Calgary families begin to welcome relatives from Ukraine

Tamila Kovalchuk left her home in Zhytomyr, a village 130 kilometres west of Kyiv, with a pair of slippers and her purse. 

After a grueling seven-day journey, she arrived in Calgary on Friday. 

When asked how she was doing, she responded with an understated, "dobre," meaning "good," in Ukrainian.

Families like Tamila's have begun welcoming relatives and friends fleeing Ukraine as Russia's invasion continues. 

Hundreds of Ukrainians have been killed in the conflict and millions more have been displaced from their homes, especially in the eastern part of the country. 

While many are bound for Poland and other neighboring countries, Canada — which is home to the world's third-largest population of Ukrainians — could begin to see more refugees in the coming weeks. 

Tamila's story

Tamila's son, Oleg Kovalchuk, said it took him and his brother over a month to persuade their mother to come to Canada. 

"We started talking [about it] when Russian troops started building up around Ukraine," he said. 

"[My mother] said, categorically, no. 'I will never go anywhere, I was born here, I've lived here for 74 years, I'm sitting in my apartment on the third floor and that's it.'"

Oleg said that two bombings in Zhytomyr — one of a school and the other of a hospital — changed her mind. 

"We told her, 'We cannot protect you, it's only a matter of time until your flat might disappear,'" Oleg said. 

Tamila left Zhytomyr on March 4, on a train bound for Lviv full of the elderly, women and children. On the way, the train was stopped in a field for 20 minutes while air sirens sounded in the distance. 

Once in Lviv, Tamila waited in a line for 14 hours to board a train to Poland. She changed trains twice in Poland, first in the border town of Hrubieszow, and then in Olkusz, before making it to Krakow and eventually Warsaw. 

From there, she flew to Amsterdam and finally to Calgary. 

Oleg says they are all thankful for the people who helped her along the way. In Poland, Tamila met three women who hugged her and paid for her public transport.

"[One man] in Amsterdam was meeting his mom from Odessa and he helped my mom, he showed her the hotel that I booked for her," Oleg said. 

He said that while his mother is grateful for the opportunity to come to Canada, she is full of mixed emotions. 

"When she was on the train in Ukraine she said to me [on the phone] 'I feel like I'm a traitor … what about my sister, what about my son, what about my grandchildren.' So yeah, it was tough for her," Oleg said.  

More supports needed

Thanks to a Facebook group started by his wife called Operation Babushka, Oleg said the family has received welcome messages and clothing donations for his mother. 

But because she is here on a visitor's visa and not as a refugee, he said that other formal supports — such as language classes and legal assistance — are few and far between. 

"As per my knowledge, there are no agencies that can help her because [of her status]," said Oleg. 

Inna Platonova, president of the Calgary branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC), said in an email statement to CBC News that there are so far no refugee programs in place in Canada for Ukrainians specifically. 

"Some Ukrainians fleeing war will be reuniting with their families, while others have no one they know in Calgary. Both groups will need different levels of support."

In the statement, Platonova said UCC Calgary hopes to have more information on resources available to recently landed Ukrainians later in the week.

The Canadian government has created two new pathways for Ukrainians to come to Canada — part of a plan to accept an "unlimited number" of people who want to leave.

The government is also introducing an "expedited path" to permanent residency for Ukrainians with family in Canada. 

Oleg says his family would like to bring his mother's sister to Calgary eventually, but that for now, she has decided to stay in Ukraine. 

"My brother took her from [Zhytomyr] to a village where she is staying with the local doctor," Oleg said.

"She brought her cat and a kitten with her. I hope she will be safer there."