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Ukraine War: Couple flees Russia to find safety in Canada

Petro Yankovskyi and his family arrived in Canada in mid-August, seeking safety near Victoria, BC from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, unlike most Ukrainian refugees, they are fleeing their homes in Russia. When the invasion of Ukraine began six months ago, the Yankovskyis were stationed in Siberia as medical professionals.

Petro told CTV News Vancouver Island on Friday.

Petro’s wife, Olga, is employed as a nurse and Petro as a paramedic. Petro said that knowing Russian attacks were taking lives in his homeland was extremely difficult, but he did not hesitate to save Russian lives and do his job.

“I can help them, I don’t see the enemy,” he said. “We are all people… we all have health problems.”

However, as the war escalated, they feared for their lives and decided it was time to relocate.

“It feels very dangerous (ous),” Olga said. “It’s too bad.”

The war in Ukraine has driven thousands of Ukrainians to Canada, bringing communities across the country together to gather supplies and help their new neighbors make homes here.

Since the federal government first announced in March that it would open new routes for Ukrainian refugees in the country, about 74,500 Ukrainians have arrived in Canada.

The Yankovskyi family are currently staying at an old resort that has been converted into a safe haven for refugees by carpenter and businessman Brian Holowaychuk.

Holowaychuk, a Ukrainian, has been working for months to convert the 82-acre site into a free home for displaced Ukrainians. He provided free accommodation to 24 Ukrainians in a renovated property in east Sooke, near Victoria.

“I couldn’t imagine where they were, so when they contacted us – you know they were looking for somewhere to go – luckily we had space, ” I said.

Victoria Grando, manager of Victoria’s Ukrainian Cultural Center, told CTV News Vancouver Island that she is hearing news that more and more Ukrainians are hoping to escape Russia.

“(It) is increasingly unsafe for the Ukrainians working there,” said Grando, noting that the center helps direct Ukrainians hoping to escape Russia to information online about Canada.

But often these sites are inaccessible to Ukrainians in Russia due to their strict censorship laws.

The Yankovskyis hope to start fresh and take new roots in Canada. The couple’s 6-year-old daughter, Lisa, starts school next week. Her parents hope to get a Canadian certificate in healthcare and work in their new home country – saving lives again.

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