'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
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
P.E.I. kiteboarder 'lucky to be alive' after shark attack in Turks and Caicos
A professional kiteboarder from P.E.I. says he has been seriously injured in a shark attack that occurred while he was snorkelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
Teen dies after being hit by train in N.W. Calgary
A teenager has died after being hit by a train in northwest Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.
Black bear kebabs make family sick with parasitic worms
It was supposed to be a celebration, but one family’s unique meal of black bear meat sent several members to the hospital instead.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there’s a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.