Two women who fled war in Ukraine find safety with Ottawa family
Katie Kolomiiets and her two children arrived in Canada early Wednesday morning at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
Her brother Andrei Plugatyr drove her home to Ottawa to stay with him and his wife Anna.
"I am happy, finally, it was a long way; we left our home on March 5," Kolomiiets says. "It was a long way and quite difficult because we had to stay different places, lots of kind people sheltered us, we are very grateful for their help. Finally, we are here- we are very happy!"
Kolomiiets describes the journey from her hometown of Poltava, about 150 kilometres west of Kharkiv.
"We drove three days to get to western Ukraine, and we stayed in western Ukraine for two weeks, and then we went to Poland, and we stayed in Warsaw for about two weeks to get visas, and then by plane here."
The journey made that much more difficult because her husband stayed behind.
"He is in the army now; he protects our country, so he stayed there."
She says she worries for him, "but I am still proud of him."
Kolomiiets says it is hard to see images of the fighting that continues in Ukraine.
"I cry all the time, I can’t watch the news, just cry, and cry, and cry."
The women and their children did not claim refugee status to come to Canada. They are here with a temporary visa – under a new emergency immigration program with the federal government.
Ukrainian-Canadian Anna Plugatyr says it took weeks to get all the paperwork ready and getting family from Ukraine to Canada is not easy.
"It is a big relief to have them here, to know that they are safe that they can relax and sleep through the night without worrying they will have run somewhere and hide," Plugatyr said.
Plugatyr says welcoming her family to her home is hard to put into words.
"For me the moment was incredibly emotional, we just hugged all together, held each other together, there are no words to describe how you feel in this moment."
Inna Savska is Anna Plugatyr’s cousin and has been in Canada for two weeks. She fled Kharkiv.
"I am okay now, but when we were in Ukraine, for six days we were sitting in cellar under Russian bombs. It was then that we decided to leave because it was terrible, it was very scary," Savksa says.
"I can’t explain how scary it was."
Savska and her two children drove for four days to western Ukraine before staying in various cities until they decided to go to Poland and attempt to get visas to come for Canada.
"My husband stayed in Ukraine, he is not in the army, but he is volunteering with helping with humanitarian aid," Saska says.
“It was heartbreaking. To watch kids say goodbye to their father is heartbreaking,” she says.
Both women say the support from the community in Ottawa has been overwhelming and they are grateful.
Savska says, "I am crying from people support and I am crying because of terrible situation in Ukraine, I see my city Kharkiv bombed every day, my friends are in Kharkiv and I worry about them it is very difficult."
The women will stay with the Plugatyrs for now but want to find their own residences as well as get jobs. They also hope to enroll their children in school.
They hope to one day return to Ukraine.
"We want to go back; we want to go home, we will rebuild our city and walk or favourite walks again. There is hope."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
Blind Sask. boy heading to international braille competition hopes to increase accessibility for visually impaired
A Saskatchewan boy who qualified for an international braille competition in Los Angeles next month hopes he can inspire change in his home province.
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.