sad perspective.

"Whatever problems you may have had before, they become a very irrelevant little thing that kind of just hangs there, at the back of your head," she said.

Iryna Gerusheard about the invasion when she received a call from her mother, who, with a shaking voice, said she had been woken by an explosion.

Gerus said a bomb had been dropped on a tank manufacturingfactory, just 10 kilometres from her parents' home in Ukraine.

Gerus, who has lived in Halifax for the last six years, said she worries for her parents' safety.

"For me, you know, life may change, because if your parents are alive, you can afford the luxury of feeling like a kid," she said.

"You can afford the luxury of chasing your dreams of being optimistic, whatever happens. But if such things happen, then it's different. It changes everything."

Ukrainians in Nova Scotia shocked over invasion

3 years ago

Duration 2:47

Ukrainians living in Nova Scotia reacted to news of the Russian invasion with shock. As Preston Mulligan reports, they're concerned less and less about international politics and more about the immediate safety of their families back home.