'It's not enough': Calgarian says Ukraine needs more support to fight war
As global outrage against Russia continues and the threats of more sanctions loom, at least one Ukrainian-Canadian is hoping the world will do more.
“Ukrainians fight bravely, but it's not enough,” says Yevgen Kanevskiy, who lives in Calgary. “They need to have more (military) help.”
Kanevskiy left his home in Kharkiv, Ukraine, about 16 years ago. When he did, he never thought his family and friends who stayed would experience the nightmare of war.
“On Feb. 24, some of our friends called us and said, 'Ok, it started,'" said Kanevskiy, talking about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “We were in tears.”
It’s now April, and it’s not any easier.
“We worry about them every single minute,” said Kanevskiy. “Every morning, our time, we start with texting them and figuring out whether they survived their day.”
Kanevskiy is part of the congregation at St. Vladimir's Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He is one of the members who is opening up his home to four people who have fled from Ukraine to Slovenia.
“They are waiting for their visas and we are expecting them so (we’ve prepared) our house for hosting people,” he said.
Calgary’s Centre for Newcomers is also getting ready for those seeking asylum in Canada and say it could number in the thousands.
“It’s better to prepare for the thousands,” said president and CEO Anila Lee Yuen.
“If we don't get the thousands, then we have that those resources and the supplies and the volunteers and everything for the rest of the community.”
Between March 17 and March 30, Canada saw 91,000 applications from Ukrainian people to come to Canada, according to the centre.
“During that time, in those two weeks, there was 14,000 that have been approved,” said Lee Yuen.
"I'm assuming that those numbers have now increased in terms of people that are actually arriving, and it's going to get even larger in terms of those applications."
Lee Yuen says the centre will focus on getting anyone coming to Calgary settled and offering any support they might need.
“(There are) long-term goals as well in terms of employment support, in terms of mental health supports,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
ANALYSIS Will Donald Trump go to prison? What the precedent says
Now that the jury in Donald Trump's criminal trial has made the historic decision to convict him, the judge overseeing the case will soon face a monumental choice: whether to sentence the 2024 Republican presidential candidate to time behind bars.
A pair enjoyed pricey meals and bolted when it was time to pay. Their dine and dash ended in jail
A Welsh couple who dined out on pricey meals and bolted when the bill came is now paying the price, behind bars.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.
Montreal tech billionaire charged with several sex offences
Robert Miller was charged Thursday with several sexual assault charges after Montreal police reopened an investigation into the tech billionaire.
Can Trump come to Canada now that he's a convicted felon?
A Canadian immigration lawyer says now that Donald Trump is a convicted felon, he is technically barred from crossing the border into Canada.
Liberal government's own polling said Canadians worried about drug decriminalization
Months before British Columbia sought to scale back its drug decriminalization pilot project, the federal government's own polling suggested to officials that a majority of Canadians believed the policy would lead to an increase in overdoses.
Loblaw testing out small-format No Frills grocery stores
Loblaw is testing smaller-format discount stores across the country this year as shoppers increasingly look for ways to save on their grocery bill.
Doomsday plot: Jury convicts Idaho man of killing wife and girlfriend's 2 children
An Idaho man was convicted Thursday of killing his wife and his new girlfriend's two youngest kids in a strange triple murder case that included claims of apocalyptic prophesies, zombie children and illicit affairs.
'Why didn't they stop?' Mom asks of driver in hit-and-run crash that killed son
The mother of a 13-year-old boy who was killed in a hit-and-run in Edmonton is begging the driver to come forward.